serve first
move forward
improve lives
BECOMING CONSUMER-CENTRIC they do not necessarily make things
80% of patients say they’d switch
easier for themselves. For example,
healthcare providers for convenience
if a company wanted to remove
factors alone (NRC Health, 2019)
complexity for a customer, they might have to introduce more complexity
James Nick
for their internal workflow.
Chief Revenue Officer
Emotionally-engaged consumers spend up to 2X on brands to which they are loyal (Capgemini, 2017)
This is part of the concept of
To learn more about this, we engaged
If I were to ask you to think of some
consumerism that we have talked about
companies that have exceeded your
extensively… seeing everything from
expectations, which ones come to
the viewpoint of the customer. These
mind? For me it would be the likes of
companies that have harnessed the
Amazon, Uber, and Netflix. Each of these
concept of consumerism to grow, have
companies has seen phenomenal growth
now conditioned all of us to expect easy,
over the last several years, but even
on-demand, and services tailored to each
more importantly, they have changed
individual. This means we all need to step
the marketplace and expectations for all
up our game, because healthcare is no
of us. And, more than anything else, the
longer immune from this expectation.
the findings at the end of 2019, I wanted
Due to this new world, DCA has set
came from patients (see graphic below).
one thing they all share in common is a steadfast and intense focus on you (the consumer). They know things about you from your previous interactions with them and they use that to their advantage. They also use that to design the experience they give you… that is, they design it around you. They put the consumer in the middle of everything they do.
out on a journey to become truly consumer-centric. We deliberately think of prospective patients as consumers. Consumers have choice, and they have information. This is what the proliferation of Google reviews and WebMD (in our industry) and Amazon, Uber, and Netflix (in the broader market) have created.
A key distinction in this is that they
Consider the following statistics:
make it easier for their customers,
with a market research firm (WD Partners) to conduct some research on our behalf. Our goal in this initiative was to determine what consumers were looking for in dental offices, and help structure and position our brands to meet those goals. While we are nearing the end of the initiative and look forward to receiving to share with you some early themes that
The sentiments may not be a surprise to you, but the intensity behind these themes was compelling. As the initial phase of this important work comes to a close, we look forward to sharing more information and enhancing the consumercentric experience within all of our offices to exceed expectations and keep patients coming back.
PRESSURE-FREE
W O R R Y- F R E E
1
Explicit and implicit communications helped calm concerns and remove unwanted surprises.
5
Consultation involving questions, active listening, and education reinforced customers as more than “just a number.”
2
Providing pricing transparency was pivotal in cementing long-term relationships, however, extremely rare.
6
Friendly conversation and nonverbal cues like smiles and handshakes went far to establish rapport. PA I N - F R E E
HASSLE-FREE
3
Maintaining an efficient schedule with little to no wait was a quick way to consumers’ hearts.
7
At a bare minimum, consumers looked to care providers to deliver empathy and respect their position of vulnerability.
4
Pacing appointments to eliminate any sense of “rushing” built confidence in quality of care.
8
While total pain avoidance was ideal, consumers were delighted by simple comfort measures and coaching.
8
