Staying Close to the Patient
Joe Girard of Detroit, Michigan, is no ordinary car salesman. For at least 11 years, he has sold more automobiles and trucks than any other human being. In fact, in any one year Joe will sell twice as many cars as whoever is in second place. He is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's No. 1 New Car Salesman, with a one-year record of 1,425 new cars. And these were not fleet sales; all the vehicles were sold at retail, face to face with the customer.
Joe's enviable record has nothing to do with luck or circumstance, but is a direct result of planning and work. Joe says he believes something that most other sales people don't--that is, that the sale really begins after the sale, not before. The customer is hardly out the door before Joe has a thank-you note on its way.
Joe refuses to let his customers forget him once they buy their cars. Every month of the year, they get a letter from him. It is always in a plain envelope, and always a different size or color. It doesn't look like junk mail, so people always open it and read the special message. Joe says that his customers love the monthly notes, and that he is forever getting favorable comments about them.
Joe sends out more than 13,000 of these letters every month. On the surface, it might seem like nothing more than just another sales gimmick, but the notes are really an expression of his genuine caring. When Joe's customers return with any problems, he goes to bat for them with the service department and makes sure the service manager honors the warranties and repairs the defects. Joe says his customers are not a pain in the neck, but rather his bread and butter, so he is sincere about providing this overpowering aftersale service.
I'll always be grateful for the influence of Dr. Bob Gaylord early in my orthodontic career, because he had a feeling for patients akin to that of Joe Girard for his auto customers. And he did his best to impart that concern to all of his students at Baylor.
Everything in Bob's office bespoke his interest in and devotion to his patients--the comfortable reception area, the modern treatment rooms, the quiet conference area, the tasteful art on the walls, the bulletin board noting patient achievements, the special letters he sent to patients. Bob believed in staying close to the patients so he would know how to serve them better. Looking back, this was even more remarkable because it was during the era when he and every orthodontist had a six-month waiting list. He could have ignored the patients and still profited handsomely.
Today this scrupulous attention has become absolutely necessary for any orthodontist who intends to stay competitive. It is now a buyer's market, and consumers have more alternatives in orthodontic care than ever before. So what are some strategies for staying close to patients and letting them know that you appreciate them and any of their friends they might refer to you?
It seems to me that first of all you need to make a career-long commitment to this notion. Being responsive to patients can't be a part-time or a short-term affair. Halfway measures confuse not only your patients, but also your staff.
Some dentists have attempted mass mailings and have been disappointed with the weak response. But this kind of effort is obvious advertising; it doesn't engender any more closeness than a consumer magazine ad would .
Timely and personalized letters to patients and their families and the referring dentists are a better way to start. These permit you to stress points made during the examination and consultation that might otherwise be forgotten or misunderstood. Sending birthday cards and writing letters in recognition of patients' special achievements are other ways that we stay in touch. In our area, this means subscribing to seven local newspapers from which to clip noteworthy items, but the patients--in particular the children--appreciate our taking the time. A computer data base or a tickler file can help you keep track of patients' important dates.
One of the most useful things we've done to keep our finger on the patient's family pulse is to encourage the parent or guardian to come into the treatment room at the conclusion of every appointment. This gives us an opportunity to show what we have done, talk about the patient's progress, and highlight particular information, such as ways to improve oral hygiene. It also gives the parent a chance to ask us questions, and it has proven to be an excellent way to stay close to the patient.
More than seven years ago, we started sending out a quarterly newsletter to every family that has been in our practice. I considered several generic products, but none seemed to emphasize what I believed the patients wanted more information about--science and technology. So I've collected and edited articles from various journals, newspapers, and magazines that I read. We have had an overwhelmingly favorable response to this newsletter. When people move away, they often call the office to give us their new address so they can continue to receive it. More than half of our mailing list is outside our area, but I've never even thought about deleting these people; I want them to know that an orthodontist still appreciates them for letting him treat them. And maybe they will still think favorably about orthodontists when it's time for their children to be treated.
We've only scratched the surface of techniques you can use to stay close to patients. But the point I want to make is that orthodontists in today's competitive environment must be willing to do whatever is necessary to create a patient-oriented culture--one that unequivocally conveys the message that we care.