Clinic crossroads

Danny Large looks at how the patient journey has changed and why we mustn’t forget the old ways

When I first started in aesthetics 15 years ago, the technology linked to the patient journey had just started taking off, with websites like consultingroom.com leading the way as a registry site for aesthetic clinics and a resource for the consumer to learn about the treatments involved in the sector.

Since then, a multitude of websites and software has popped up to give the prospective consumer not only the information they need, but also the ease to book an appointment. Led by mobile technology, this has been fantastic for growth in our industry, making it more mainstream and attracting attention (sometimes good, sometimes bad).

However, I worry that, as booking has been made simpler, the basics of patient care and relationship building are getting sidelined. I listened to an excellent presentation by Dr Kamran Amjed, where he talked about the consultation process and how he not only verifies his credentials, but also builds his relationship with the patient. He also tracks the conversion rate to highlight how well his consultations go, making his style of consultation the clinic standard, discussing his process with his staff, and highlighting areas where they may be missing a trick. This has led to a big increase in conversion from the consultation to booking.

MISSING A TRICK

How many of us working in the industry do this? How many clinics have a standard way to build the relationship between the patient and practitioner? You may say to yourself, ‘Yes we do all this,’ but do you tick all the boxes to hit the magic conversion rate you’re looking for?

In the olden days, when people used the phone to speak to people and book appointments, the patient’s first point of contact was a verbal conversation with the receptionist, where they became the face and voice of your business. As things have changed, with more online booking and enquiries, the receptionist role has shifted. What is the process now? Do you email the enquiry or phone them? Is the first time you speak to them when they first walk into the clinic?

I would hope that the answers to the last two questions are respectively ‘phone’ and ‘no’.

BUILD THE BOND

However the patient has booked in or contacted you, it is still important to build that bond and the best way to do this is conversation. As I have said to many people previously and written in past articles, people buy from people. It’s very reassuring to speak to a person rather than being told what is going to happen by text. I have no problems whatsoever if people send a follow up message after the phone call, but the first contact where possible should be person-to-person. In fact, the post-phone call message will reaffirm what was discussed with the patient and again start to build that relationship. When this happens to me outside of the industry, I always think,“Okay, that person listened to me, and they want me to be happy in what I’m doing”.

I had my own experience of this when I went to Medizen Clinic in Sutton Coldfield to have some troublesome moles removed. I was phoned once going over the treatment, then received an email confirming my appointment, and then a follow-up call making sure that everything was okay and checking if anything had changed since I booked the appointment.

THE PERFECT MODEL

This is a perfect model of how you can use technology and the human touch to create a hybrid of the two forms of contact. The phone call part of the process frames the session for the patient. Where can they park? What are they expecting from the treatment? Do they know how to access the clinic? Who are they seeing?

Time is always short, but I think that a process review of your patient journey is worth doing once a quarter. Even if it’s just 15 minutes with the team, going over how you do things, how they think things can be improved and if you are missing a trick. Look at patient feedback, which you should receive from as many patients as possible, to see if there is an area where you are not quite making the grade.

No doubt, in the coming years, technology will improve even more, especially with the increasing of AI, but people buy from people and will continue to do so. A lot of the things I have covered in this article are very simple but simple solutions often make the biggest difference in improving a business.

DANNY LARGE

Danny Large has been in the aesthetic industry for over 15 years, setting up DSL Consulting nearly 10 years ago. Since starting DSL, Large has been involved in the development of the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses Conference and re-launch of Aesthetic Medicine London. He has also helped to create Wigmore Presents, Success in Aesthetic Business and most recently Regenerative Aesthetic Medicine Conference and Exhibition (RAMCE). Large has offered business and training support to companies such as Wigmore Medical, InMode, DermaFocus, Church Pharmacy and Dermalux. He is respected in the industry, having hosted, and spoken on, stages at many conferences.