Engage With Patients Inside Your Practice and Beyond

Embracing excellence and making patients happy is one thing. Converting your patients into raving fans and constant followers who will promote YOU at every opportunity is quite another. True fans require a feeling of connection that you can grow inside your practice and beyond.

Imagine that your business has reached a milestone. After tremendous effort and attention to details your business has become a model of best practices. At every point of contact, nothing falls short of the expected standard. Your patients are known to say:

“This office did everything right! They answered my questions and made the entire process so easy and satisfying. From the first call to book the appointment and through the exam – until I picked up my contacts/glasses…this office provided the exact care, products and assurances I needed. Wow, they really delivered on quality and service!

But is that enough? Will those happy patients remember your business and your staff after they leave your office? Have you created such a powerful positive impression that they will go out of their way to talk about their experience, regularly send out links to your business Facebook page, and persuade extended family and friends to schedule with YOU the next time they need eye care services?

Certainly, many practices strive to have happy patients by meeting expectations at every opportunity. However, in 2015, even this so-called gold standard of patient care might not be enough to earn a following of loyal fans who will also speak for you as ambassadors and promote your products and services. You need something more. You need a deeper and ongoing human connection. And you can begin building those connections by communicating with your patients much more than you normally would at an annual eye health evaluation. Create fans and followers with great stories that tug at the hearts and win the minds of patients. It IS possible!

“How To” Create a Fan

Start with Staff

When you set about creating business fans and followers, plan an All Staff Meeting. Engage your team in an open, candid discussion about their personal experiences as fans. Find out what converts individuals into fans who are emotionally connected to their favorite sports team, reality show, radio station, or business entity. Also, talk about the opposite too. Learn not only what creates a fan but also what turns people off, so that they could never become a loyal fan.

During your all-staff discussion, ask individuals why they follow, enjoy, root for or rave about a particular team, show or individual? How did they become fans in the first place and what keeps them engaged and excited? Which of their innate human needs is being met or exceeded? Are there any underlying emotions or needs that are being met? Chart their opinions:

Teams Chart

In addition to gathering success stories from your staff, talk about failures too. What impedes individuals from becoming fans? Have they experienced negative feelings from a dentist or a bank or some other entity that seemed too familiar, too “sales minded”, too intrusive?

Once all staff members understand the fundamentals, then apply their knowledge to your own workplace. Discuss your own patients. Knowing what makes a fan as well as what is likely to impede creating emotional connections, gather ideas for turning your happy patients into people who enjoy communicating more often than once each year. Turn your patients into loyal fans, ambassadors who talk glowingly about YOU!

Share Engaging Stories

When you encourage staff members to open up in this manner, you will discover that human beings have an age-old attraction towards stories. Stories help us connect, relate and build feelings of empathy, trust, and loyalty.

Some fans LOVE a story of injustice. For example, Jason Leach, a Staff Writer for the New York Giants, writes:

“(Football Quarterback) Eli Manning is entering his 12th year in the NFL and has accomplished more than most quarterbacks in the NFL. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion, two-time Super Bowl MVP, and is the Giants passing leader in every significant category… however, Manning often is not given the credit that he deserves, and his miscues are talked about more than his accomplishments. You hear people mention the three seasons when he had 20 interceptions or more, rather than the seasons he had a quarterback rating over 92.”

People may feel empathy for this accomplished player who does not receive all the credit he deserves. You see, tugging at heart strings creates fans and followers.

Some fans LOVE a humorous story that also reveals character. For example, before the 2015 American Country Music Awards, author Sterling Shitaker wrote an article titled: Luke Bryan Gets Blake Shelton ‘Tattoo’. As illustration, he includes a picture of Luke Bryan flexing, and smiling, as he shows off a Photo-shopped image of a bad Blake Shelton face, depicted as an upper arm tattoo. And then the author shares Luke Bryan’s twitter taunt: “Hey @blakeshelton, like my new ink?”

Fans of Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton alike, might feel a real time connection to these two stars by observing their ‘guy humor’. The comical banter between friends might endear followers.

Some fans LOVE a story about “real” people in seemingly “real” situations, seen in Reality Shows! Perhaps these programs bring out the voyeur in some of us. For example, fans can experience competition in shows like Survivor. They can experience romantic dating by watching The Bachelor. By viewing such shows as American Idol and The Voice, they are realizing what it would be like to become a music star.

Realize, when it comes down to discovering what makes a fan, your staff and your patients probably hold a similar range of opinions. This is because they share a common culture shaped by the neighborhoods and communities surrounding your business location. This is another valuable reason to engage all staff.

Engage Inside Your Practice and Beyond

Notice the kinds of stories that move staff toward becoming fans. Then consider your business. Within your office team, do you individually or collectively have some stories of your own? Can you leverage suitable stories toward turning happy patients into fans and followers? Can you inspire patients to desire an ongoing connection with YOU?

As you focus on inspiring human connections, always be mindful of your goals and what might prevent your patients from becoming fans. e.g. bombarding patients with advertising can be counter-productive.

Next, harness the power of those smart devices your patients carry. Set up your work environment and social media strategies to encourage the sharing of fascinating content. This might be a combination of:

Interesting statistics: Did you know that whereas a fingerprint has 40 unique characteristics, an iris has 256? This is why finger prints are getting out of date and retinal scans are increasingly being used for security purposes.

Quotes that Inspire Emotions:

“She has a sly smile, and eyes that seem to see my essence as they explore my soul and implore my spirit to enter her. I look at her and I see love.”
— Jarod Kintz, Love quotes for the ages. Specifically ages 18-81.

Human Interest Stories about People in Eye Care, or Events: Your patients might be curious about your expectations for attending Vision Expo in Las Vegas.

Research Studies: An MIT study recently showed that the human eye can process a picture in 13 milliseconds! This is faster than understanding text or audio messages. Essentially, the human brain is wired to extract meaning from visual information.

Images of Patients: Use your patient’s smart phone to take a close-up picture of their iris. Notice the variation of colors. Talk about why some people say that their eye color changes with their mood. Create pictures and experiences that a patient is likely to talk about when they leave your office.

Videos, and Funny Stuff Too: Entertain your followers. Everyone loves to laugh!

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
— Dr. Seuss

Ultimately, fans grow from developing human connections. If you want more fans and followers, then expand what your team shares and how they share. Today, your most engaging business attribute is YOUR OFFICE TEAM! Celebrate their unique talents and personalities. Help patients bond with YOU!

What will your team share? The full variety of content that you love is a reflection of you and your staff. Sharing ‘the good stuff’ builds stronger, enduring relationships with your patients. Grow your loyal fan base.

How will your team expand sharing? Together, can you give patients more to talk about when they visit your office? Can you improve use of social media? With some thought and effort, you can foster a patient’s desire to maintain an ongoing connection, even between appointments.

Expand meaningful sharing inside your practice and beyond. Consistently over time, you can grow fans and followers, enthusiastic and loyal ambassadors of Your Business!

– Renee Jacobs, OD, M.A.