A Smile Goes A Long Way

For years now, I have been face to face marketing for physician practices and for Euthenia Marketing. What I mean by this is that I walk into numerous physician practices a week. In my encounters, I have noticed a few habits that I believe physician offices don’t even realize they are doing, but need to rectify. Here are a few suggestions for better relations between patients, drug reps, and the community in general. What I’m talking about here is a little Internal Marketing.

When someone walks through the door, the receptionist should look up from their desk and SMILE. A smile goes a long way. It’s welcoming and one doesn’t feel like a bother. The receptionist is the PR person. They are on the front line and the face of the practice. Stop and notice what other people see and feel upon entering the practice. The patients are the clients and they can choose to go to another doctor if they don’t feel appreciated and important.

Lunches. One of the only ways for a company to speak with a doctor is by bringing the entire office lunch. This is not my complaint. The majority of office staff do not even introduce themselves at the lunch. Be personable! Especially if someone is taking the time to bring the office lunch. The office manger also needs to distinguish themselves from the rest of the staff. For the most part, the person bringing a lunch has no idea who anyone is. Someone needs to take the initiative and spell out how their office works. Build up a relationship with the people bringing the office lunch. Those people are out and about every day talking to people and are evaluating the practices they enter!

Take some time to examine the practice’s culture. Is it warm, animated, laid-back, friendly, or formal? Is the practice “patient centered?” Is the culture how it was envisioned? Most practices obtain their culture by default without thought or planning. Do employees work as a team to be patient centered? This requires training and an ongoing effort to have a patient center culture. Practices can’t sacrifice relationships with patients and vendors these days. Remember, a smile goes a long way.