For most all practice owners, the largest challenge is getting consumers in your door or, as many refer to it, as ‘getting butts in the chair’. The process for this challenge is creating and following an articulate marketing calendar of events. However, rarely is there a plan laid out to create patient loyalty in order for them to return to your practice.
I worked for thirteen years in assorted optometric practices, and later became a practice owner myself for another thirteen years, before getting into optometric practice consulting. I used to think in the early stages that giving a patient a thorough eye health examination, good quality eyewear and/or contact lenses at a fair price along with a smile on our face would guarantee patient loyalty. It didn’t take long before I realized that we were only guaranteeing patient satisfaction…not patient loyalty.
As time goes on, you may end up with many satisfied patients, but very few loyal patients. Loyal patients will refer you to all their friends, relatives, co-workers, and even their neighbors. Loyal patients will stand beside you even if their vision insurance plan were to change. Loyal patients will still go to you for their eyecare even if they moved across town, or even if they moved across the country like I did!
Let’s take a look at creating patient loyalty in a totally different perspective (my dentist) just to prove that you can take pearls of wisdom from many other industries and place these same strategies into your optometric practice in order to create true patient loyalty.
I want to tell you a story about the best dentist in the United States. He’s located in Lincoln, NE (where I used to live) and his name is Bruce.
Bruce is the best dentist simply because I perceive him to be the best dentist. Is he in reality the best dentist in the United States? Probably not. Is he the best dentist in my perception? Absolutely so! I moved to a suburb of Phoenix, AZ not too long ago, and do I still go to Bruce? Absolutely!
OK…I’ll also visit friends and family when I go back, but I also make sure to secure an appointment with Bruce to get my dental work done while I’m there.
In other words, Bruce will always be my dentist simply because he’s the best…in my perception.
So how did this perception come about?
When I arrived at his office for the very first time, the front desk staff were very friendly and attentive. They told me “In order for Dr. ‘C’ to do the best job possible for you today, he asks that you complete this medical information form”. They didn’t call it ‘paperwork’.
A staff member then took some initial X-rays and informed me that “These will be instrumental to the doctor and all of the technicians throughout your lifetime with us here at Family Dental”.
In other words, she helped me understand that this wasn’t going to be a one-time visit, but that they wanted me there throughout my lifetime.
The doctor encounter was nothing shy of amazing, as he first welcomed me to their office. Notice he said their office…not his office as if each one of the staff also had a ‘stake’ in the success of the office.
He also mentioned: “If you have any questions throughout the examination process, please don’t hesitate to ask”.
He dawned a surgical mask and went to work (which he later confessed the mask was for his benefit from the patient’s bad breath as much as it was for the patient’s perception that he was a real ‘doctor’), but as he went to work, he did something that no dentist ever did before. He continued to speak about my teeth throughout the entire examination and also throughout the treatments I required, where my previous dentists typically remained silent.
After multiple visits with Bruce, I now know more about dentistry than I ever had before! Is this a big deal? No…this is a HUGE deal and it gives me the confidence that I chose the right dentist. As he continues speaking, he would mention how important it is to ‘nip things in the bud’ before they manifest into something larger (and more expensive), and he also mentioned something I have never heard of from a dentist…he said: “Tom, I know you don’t smoke or chew tobacco, but when I grab your tongue and look around inside your mouth…I’m actually looking for the very first signs of oral cancer”.
ORAL CANCER? I never even knew there was such a thing as oral cancer!
Do I take my dentists recommendation of coming in every six months now? Absolutely!
Looking at my ‘Welcome to the Office form’, he said “Tom, before you leave today, there are several things you brought up on your Welcome form that I would like to quickly review with you…it says here that you have always been concerned that your teeth aren’t as white as you wish they were”. He then gave me a huge grin, only to reveal that his ‘uppers’ were white, bright, and shiny, but his ‘lowers’ were just like mine…nothing to write home about. He purposely whitens just his ‘uppers’ to demonstrate the dramatic difference to each of his patients who have similar concerns.
He then discussed that having trays that were custom made to my exact specifications along with the right whitening product can make a world of difference from over the counter whiteners, and that if I wasn’t impressed with the results, he would even give me my money back.
Did I try it? Absolutely! Was I happy he brought it up and made the recommendation? Absolutely! As a matter of fact, that’s what I actually paid for…an examination, the treatments I needed, and his recommendations on how to enhance my quality of life.
After being asked if I had any further questions, he said “Tom…I hope you like what we have done for you so far today, and if that’s the case, don’t keep me the best-kept secret…I would love to help your family, your friends, your co-workers, and even your neighbors”.
Guess what I did? I told everyone I knew regardless if they needed immediate dental care or not.
Do you think I’m the only one he treated this way and asked for referrals in this fashion? No way! I’m confident he did a similar routine to each and every adult patient who sat in his chair. After several years had passed, Bruce profusely thanked me for all the referrals, but he also asked me to stop referring others to him. In his own words: “I couldn’t squeeze in another patient if I had to, and we’re not accepting any new patients at this time”. Nice problem to have, right?
By the time I was finished and back at the front desk, I was more than happy to pull out my billfold and make the payment for today’s services as well as setting up an appointment for my next visit.
What’s the purpose of telling you this true-life experience? To encourage each and every one of you to analyze each and every paragraph above and ask yourself “How can I adapt these same strategies into my eyecare practice?”
Loyal patients don’t care if a minor problem arises down the road, they have more trust in your recommendations, your marketing costs decline, your employees have more pride in their work, and loyal patients help your practice grow exponentially.
Strategies for building patient loyalty need to be introduced into every practice, especially with social media where both the good word and the bad word could spread like wildfire!
It’s up to you to determine what your patients will hear from you and if you turn your satisfied patients into loyal patients.
— Tom Bowman
