Everyone should be doing everything to keep the customer.
There are a few rules to running a successful business:
1. Keep the customer.
2. Get the customer to make more purchases.
3. Get the customer to refer more custom.
All of these can only be achieved by satisfying the customer, meeting their needs and expectations, and then far exceeding any expectations they had.
I discussed before the importance of solving the problem for the customer, how to structure a report of findings, a new patient, and a nurture process to keep them engaged.
But if you are to thrive, you need to wow the customer so much that they decided to purchase again and again. In a chiropractic setting this is known as ‘retention’ and a ‘lifetime patient’. How do you figure this out? It is your PVA or the lifetime value of a customer. Essentially what is the average amount of visits each customer has and what is the average amount spent by each customer.
By nature, if they continue to purchase then you are doing a great job of keeping them. The next step to really grow a practice is to encourage patients to refer other patients in. People will only do this if they have had a WOW experience. A bad experience and they will tell everyone, a good experience and they will tell no one. It needs to be a wow, time in and time out, for them to start to tell others.
And why is this so important? Because the growth of your practice depends on it, and in a recession, the survival of your practice depends on it. The livelihoods of your team depend on it. Be clear, every member of your team needs to know this. They need to appreciate that in tough economic times, people become choosier, they make tougher decisions, they will choose where to and where not to spend their money. We must wow them enough that they continue to do business with us.
And here is your unique opportunity to thrive.
Have you seen the price of luxury cars recently? Maybe you’re not as obsessed as I am, but over the last few years the price of a Ferrari or Lamborghini has almost doubled, a car that would have cost £130,000 now costs £210,000. If you’ve been to a 5 star hotel recently, they are fully booked.
What does all this mean? It is at times like this that high end luxury and service thrives! It is not the time to pull back. It is the time to step up and serve greater, invest in you and your practice.
Don’t be mistaken, it is not the time to make huge profit, it is the time to lay the foundation. To create a strong team, solid systems and exceptional customer service. Serving each individual to the highest possible standard, from the phone call to the welcome, to the adjustment and the goodbye. Everything needs to be exceptional.
Get this right and on the other side, great prosperity awaits you.
If you are struggling to see how you can improve, here are the three areas to think about.
1. Visual
2. Auditory
3. Kinaesthetic
Everyone sees the world by sight, sound and touch. Inspect your practice, is everything a patient may see, hear or touch, of the highest standard. Is your practice spotless, uncluttered and welcoming.
I would suggest doing a walk-through of your practice with your team with these three areas in mind. Ask each team member as well as yourself to think how you can improve? The immediately go to work and empower everyone in your team to do all they can for the most important objective of all; keep the customer.
See how you get on, see what you can improve, and see your practice grow.
With love,
Tom