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Smart business executives know that it sometimes takes as much as five times more effort and money to acquire a new customer as it takes to keep an existing one. Business leaders and managers also know that loyal customers are the most profitable and are the best promotional campaign assets money can buy because they promote the services offered by your practice. According to the findings released in the American Express Global Customer Service Barometer in May 2011, 70% of Americans are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service. Moreover, consumers will tell others about their customer service experiences, both good and bad, with the bad news reaching more ears. Americans say they tell an average of 9 people about good experiences, and nearly twice as many (16 people) about poor ones— making every individual service interaction important for businesses.
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Let our experience work for you to design and deliver the best possible customer experience and customer satisfaction measurement program.
- Personalized dashboard of live data and reports available 24/7
- Compare your patent satisfaction to other practices by region
- Ability to receive email alerts when below expectation customer service is reported
- Standardized survey guaranteeing comparative data
- Powerful, on-demand reporting
To get more information and to start your program today, go to:
www.yourpatientsvoice.com/vet |
“Every customer-facing employee must deliver an exceptional customer experience all the time and on a consistent basis in order for a practice to stay competitive and thrive” says Stanley G. Hart, President of RitterAssociates and Brand Equity Builders. As the decision maker of your practice, you know the challenge and competitive nature of your business and that the importance of patient satisfaction through exceptional customer service cannot be underestimated. However, as the practice leader you may not be in front of every customer, every time.
The use of satisfaction surveys distributed through email, voice, or web-based survey programs can identify, evaluate and measure the attitudes and opinions of your customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Web-based surveys are cost effective and allow your practice to stay in front of your customers even after the visit is completed, enhancing an already strong customer connection.
A customer or patient satisfaction survey encourages customers to give honest feedback on issues that can affect customer retention, including:
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Overall satisfaction
- Loyalty
- Service/product satisfaction
- Pricing
- Timeliness
- Customer service satisfaction
- Doctor/pet owner/patient satisfaction
For most practices, the ability to meet customer expectations the same as or better than the competition is critical for success. “To enhance your brand (and promote your practice), know what customers are saying and leverage their accolades in your e-newsletter or the local press,” says Hart. “At the same time embrace what customers say is bad behavior and use that feedback as a learning experience to correct deficiencies and improve the customer-facing experience moving forward.”
While some pet owners might take a chance on you because of a discounted price or flashy promotional campaign, if the customerfacing experience fails to meet that customer’s expectation, the one-time visit may result in a one-time customer. When the interpersonal experience fails to deliver during the pre, in-clinic, or post experience—the points of intersection between the customer and the brand—the return on investment of your advertising dollar is reduced because the future expected revenue from a repeat customer is lost, and is much more difficult to regain.
You’re the doctor. Take your desire, dedication, skill, hard work, and business acumen and prescribe for yourself the task of identifying proficiencies and deficiencies in the customer-facing activities of your practice.
Here are 7 steps to help get you on your way:
- Determine your unique value proposition and decide what sets you apart from your competition.
- Develop a plan to ensure success and communicate your intentions to your staff.
- Develop a survey tool that uses both standard and practice-specific customer satisfaction measures that are easy to understand and act upon.
- Encourage pet owner participation.
- Regularly measure and look for trends; compare yourself to others.
- Use the data to make enhancements or correct bad behaviors.
- Limit wholesale survey question changes to once a year so long-term trends can emerge.
Your practice is a brand that provides a valuable and caring service to your customers. Know what customers are saying about you and the services you offer. When you ask for feedback from your customers, you are saying, “I care about you and understand how important you are to my practice.” In return, your customers will give you invaluable insight to make changes that can not only improve the customer experience and ensure customers remain customers, but also improve your bottom line and allow you to serve your community, both now and in the future.
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