BUSINESS

  SCRIPTOPEDIA

MAKE A POSITIVE IMPRESSION

TO KEEP CONSUMERS COMING BACK, FOLLOW THESE TIPS

MARK HINTON

A RETURNING CONSUMER is worth much more than a one-and-done one at a practice. How can you create returning consumers?

1 SMILE

Both anecdotal evidence and several studies reveal that smiling at a consumer can cause him or her to have a positive attitude toward the “smiler” and the organization the “smiler” is a part of, as well as an increased willingness to buy from and recommend the organization.

And consider this: A recent study reveals that “a smile and a friendly ‘hello’” are the most common reasons consumers feel loyal toward small businesses, according to “Lost Art of Loyalty,” a report commissioned by Barclays in partnership with the Kingston University Small Business Research Centre.

Action step: Have you and your team practice “service with a smile.”

2 USE PREFERRED NAME

Dale Carnegie, American writer, lecturer and creator of courses on interpersonal skills and sales, wrote in the famous “How to Make Friends and Influence People” that, “a person’s name, to him or her, is the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

By asking about and using your patients’ preferred name, you make them “feel” you sincerely care and are concerned for them. You’ve connected with them on a personal level.

In addition, using your patient’s preferred name prevents him or her from losing interest in the conversation because your engagement is mutual.

Action step: Have you and your team ask consumers what they prefer to be called, and make a point of using this preferred name whenever you ask a question or make a statement: “Beth, my friends call me Katie; I’m going to make your eyewear experience wonderful!”

3 INQUIRE ABOUT NEEDS

Consumers want to be viewed as individuals who have specific needs and preferences, not as a collective. So, show them you want to meet their desires. Doing so shows you and your team genuinely care, which makes consumers value your practice and, therefore, want to return.

Action step: Have you and your team inquire about the consumer’s work and lifestyle, and use the information you glean to provide treatments and products from which he or she can benefit. And, of course, detail these benefits to the consumer.

ADDING IT UP

Work together as a team to identify every patient touchpoint, and refine them to be extraordinary instead of ordinary. Consumers do business with people they like and trust.

Many O.D.s spend more time complaining about patient behavior than investing in practicing behaviors that would eliminate unwanted behavior.

You have the ability to move your team from ordinary to extraordinary and relationships with patients from typical transactional to transformational.

Meet with your departments, and imagine the responses each of you would prefer, if you were your patients. You must walk a mile in their shoes. OM

MR. HINTON is CEO and president of eYeFacilitate. Email him at mark@eyefacilitate.com, or to comment on this article, visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment.