OVER-THE-TOP MARKETING
Put the 'WOW!' into customer service
By Jean Murray, MBA, PhD

I'm constantly in search of "WOW" experiences in customer service. The other day, I found one. I went to a plant nursery in search of a special on roses. I walked in the door and was immediately greeted by Jill, who asked how she could help.

Since I prefer not to waste time wandering around the store, I asked for help to find the roses on sale. She took me right to them and showed me exactly which ones were available, which were hardier, which would attract birds, and which colors were available.

I picked out a couple of bushes and then asked for information on a plant whose name I couldn't pronounce, "cotoneaster." She said she also had trouble pronouncing it, so I didn't feel like such an idiot. (It is pronounced "co-tone-ee-aster" not "cotton-Easter.")

When I was checking out, she asked if I would like some plant starter and explained what it would do.

As she carried all the plants to my truck, she explained how to care for them and protect them in the winter. The entire time she spent with me, she was friendly, smiling, and enthusiastic. As I got into my truck, I thought, "WOW! That was great!"

Sure, the nursery's plants were more expensive than those at the large discount store, but I received incredible service. I bought the roses on sale and several other items, including the plant starter that I had not expected to buy.

Would I go back there again? Certainly! Would I tell all my friends? Absolutely!

You're probably asking yourself, "Why is this important? I have a good staff, and my patients like the service they receive."

Well, if you want to remain static, that's fine, but if you want to grow your practice, consider the effect customer satisfaction has on company value, profitability, and referrals — based on consumer research studies by J.D. Power and Associates (and related in a recent book titled Satisfaction: How Every Great Company Listens to the Voice of the Customer, by Chris Denove and James D. Power IV.)

• Company value. High customer satisfaction has a strong positive relationship to company value. The greater the level of patient satisfaction, the more patients you will have and the more valuable your practice will be, in terms of owner's equity (that's money in your pocket).

• Company profitability. High employee satisfaction has a strong positive relationship to company profitability. The more satisfied your employees, the more enthusiastic they will be and the more patients you will retain and gain for an increase in your practice's profits.

If you don't believe employees make a difference, here's a case in point: A prospective patient called a chiropractic office and demanded to be seen the same day, but the schedule was completely full. Instead of telling him, "Sorry!" the front-desk person called another chiropractic office and got him an appointment there.

He was so thrilled, he recruited seven people to the first office and came back himself.

• Referrals. Customer satisfaction definitely affects patient referrals. In its survey of auto buyers, J.D. Power and Associates found that as satisfaction increased, positive recommendations also increased. As satisfaction decreased, negative feedback increased.

People who are neutral about their experience do not refer. People who have negative experiences are 50 percent more likely to complain about their experiences than people with positive experiences are likely to relate their experiences.

Got that?

Create a "WOW" experience and you'll get lots of referrals; create a "YUCK" experience and you will get lots of turnoffs.

THREE TYPES OF PATIENTS

Customers come in three basic "types," depending upon their relationship to your practice:

• Advocates. These patients are intensely loyal and enthusiastically refer. The authors of Satisfaction found that the single most important factor in creating advocates is "over-the-top" service.

• Apathetics. These patients are satisfied with service that just meets their expectations. They are somewhat loyal, but won't be around if they have a negative experience in your office, and are not likely to refer others to your practice.

• Assassins. These patients are a result of negative experiences. They are active and vocal in their efforts to convince others not to do business with you.

Once you have created practice "advocates," they will endure discomfort and disruption to stay with you. In other words, they are fiercely loyal. Ken Blanchard (The One Minute Manager) calls these people "raving fans." They are so excited about what you do in your practice that they will stay with you no matter what, and they will refer many others.

So what do you need to do in order to avoid assassins and create advocates?

1. Hire fantastic employees. Look for people who have a smile on their face and a great attitude. Be willing to pay a premium for these people because you can't afford to lose them. (See sidebar, "Over-the-top employees," for more information.)

2. Create community. Set up an atmosphere of "family" in your practice through your marketing materials and the way you treat patients. Follow the example of the Harley-Davidson company, which created its Harley Owners Group (HOG) years ago. The company works diligently to keep that sense of community thriving.

3. Go beyond expectations. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, says, "Good is the enemy of great." Just being "good enough" is not good enough. Blanchard says you have to work at improving 1 percent a week; never stop thinking about ways to improve.

4. Continually communicate. Tell patients about your efforts to improve; let them know you want them to be "raving fans." Keep employees and patients involved in your practice with newsletters, Web-site updates, and bulletin board notices. It is impossible to overcommunicate.

5. Support patient advocacy. Create a marketing campaign that builds on patient recruitment. Provide tools for your advocates to use — giveaways, brochures, and other items they can share while raving about your practice.

So, over-the-top customer satisfaction equals a growing practice, and over-the-top employees equal high profitability. If you want that over-the-top practice, you must be committed to it, so that every single patient receives not just a good experience, but a fantastic one.

Practice advocates are created one person at a time, one day at a time.

Jean Murray, MBA, PhD, is a business professor at Palmer College of Chiropractic and principal of Planning for Practice Success (P4PS). She can be contacted at 866-940-7526 or through her Web site, www.dcpracticesuccess.com.