Guest post by Cuinn Merrigan, COO at FastTrack Marketing
As Jerry Maguire said: “Help Me, Help You!”
When your practice invests in promoting key services, it is the refractive coordinator who turns these campaigns into successful patient interactions. It does not matter how many patients you bring into your practice if they don’t understand why they would book out-of-pocket surgeries. There are many tools you can employ to help the refractive coordinator show patients the benefits of these elective surgeries.
Customer Relationship Management Software:
One of the biggest problems for refractive coordinators is managing potential patients. It is easy to make the initial follow up, but more often than not these patients fall out of sight within two weeks. Studies show it takes an average of eight touches before a prospective patient is motivated to take action. Customer relationship management (CRM) software can help refractive coordinators schedule follow ups and manage their weekly calendars. Software like this will ensure that no patient falls out of site of the practice. If you are not willing to invest in a CRM, there are a few that will get the job done for free.
Educational Materials:
Educational materials can greatly affect the patient conversion within the consultation. It is much easier to speak with a LASIK candidate if they already have a base knowledge of the procedure, and what differentiates the practice. Make sure your website is up to speed and accurate. Online educational videos do a great job of prepping patients for surgical consultations, helping ease the conversation so they come in with questions prepared for the refractive coordinator. This will enable the refractive coordinator to find out the patient’s objections quickly and motivate them to make an informed decision.
Consultation Area:
An area that is often overlooked in a practice is where the actual consultation is conducted. LASIK is an elective surgery, meaning these patients must understand why they should choose your practice. A key component is how the patient perceives the office on the first visit. The consultation area should be a warm, inviting area in a quiet place. This is also a great place to use promotional and educational videos. Take advantage of time spent waiting by using idle screens to play videos that can alleviate fears and answer remaining questions the patients may have. Another nice touch is to offer refreshments when the patient arrives, giving them the feeling of “being pampered.” This will trigger subconscious thoughts and expectations of the whole surgery process. Once that perception is set, the prospect will be much more willing to openly discuss the barriers and objections to having surgery, giving the refractive coordinator the opportunity to position the practice as the only option for LASIK.
The refractive coordinator can be one of the practice’s main sources of positive patient interactions, if they’re given the necessary tools to succeed. Given these tools, your refractive coordinator can help patients understand why they should schedule an elective surgery, therefore increasing the number of completed surgeries at your practice.