Don't Discount the Impact of a Great First Impression
Kristi Hudson
It is time to change your perspective on first impressions and how they impact your practice. Most of us tend to think of a first impression as the moment that you meet someone face to face. In clinical practice, though, the first impression takes place when potential patients call to ask, "How much does it cost to see the doctor?" Much time and resources are focused on marketing efforts to attract new patients to your practice. These efforts, even when marginally successful, generate an increase in the number of shopper calls, and yet, preparing for this first encounter is often overlooked.
Many providers fail to realize that every shopper call is a potential new patient. Failure to convert shopper calls results in missed opportunities to help patients and lost revenue for your clinic. What kind of impact could be made on your practice if you focused on shopper calls and creating a remarkable patient experience from the first moment they communicate with your office?
Here are five tips for how you can make a great first impression on potential new patients.
1. Clean and Simple Greeting: "Thank you for calling ABC clinic. This is Susie."
Without adding too much unnecessary information, allow patients to get to the point oftheir call quickly. By ending the greeting with your staff person's name, patients are more likely to connect and use it during the conversation, which helps build rapport.
2. Smile :)
You may not always feel like being cheerful or helpful, and although you'd probably be reluctant to admit it, it's natural to have moods that get in the way of your customer experience goals. Smiling, even when the other person can't see you, radiates a positive and welcoming tone. Even if you have to fake it until you make it, you will find that as the day goes on, your smile hasn't just made your future patients happy, but made you happier as well. (Answer 365,2015)
3. Give and Take: "I'd like to make an appointment."
Most office scripts sound like an online poll. You ask a series of questions and wait for the potential new patient to reply.
Yes, you have specific information that you need to gather about the patient, but you should give the patient a good reason to share the information first. Answer their question with a question. "I'd love to schedule an appointment for you. May I ask who I am speaking with?"
4. Don't just Listen - Pay Attention: "I'm in excruciating pain."
When a patient calls the office, they want you to know how they feel. The more they talk, the better chance you have of scheduling an appointment and bringing a new patient into your office. Using information the patient provides, and responding appropriately, is the key to success. Repeat the words they use. This will go a long way toward validating their feelings. "I am sorry to hear that. How long have you been in excruciating pain?"
5. Tell them what they want to know: "How much does it cost to see the doctor?"
When you fail to answer the question, you can come off as untrustworthy, evasive, or incompetent. Patients callingyour office already knowthat they have a problem they think can be resolved with chiropractic, but they do not know if they can afford it. In the past, you have trained your staff to be vague, and for good reason. You simply do not know what type of exam the doctor will perform, if X-rays are necessary, or about the treatment plan that will be recommended. Your staff can answer the question simply by saying, "It really depends on what the doctor finds necessary...
It really depends on what the doctor finds necessary
At a time when audits are on the rise and being compliant is a top priority, we have utilized a discount medical plan organization (DMPO) in our office to help solve this problem. Using a DMPO allowed me to set a capped fee for new patient visits and routine office visits. It has helped us answer this age-old question and still be compliant with state and federal rules and regulations. "For patients like you with limited benefits (no insurance, high deductible, etc.), we are members of a discount medical plan organization.
You can join today for $49, and the most you will pay for today's visit is $150. Would you like a morning or an afternoon appointment?"
We learned a lot when we began focusing more attention on shopper calls. In our case, we had a false sense of satisfaction with so many patients calling our office to make appointments. We quickly realized the system was broken when many of those appointments were canceled, or the patients didn't show up at all. So we made a few adjustments to the script and focused on staff training. These small changes cost our practice nothing but paid off in big ways. We now see 90 to 95% of shopper calls becoming new patients.
§ Kristi Hudson is a certified professional compliance officer (CPCO). She serves as the Director of Business Relationships for ChiroHealthUSA M’here she has helped to educate DCs and CAs on establishing simple and compliant financial policies. You can contact Kristi at 888-719-9990 or Kristi@chirohealthusa. com, or you can visit the ChiroHealthUSA website at www. chirohealthusa. com.
