CSRA MD Journal - Doctors Hospital

PRACTICE MANAGEMENTInternal Affairsby Steve CartinYou want to maximize your ROI as you grow a successfulpractice. Vendors compete for your business, all promising youmore patients. How can you cut through the confusion and seeimmediate results? Let me share three short scenarios for analogy.Roger takes Judy out and tells her how pretty she is, what a greatconversationalist she is, and how nice her dress looks on her. He’ssaying all the right things to the right person. That’s marketing.Brad takes Judy out and tells her how smart he is, what a goodjob he has and how much he knows about cars and landscaping.That’s advertising.Mrs. Butterworth from next door pulls Judy aside at themarket and says, “I saw Mark picking you up last Friday evening.I’ve known his family all my life, such fine people. Mark is a hardworker, kept my grass mowed and my hedges trimmed ‘til he wentoff to college. And smart. He wasn’t just smart in school. He wassmart with everything. I haven’t found anything he doesn’t knowhow to do. Whoever ends up getting Mark is going to be onelucky lady.” That’s public relations.All three guys have one thing in common: They want arelationship with Judy. Which one will get it?You can’t fight romance. Girls sometimes fall for guys forthe strangest of reasons. But if Judy is a thinking girl she will seeright through Brad’s self-promotion. He might be strong, smartand handy around the garage andyard but it all sounds a bit too selfserving– he’s advertising. Roger, onthe other hand, has a better chance.He’s has a good marketing campaigngoing. Problem is, he only has a coupledates to turn a spark into a flame.When he runs out of lines Judy imagines he says the same thingsto all the girls. One scenario consistently has the best chance –Mark. A targeted dose of third party referral from Mrs. Butterworthwill get a guy a second date almost every time.Prudent businesses spread their marketing dollars overmarketing, advertising and public relations. The difference betweenbeing prudent and being savvy is maximizing your ROI inpublic relations. In the healthcare arena, we usually refer to thisas internal marketing – getting existing patients to share an enthusiasticword with their network: family, friends, and neighbors.The same concept applies if your specialist practice depends onreferrals from other physicians. These “other physicians” are thenetwork your current referring doctors belong to. How do youget patients to refer others? Just like Roger, Brad and Mark, yourapproach can be good or not-so-good.Referrals work best when they come naturally. Coercing“The difference between being prudentand being savvy is maximizing yourROI in public relations”a referral out of a patient never pays good dividends. You needis a sure-fire strategy for nurturing referrals from your patientswithout creating an awkward situation:Step 1: PREPARE. Take a few moments to look through theday’s appointment list. You know which patients are Raving Fans.Be prepared to increase their appreciation for your practice.Step 2: SOW THE SEED. Mention your Raving Fan’s newgrandbaby, her daughter’s wedding, the Mediterranean Cruise.Make them feel special without going out of the way and beinggushy. Let them know you care.Step 3: PICK THE RIPE FRUIT. How do you recognize ripefruit? When patients volunteer a compliment such as, “Dr. Jonesis really great. She really takes time to listen”, you have a perfectopportunity to get a referral without being pushy. Your responsewould be something like, “Thank you, Sally, and you’re right. Somany of our patients feel that way; she makes a real effort to givepatients the attention they deserve . Let me share a couple of hercards. We really appreciate it when patients like you tell othersabout their experience.”If your practice could benefit from increased referralsfrom happy patients or from other physicians, implement a systemfor continuing to generate those referrals. Cartin Coaching& Management has developed astep-by-step process for implementingsuch a system. If you would liketo receive a copy of Building a GreatReferral Practice, contact the authorbelow (Please indicate whether youwant the “new patient” or “new referringphysician” version).Generating internal referrals is the least expensive, most productiveway to increase the ROI on your marketing budget. With agood supply of attractive business cards, a cheerful smile and aready reply, you can grow your practice for pennies on the dollaras compared to other approaches. A great referral practice is outthere for you – build it!Steve Cartin is based in the CSRA and provides practice managementcoaching and consulting to private practices in the US and Europe.He may be contacted at (803) 335-3128, on the web at www.cartincoaching.com or by email at steve@cartincoaching.com.8 • CSRA MD Journalwww.csramdjournal.com