How to Encourage Positive Word of Mouth for Your Medical Practice by Susan Keane Baker
You hope that people
speak well of the care and service your
practice provides. When that happens, patients
choose you because what they’ve heard
is all they need to know to believe that
you are the right physician for them. When
patients select you on the basis of word
of mouth referrals, they are more likely
to be satisfied because they know what to
expect.
There are four layers
of word of mouth sources: Patients themselves,
your staff, people who are trusted community
members, including those who work in health
care settings, and the community at large.
Patients - According
to Michael Cafferky, author of Patients
Build Your Practice: Word of Mouth Marketing
for Healthcare Practitioners, a patient
is most likely to tell other people about
you in the first fourteen days after a visit
with you. Communicating with your patient
during that time increases the odds that
they will tell others about you.
Your Staff Members
- "My
doctor’s very good, his secretary said
so," a woman replied when asked about
her physician. The most effective word of
mouth commentary is what your staff has
to say about your practice. After all, staff
members know the inside story. Do your staff
members understand how important they are
in creating positive impressions about the
practice? You have less to fear from your
competitors than from indifference or negativity
on the part of members of your own practice.
Listen and respond to employee shop talk.
In addition to creating a discouraging atmosphere,
it's very upsetting to patients who hear
or overhear negative comments.
What are the stories
that you and your staff tell others about
your practice? Stories help people make
connections because people remember stories
much more easily than a list of facts. When
you are hosting a holiday, retirement or
other party, listen carefully to the stories
that are told and re-told. If the majority
speak to mistakes, incompetence or conflict,
it’s time for you to tell a few stories
of your own about positive differences staff
members have made in the lives of your patients.
Begin every staff meeting by mentioning
a positive patient comment. Some practices
encourage such feedback by keeping an album
of patient letters in their reception area.
It takes some maturity
and experience in several different work
settings before some employees realize that
every organization has some faults. So,
if a few younger employees are not referring
new patients to you, they probably haven’t
thought much about it or don’t know
what to say. However, if the majority of
your employees are not recommending new
patients, something is wrong. There is most
likely a quality issue that you haven’t
faced up to and/or remedied. Employees want
to be proud of their organization and if
they have concerns, they will be reluctant
to invite their friends and associates to
become patients.
Trusted Community
Members - Each
community has informal referral sources,
such as local clergy, realtors, newcomers
groups, lawyers, community leaders, fire
and police officers and people who supply
medical products or services. These individuals
often have larger spheres of influence than
other people. Nurses and pharmacists are
highly trusted sources of information, but
almost anyone working in a health care setting
has frequent opportunities to make word
of mouth comments. Advise your staff that
you expect them to be particularly gracious
with central schedulers at your hospital,
for those folks will judge your practice
by the behaviors and attitudes of every
one on your team.
Establish relationships
with staff members of physicians who refer
patients to you. Acknowledge them by name
when you call and thank them for any referrals
that are made. Consider this scenario: A
prospective patient asks the receptionist
at his primary care office, "Dr. Jones gave
me the names of two specialists. Do you
know either of them?" The receptionist responds,
"Well, I don't know Dr. Johnson, but Dr.
Lowe over on Maple Street is very nice."
Which physician is the patient likely to
choose?
The community at
large - The
more information patients have about you,
the more likely they are to be satisfied
with their experience. Dr. Joseph Wassersug,
a retired internist living in Boca Raton,
Florida, refers to this concept as the "recognition
factor." When a new patient says "I
know you, you’re the doctor who..."
the patient is more receptive to you. If
they’ve heard of you, they think you’re
good. An Agency for Health Care Policy and
Research study found that three out of four
respondents would prefer a surgeon they
were acquainted with to an unfamiliar one,
even if the unfamiliar physician had a higher
rating of some kind. Wassersug advises working
with your hospital marketing department,
writing a book, article or letter to the
editor and being involved with the community
as strategies to increase awareness about
you and your practice.
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