Marketing Matters
Making the Intangible Tangible
Patients need something to evaluate. Giving them the red-carpet treatment positions you for a positive review.

BY BRAD RUDEN, M.B.A.

This month, we continue our explanation of the seven principles of service marketing with a look at "process" and "physical evidence" and how they apply to an ophthalmology practice.

Whenever customers, or in your case patients, receive a service, they evaluate it based on several factors. One of those factors is the process by which the service is delivered. In deciding whether the transaction was worthwhile, they also take into account the physical evidence that a service was provided.

GIVE PATIENTS A POSITIVE FEELING TO TAKE AWAY WITH THEM

The dilemma for your practice is that many of the services you provide, such as routine eye exams or glaucoma check-ups, leave no physical evidence from which the patient can render a judgment -- the service itself is intangible.

So, how do you position the practice for a positive evaluation from patients? You and your staff members must excel in other areas of service delivery. You can do that by focusing your efforts on these three main areas:

Efficiency. Patients should be checked-in quickly and with courtesy. On average, they shouldn't sit in the waiting room any longer than 10 minutes after their appointment times.

Also, you should eliminate any hindrances to smooth patient flow from check-in to check-out. Slow spots can be the result of a physical constraint, such as too few exam lanes, or a staffing constraint, such as too few technicians or the same person processing check-ins and check-outs.

Many practices draw flow charts to identify every step of patient flow through the office. The charts are an effective tool for breaking down the process and eliminating wasteful steps so that quality care can be delivered whenever and wherever possible.

Ambiance. The waiting room and office space must be clean. The waiting-room chairs must be comfortable, and you should provide current reading material or a TV. Consider providing some type of refreshment, too.

Personalization. Staff members should look patients in the eye and address them by name when they arrive. If the check-in person is in the middle of another task, he or she should at least make eye contact with patients to acknowledge their presence until they can be helped.

Also, at least one staff member should interact with each patient enough to learn about changes in the patient's family or health, and then relay that information to you.

If you're running behind schedule, staff members should inform patients of the delay and, where appropriate, the reason for the delay. Your practice should also offer patients assistance with completing any necessary paperwork.

Finally, you and your staff members should thank patients for choosing your practice for their eyecare needs, working this in as a normal part of conversation.

PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES

The key to giving your patients something tangible to evaluate positively is putting yourself in their shoes and anticipating their needs -- what they like and potentially dislike about a visit. Once identified, those needs should be met to the utmost of your ability.

These are the aspects of care that patients remember and speak to others about.

Brad Ruden, M.B.A., owns MedPro Consulting & Marketing Services in Phoenix, Ariz. You can reach him at (602) 274-1668, medpro@uswest.net, or via his Web site at www.medprocms.com.