The Value of Personal Relationships
In her MGMA Insight Article dated October 1, 2017, entitled “It's personal: Marketing to build your practice in the digital age” Andrea Eliscu BS, RN wrote:
When the topic of medical marketing comes up, most physician practices think websites, social media, advertising, brochures and billboards. These can play an important role in building and sustaining your practice, especially if personalized to reflect your unique brand. However, as technical advances sometimes make healthcare seem impersonal and in a constant state of flux, your most important marketing tools are the personal relationships you develop — with your patients, your referral sources and your own staff.
Despite our increased “connections” thanks to patient portals, EHRs and mobile devices, people feel more disconnected than ever before. Patients are becoming more empowered, and physicians want to control their own destinies. It’s time to bring things back to a personal level.
Return to relationships
Much like being a good doctor, developing relationships to support your practice is an art and a science. It requires the right mix of creativity and thoughtfulness combined with disciplined tracking, reporting and action. It means examining the touchpoints you have with each of your core stakeholders — patients, referral sources and staff — and looking for ways to improve upon the experience they have with your practice.
While their individual needs may be different, they all have choices. If you don’t fulfill their expectations, they will move on to find someone who will. And if an experience is especially negative, unhappy stakeholders are also likely to share their opinions not only within their own circles, but also on social media and online review sites, doing further damage to your practice.
On the flip side, positive experiences, especially if unexpected or unique, also can create favorable sharing within a community, cultivating advocates and ambassadors who organically grow your practice.
The keys to cultivating enduring relationships are basically the same whether personal or professional:
Connection
Communication
Trust and loyalty
Commitment