There’s quite a revolution happening in the world of retail sales and marketing. Consumers are better informed, value driven and increasingly selective in their buying decisions. Small, medium and large businesses are turning up the customer service volume and using innovative tools and techniques to deliver a superior customer experience.
Sound familiar? The rise of consumerism and patient experience in healthcare has a doppelganger twin in the customer experience strategic imperative of the business world. Or is it vice versa?
The well-respected Forrester market research folks, for example, offer a business report titled Why Customer Experience? Why Now. One of their blog posts speaks about the tide of customer-centricity this way:
“We’ve entered the age of the customer—an era where a focus on customers matters more than any other strategic imperative. Companies are waking up to the fact that customers’ perceptions have a profound impact on business metrics ranging from brand equity and customer loyalty to increased revenue and cost savings.”
Another business blog from HelpScout never mentions “patients,” but offers a superb Infographic with concepts that transfer easily to hospital and healthcare marketing and patient satisfaction. Titled, 10 Things Your Customers WISH You Knew About Them, each of the quick reminders is rooted in professional studies and data from sources such as the National Institutes of Health. For example:
CUSTOMERS WILL REMEMBER YOU IF YOU CAN REMEMBER THEIR NAME
Personalization…according to recent research examining brain activation, few sounds are as pleasant as hearing our own names. Fact is, people are more attentive (and interested) when they hear their names; be sure your small business takes advantage of getting to know our customers by using their names when appropriate. [Source: US National Library of Medicine, NIH]
CUSTOMERS LOVE PERSONALIZATION, THEY WILL GLADLY PAY MORE FOR IT
In a study from the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, researchers were able to increase the average tips that waiters received by over 23% (without changing service quality). They accomplished this by having waiters follow with a second set of mints after they brought customers their check.
The parallels between customer service in business/retail and patient satisfaction in healthcare delivery are strong. And many thought-leader articles on the business news page are useful resources for hospital and medical provider marketing concepts. You’ll want to see the other key points on this timely Infographic about knowing your customer (patient, consumer) as the beginning of a lasting relationship.
Lonnie Hirsch
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