Marketing begins at home! Before you invest in any marketing campaign, take a long hard look at your office and your staff. Try to see what a patient will experience when they walk through the door. First and foremost, Is the office clean? I hate to cite this as the truth, but many patients will go to a subpar doctor with a beautiful decor, than a great doctor whose office looks like it was recently hit by a small tornado ! Look at your carpeting... Is it shredded and torn ? Are you exam room floors cleaned and polished ? Most of all, are your bathrooms clean? If not, don't waste your time on a marketing campaign, because even if you attract several new patients, chances are you won't have them for long..
Now look at your staff. Do they have a uniform, professional appearance? Six inch fingernails and nose rings might be cute at a club, but they have no place at the front desk. Medicine is now a consumer business and if you don't meet consumer needs and judgements, the office down the block or around the corner will. You may have an M.D. from Harvard and a P.H.D. from Yale, but if your office and staff look like a zombie film - you might want to consider investing in some storage space and look for another job...
One of the easiest ways to gauge the appearance of your office is to invite a brutally honest friend to pay a visit to your facility and give you their first impressions. Have this same individual call your practice with questions and requests for an appointment and gauge how long they waited on hold and if the staff was courteous and respectful.
Each member of your front office staff should be interchangeable with the next. They should all use the same greeting when answering the phone, know the waiting limits for appointments, especially if referrals or pre-certifications are needed, and be able to answer patient questions regarding tests and procedures with some degree of intelligence. If they are not doing all of the above right now, I suggest that you provide them with a set of cheat sheets and monitor their calls.
If your practice is suffering from any of these problems, you should first hold an after hours meeting with all the members of your staff. Clarify that the patient's first impression of the practice will last a lifetime and that every employee will be charged with the responsibility for presenting the practice in a positive light.
Suggest that all employees answer the phone with a smile on their faces. Smiling when speaking gives a positive tone to your voice. Unkempt hair or unwashed uniforms all send a message that you don't want associated with patient care. You may need to make a provision in your budget for a uniform allowance for your staff if they are not presenting a clean team look. Don't be afraid to challenge inappropriate jewelry or make-up and set a standard for a look that makes you proud to present your representatives. Loud voices, the use of obscenities, even in the employee kitchen, should be prohibited. Your office is dedicated to meeting patient needs and your employees all participate in the daily theatre for this goal.
Advise all employees that a clean, well kept office is everyone's responsibility. A piece of paper on the floor won't wait. Coffee pots and refrigerators should be cleaned daily, along with the restrooms, and if it takes a schedule to make it happen, then create a schedule and make sure it is followed. If your practice is doing well financially, consider hiring a cleaning person that comes in for a few hours each morning or evening. Not only will this be a marketing plus, it will also assure that germs are taken care of right away and lessen sick absences. If you cannot afford a professional, invest in some cleaning products, mops, brooms, and a good vacuum and make sure they are put to good use.
In short, put your best foot forward before venturing into the outside world. Every employee in your practice is involved in its marketing each and every day. It is your responsibility to assure that all staff members are doing their best.
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