This week, I’m sharing insights on what you need to do to set your practice up for success in 2021.
Wait, the last month of 2020 is here?
Hard to believe (for a number of reasons). I’m thankful for what I learned in 2020… but I won’t miss it once it’s over.
Anyway, we’re talking 2021 planning this week. And a few of the big rocks you can move to set yourself up for success in the new year. (Here’s my last message from Monday, in case you missed it)
2 words for you today – “Patient Journey.”
When I say that, what comes to mind?
A lot of folks think about it as the steps a patient takes to get from Point A – feeling bad and seeking a solution – to Point B – a happy patient with their problem solved.
And those steps typically include:
- Visiting your website
- Getting on the phone with you
- Actually booking an appointment
- Actually coming in for an appointment
- Booking a treatment
- Showing up for treatment
This is an accurate statement of the Physical Patient Journey.
But there’s a secondary journey that takes place…
And it doesn’t occur on your website, on your phone lines or in your office…
It’s the Psychological Patient Journey. And it takes place in the patient’s head.
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We are all always on two tracks – 1. the things we’re doing, and 2. what we’re thinking/feeling about the things we’re doing.
Quick story:
We just got a new puppy, a Mini Goldendoodle named Josie:
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Josie is a sweetheart. But she’s still trying to figure out her sleep schedule.
2 nights ago, she was fussy and barking. A bad night’s sleep for Josie = a bad night’s sleep for me.
Last night, we made sure to run her around the yard and really wear her out. She slept much better. Good sleep for Josie = good sleep for me.
For the last 2 mornings, I’ve done my same normal routine – wake up at 4a, read my Bible and journal, work for a couple of hours, hit the gym.
I did the same things both days. But how I thought/felt about those things was very different from yesterday to today.
Yesterday with bad sleep – I was dragging, tired, cloudy, frustrated. It took me a while to get up to speed for the day.
Today with good sleep – I’m refreshed, focused, feeling good and productive. I hit the ground running.
Same tasks on both days. Same actions. Same “Physical Morning Journey” for me.
But the physiological, psychological and emotional aspects were very different from no-sleep Troy to full-sleep Troy.
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Point of my story (besides showing off the fabulous Josie) is that the physical and psychological are separate pieces that must *both* be addressed.
Each patient is on two journeys.
The Physical Patient Journey is easy to audit and adjust. You’re basically assessing physical locations (your exam lanes), time (length and scheduling of calls/consult) and presentation (scripts, brochures).
The Psychological Patient Journey is more difficult to manage. You can’t see it or touch it.
But it’s there, and it’s vital. And you already know this.
Think about the last time you had a patient come in, and they were just ready to rock. It was probably someone who was referred by a happy patient.
They were excited, they were confident, and they were ready to book.
And you might think, “Well, it’s because their friend told them all about the procedure already, so they just didn’t have many questions.”
And sure that’s part of it. But information from their friend wasn’t the solution. It was the bridge to the solution.
And by solution, what I mean is… that patient got wayyyy further down the path of the Psychological Patient Journey before they ever even set foot in your office.
They already had clarity around the problem you solve. They already had a belief that you were legit. They already had the identity of someone who is the type of person to have vision correction.
“Sally did this and loves it and said it was no big deal. I’ve known Sally for 10 years. We’re besties. If she’s the kind of person who can do this, then that means I’m the kind of person who can do this too.”
People don’t literally say this ☝️. But it’s an example of the subconscious commentarythat’s happening in the patients’ head, which quickly moves them down the path of the Psychological Patient Journey.
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On the flip side, you have people who come in…
They are great candidates for treatment, they have the cash to pay, it should be a no-brainer decision for them…
But they are unsure. Uncertain.
Even though you’ve taken this person through the Physical Patient Journey, they are stalled out on the Psychological Patient Journey.
A patient has to mentally sign on the dotted line first. Then their actions (booking a procedure) can follow.
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We don’t have time or space to go too much deeper on this, but here’s a question to ask yourself:
“How can I accelerate the Psychological Patient Journey?”
What resources, content, scripts, visuals, experiences can I implement to shift the mindset of my prospective patients so they are more ready to do what they need to do?
Robert Cialdini wrote an epic book on this called “Presuasion.” The main premise: “What actions we can do beforehand to make the ideal outcome more likely to occur?”
This could be in the form of educational videos, brochures, blogs, testimonials, patient reviews, word tracks, homework for patients, self-tests, pricing calculators, outcome simulators, etc.
And it’s not only what but when. When in the Physical Patient Journey do you implement these pieces?
After the first phone call, 24 hours before the consultation, during the consultation in the office, as a take-home from the consult, prior to treatment, or even 30 days post-op when you want the patient to continue referring friends and family to you.
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Going into a new year is a great time to audit your Patient Journey – both paths.
A few questions to ask yourself:
- What touch points are weak?
- Where are the gaps?
- Where is the patient losing momentum?
- Where could you be more impactful?
- What emotional and psychological needs of the patient aren’t being met?
Answer those questions, figure out the what and the when, and then implement the appropriate content or scripts or plays from your playbook.
Even the top-tier, world-class, customer service-focused practices have opportunities to fortify the Patient Journey.
And when you do this, a couple of amazing things happen:
- Conversions go up = You book more treatments from the leads you are already getting.
- You create a better patient experience vs. anyone else in the market = You can command a premium price for your procedures.
Audit your patient journey. Plug the gaps. Profit.
Happy Hump Day,
Troy
PS – You might have read all that and think, “I totally know we need to do this, but it’s a long and intensive process.”
Agree. It’s not easy. Which is why most practices don’t do it. And it’s why practices have sub-par Patient Journeys. And it shows in their numbers.
(Even if you get great results for your patients… if you have a weak journey, many prospective patients will never even get to the “promised land” of life-after-treatment with you.)
No fault of yours. You have 1,000 things going on. It’s hard to find the time to do this.
But I’m curious: Would you like someone else to audit your patient journey? A team of marketing and sales pros to Identify/Build/Implement the content and experiences that transform your Patient Journey from an overgrown hiking trail to a Yellow Brick Road?
NOTE: This is not a service we currently offer. (We’ve worked with many practices on this very thing over the years, but it’s not something we’re doing right now).
But if you want help on this, I want to figure out a way to get you that help.
So if you’d like to start 2021 on the right foot – with a freshly paved Patient Journey for your patients – book a quick call and we can see what makes sense for you.