Medical Assistant Chapter 24 Marketing And Customer Service

Front 1

Three Steps to Prepare

Back 1

*Evaluate what is currently being done to promote the practice to help increase patient flow

*Decide what objectives are important and how the objectives will be measured

*Develop a plan, implement the plan, after implementing go back access it to make sure there are no changes and things to make it just a little bit better

Front 2

Know Your Target Market

Back 2

*you have to know exactly who you are marketing to

*is a group of individuals that a business is attempting to attract

*individuals need to be made aware of of what services are available

*competition is keying in the market

Front 3

Questions to Consider

Back 3

*What are the needs and desires of our customers?
-Special needs, preventative, convenience

*What are the typical characteristics of our customers?
-Children, women, geriatric

*What is the most cost effective way to reach new customers?
-Advertisement, mailings, promotions

*What outcomes is expected to be accomplished?
-Increase patient base, community service

Front 4

The Four "P's"

Back 4

*Product
-Physicaians services, DME, meds, vitamins

*Placement
-Actual location of the practice(can influence traffic to the facility)

*Price
-Amount charged for goods and services

*Promotion
-Methods used to attract products and services to customers

Front 5

Extended Services

Back 5

*Decide what other types of services to offer

Examples:
-School area-sports physicals
-Young families-extended hours
-College town -special student rates
-Senior Citizens-discounts, transportation services

Front 6

Developing the Plan

Back 6

*Steps to follow:
1. Assessment-phase where problems and goals are reviewed
2. Research- phase of investigating the needs of the target market and what can be done to meet those needs
3. Plan- creating the plan
4. Execution- the plan is carried out
5. Evaluation- determining what went well or what problems require attention and possibly change to the plan

Front 7

Utilizing Free Resources

Back 7

*promote the practice

*helps to get the physicians name out there and the practice name, address, number, office hours, and information for free service

Front 8

Suggestions

Back 8

*Gives an opportunity for the patients to give ideas

*Check suggestion box frequently

*Follow up with patient acknowledging the suggestion has been read and may be considered

*Possibly offer a coupon for free lunch or car wash if the suggestion is used

Front 9

Surveys/Evaluations

Back 9

*Patient surveys or evaluations can be given in the office at the time of service or mailed after services are rendered

*Offers an opportunity for the patient to easily give feedback on satisfaction with the services offered

*The survey can include topics with:
-Physician services(professional)
-Staff(attitude, helpfulness)
-Facility(cleanliness, location, convenience of hours)
-Overall experience of visit

Front 10

Community Involvement

Back 10

*sponsor a local sports team/bowling team

*supporting a charity event

*sponsoring a particular program such as blood drive or food clinic with lots of explosure within the community

*give a free service for blood pressure check

Front 11

Advertising Agencies

Back 11

*Advertisement can come in many forms:
-For a very extensive event, you may hire a public relation firm or advertising agency

*Newspapers

*Radio

*Commercials

*Magazine

*Trade Journal

*Flier

*Brochure

*Billboard

Front 12

Communication as a Tool

Back 12

*make sure you give the best customer service to everyone that comes into the office

*putting together a monthly newsletter

Front 13

Promoting a New Practice

Back 13

*Hold an open house prior to the facility opening

*Advertise in the local newspaper

*Bulk mailing

*Offer incentives for referrals

Front 14

Practice Website

Back 14

*needs to be maintained in order to be useful

*consider the cost of hiring the individual in hiring to maintain

Front 15

Patients Relations

Back 15

*patients do have many choices for medical care so we do need to make sure the quality of care and the customer service we give remains to be very important

*we need to build their trust and keep things confidential

*a satisfied patient through form of mouth is 1 of the best

*a satisfied patient will refer others to the office

Front 16

Good Attitudes

Back 16

*Have a helpful attitude- "How may I help you?"

*Be courteous and kind

*Good customer relations is important to the practice

*Patients count on staff members to assist them

Front 17

Deadly Sins of Customer Service

Back 17

*These statements imply negativity and should never be used:
-"I don't know"
-"I don't care"
-"I can't be bothered"
-"Ask someone else"
-"It's not my job"
-"It's not my fault"
-"I didn't do that"
-"I know that"
-"I'm right, you're wrong"
-"I'm on break"

Front 18

The Internal Customer

Back 18

*Don't forget about the internal customer
-Staff, coworkers, providers

*If employees aren't pleased, they will also search elsewhere