The Patient Centric Approach

Written by LiveLink
May 13th 2023

What is a patient centric approach?

You will often hear me speak about wowing or delighting your patients and clients.  Having a patient-centric approach sounds obvious doesn’t it.  Doesn’t everyone do that?

The importance of a customer-centric approach cannot be overstated. As a small business owner, prioritising your patients and clients should be at the forefront of your business strategy.

Ideally, you should have a documented patient or client journey that can be tweaked and improved.

For all small business this is very important when we are competing in an ever growing pool of other small business.  And you need to stand out and be different from all the rest.

The advantage of being a small business is that we’re flexible and agile.  Unlike corporates that have layer upon layer of bureaucracy, we as small businesses can turn on a sixpence.  And that gives us a competitive advantage.

Here are five reasons why a customer-centric approach is crucial for small businesses and you WILL WOW your patients.

1. Patient Retention: I realise this can be a tricky one for therapists as your goal is to make people better. By building strong relationships with your patients it will have them shouting about you from the roof tops and bringing in more patients through your door.
2. By keeping in touch with your patients, they will be open to buying from you when you offer them new services and products.  Cross-selling and upselling. Because they trust you as you already have an existing relationship with them.
3. As a small business, you can build a strong brand identify providng a personalised experience.  That will give you a competitive advantage.
4. Listening to your patients and clients feedback can help you to improve your services.  We all have to take ‘constructive criticism’ on the chin.  And yes, there are occasions when it’s unhelpful or our ego can get in the way.  But by understanding their needs, your service can be improved and that leads to loyalty and a great reputation too.
5. And I’ll finish by stating the obvious, happy customers are more likely to leave positive reviews and recommend your business to others, which can improve your online presence and attract new customers.

Next time, I’ll write about the patient and client journey.  How to document it so that each person you see receives exactly the same amazing service as your last patient or your next one.