When was the last time you called your patient after their first adjustment?
We’ve advised this for years, and it is one of the many items on our Marketing Checklists. The procedure was simple: the staff handed the doctors a slip of paper with the names and numbers of patients who had their first adjustment that day. Then, on the way home, the doctor would give the patient a call to see how they were doing. I remember hearing from the staff that the patients loved getting a call from their doctor and felt it was an extra effort to ensure their well-being personally.
I was reminded of this when my wife, Barbara, took a phone call from the MD from whom she recently received a light skin surgery. She was impressed and delighted. (“Wow,” she said after the call. “I think I’ll call to schedule more surgeries this month!” She’s funny!)
But we live in a world where we are becoming more insulated from each other. We almost interact as much with Artificial Intelligence, electronics, and automation as with live people. Automation runs our shopping, our money, and our communication, even much of our medical care.
I just read a report this week that Google suspended an engineer from work who said that an AI program at Google was now sentient (conscious). He said that he had “startling talks” with a chatbot program.* And never mind the masking, social distancing, and lockdowns which I am sure we haven’t seen the last of.
It seems that honest, caring, and genuine interest from a live person, especially from someone who knows us, are vanishing human qualities.
And this is the niche where you and your team are uniquely qualified to own.
As entrepreneurs, we focus on business matters – we look at our scoreboard, analyze the numbers, and review our accounts receivable. We look at how we can grow our business and improve the bottom line. And all that is fine and part of our job.
But all the numbers, the paperwork, all the administration and marketing are for nothing if the personal connection you have with each patient is absent.
And this is what makes your service exceptional – the quality of connection you and your team have with each patient. The genuine interest in and authentic care for each patient, and the outcomes you deliver, are the heart and soul of your business.
Improving this is the best investment you can make for long-term success.
Carpe Posterum (Sieze the Future)
Ed