Blog Post By: Ian J. Jennings, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Baer Performance Marketing
Medical practices must focus on customer experience management (CEM) to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Medical or dental care is rooted in hard science, which is great, but it doesn’t lend itself to differentiation. And with small medical and dental practices thriving in many cities across the United States, differentiation is the only path to sustained growth.
CEM is a new phrase describing an old practice. At its core, CEM is the process of shaping a customer’s journey from the moment they realize they need a product or service through actual purchase. Even after purchase, the customer may need the product or service again, making loyalty and outreach programs vital to overall experience.
Steve Jobs did this at Apple. He believed companies should start with the experience they want their customers to have and work back toward the technology. By defining exactly how customers should experience a company, product or service when they need or use it, companies can shape these things for maximum effect.
For example, a Pediatrist would have to consider the journey of the mother or father who will be accompanying their child to his or her appointment. The parents do the research, pick the medical practice, make the appointment and so on. The experience they have when doing these things will determine which practice they choose and how long they will continue to return. Making this journey as enjoyable as possible is key. From the process of making an appointment to the waiting room wall paper, everything the parents experience will determine their feelings toward the practice, and ultimately, their value as a paying customer.
Bernd H. Schmitt in his book “Customer Experience Management: A revolutionary approach to connecting with your customers,” lays out the five steps of the CEM Framework:
- Analyzing the experience world of the customer – Define how the customer should interpret (experience) every aspect of your business.
- Building the experiential platform – The experiential platform is a distinct, multidimensional tool to interface with a business’s clients. Facebook is an experiential platform—websites too. Every aspect of these platforms must be optimized to add value to the customer. And each should integrate into a strategy encompassing the whole.
- Designing the brand experience – The brand will integrate all experiential goals for optimal CEM and be a touchstone for future innovation.
- Structuring the customer interface – Any time a customer has contact with a company it’s called an interface. Ensuring every customer interface enriches the overall customer experience is vital to success.
- Engaging in continuous innovation – Once a customer has been acquired, they should be treated as an asset. Where many businesses see customers as resources to be consumed and discarded, taking an asset-based approach will ensure a long-lasting relationship where both parties receive maximum value.
If these concepts seem to imply daunting tasks ahead, you’re not wrong. Designing the customer experience is a complicated and time-consuming process. But ultimately, it’s a process that will define whether your practice thrives or dies.
If you have any questions on how to differentiate your medical practice from your competitors, please leave them in the comment section below or privately reach out to the Baer Performance Marketing team here.
