Commercial Management Of Patients In a Modern Hearing Healthcare Practice

What’s in the bag? Business of Software 2010 (Photo credit: betsyweber)

The future profitability and growth of your hearing healthcare practice is already in your hands. On-going success in your business is all about the information that you actually hold. Your business can  thrive from the careful tending of your existing Patient base. But in order for this to occur you need the information, the skinny, the Intel. Having the information is good, what is more important is being able to use and deploy across your organization. Your business needs  A CRM or Customer Relationship Manager software programme to really excel.

Why do you need this type of software, because it delivers power to you and your business. It gives you the power to

• run your practice in the most efficient way
• to deploy commercial strategies with the minimum of fuss
• run your Patient journey programme in an automated way

Your existing Patients are your best form of marketing, I think that this is a universally accepted truism. You can not effectively leverage them without a system to do so. You can not effectively run mail merge campaigns without a system. This type of software allows you to effectively run your Practice with ease.

The benefits of running a fully functional CRM include

• Targeted Mail Merge Campaigns
• Automated mailings
• Integrated reminder
• Automated Patient Journey
• The easy and visible storage of all the data needed to effectively engage your Patients
• Easy reporting
• Easier financial transparency

All of the many software systems will allow you set up filtered searches that you can save. With this type of functionality you can set up ever-changing mailing lists based on differing parameters. The joy of running a database search for Patients not seen in the last six months. Getting a list and being able to instantly mail merge with a pre typed template call back letter can not be over stated.

So what type of searches could be set up,

Consultation No Sale between four and five weeks ago, this filter allows you to mail a follow-up letter to non purchasers. What you say in the letter is, thanks for coming in, sorry we could not do business, if you ever have any questions or would like something explained, don’t hesitate to call. Okay, you pad the letter out a bit but that is the gist.

Consultation No Sale between twelve and thirteen months ago, this filter allows you to mail a follow up letter to non purchasers. The basis of this letter is how are you, with us a year ago, why not come in for an annual check? Again, pad the letter out.

These two letters give you a second bite at the cherry, they are also non threatening and both offer something of value to the prospect. In the first you offered your time and expertise anytime. In the second you offered them an annual follow-up test. How many will you convert? I don’t know but more than you would have sitting in your office waiting for them to come back.

Other filter searches could include a search that automates your patient journey. So that would be purchaser seen between six and seven months ago. That filter is for use with a six monthly recall. Just adjust it to reflect whatever your recall period is. A search for somebody who purchased between 54 and 55 months ago. The letter for that one talks about your latest offer or the latest technology, why not come by and give them a test drive?

In this way you can continually engage and leverage your existing Patients. A strategy like this will allow you to harmonise your cash flow to a certain extent. This type of engagement will not just lead to return sales but also lead to referral sales. This type of system will also allow you to see your KPIs, if you are serious about your business you need that data to hand.

So you set up the search terms once, save them and they will be there to run in the background day after day. So first week of the new month, you get a list for six monthly call backs. Your receptionist undertakes the mail merge and over that week your diary is booked. Second week of the month, Test No Sales 12 months list and so on ad infinitum.

Its simple, CRM software gives you instant access to the information, information is power, the power to organize and run your clinical and commercial strategies in an easy and efficient way. It just does not get any better than that!

Regards

Geoff