Click here to subscribeTechnology CAN be an entrepreneurial physician's best friend
Philippa Kennealy
in The entrepreneurial medical practice
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I received an email today from a company from which I had purchased some prior products.
What struck me about this email was how simple the technology is behind it and how easy it would be to implement in a busy and streamlined medical practice.
This is what it said (with some bolding of what caught my attention, and adjustments so as not to bore you with my personal details!):
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"Philippa,
We note that your supply of X purchased at Company Y may be running low. Since we have not heard back from you, we are sending you a reminder that will facilitate the re-ordering process.
There are three actions you can take:
1) Reply to this email with the quantity you would like to reorder or click the link below to go to the web site to complete the order.
"link inserted here"
2) Ignore this email--Your order will not be refilled and you will not receive any more reminders.
3) Click the following link to schedule another reminder later:
"link inserted here"
If you are ready to order again, simply reply with the number you would like to reorder where you see the "____" . We will process your order within two business days.
From Last Order:
____ Item I ordered
The order will be charged to the same credit card and sent to the same address as your last order. Please note $5.95 for Standard Shipping will be added to your order, as well as California sales tax if you live in California. There are no other fees. Current pricing is guaranteed until the end of the business day. Although rare, if there is a price increase we will notify you before placing your order.
We pride ourselves on offering the lowest prices while offering excellent service. Please feel free to email us or call us at 800-zzz-zzzz if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. We know you have many choices for buying supplements. We thank you for choosing Company Y.
Best wishes,
Company Y Team"
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This is how I experienced the email:
- They cared enough about retaining my business to send a reminder
- They did everything they could to make my next action step as easy as possible
- They offered me three simple "next step" options
- They did not pressure me, but placed the choice in my hands instead
- They made the transaction terms very clear to me
Now, let's imagine you have a medical practice that is willing to take advantage of current, simple technologies and you need to remind your patients to follow up or take certain actions.
If you could easily send out an email, here is what it might say:
"Philippa,
We noted that it is time to reschedule your follow up visit/annual check-up with Dr. A. We are sending you a reminder that will facilitate your follow-up appointment process.
There are three actions you can take:
1) Respond to this email with the appointment days and times that work best for you in the next two weeks. We will either schedule your visit by email, and reply to your email with the date and time, or you can click the link below to go to the web site to schedule your appointment yourself (the link below would go to your on-line appointment scheduler).
"link inserted here"
2) Ignore this email -- Your appointment will not be rescheduled now, and you will receive an automatic reminder in one month.
3) Click the following link to schedule another reminder at a later date:
"insert link here"
If you are ready to schedule by email, simply reply with the best dates and times for you, where you see the "____" . We will schedule your appointment and get back to you in one business day.
In order to come well-prepared for your next appointment, please be sure to bring: (of course, I am inventing this for illustration purposes)
We pride ourselves offering excellent care and service. Please feel free to email us or call us at xxx-yyy-zzzz if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. We know you have many choices for your medical care. We thank you for choosing Dr. A.
Best wishes,
Dr A's office Team"
This kind of email communication is easily automated with an autoresponder such as the one I use, aWeber, or other such technologies. It may require some minor tweaking to your website, and would be greatly enhanced by your use of an online appointment scheduling software.
Anyone using technology to provide this level of patient-focused service? If so, I'd love to hear about it.
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