A trip to the doctor is a very personal experience for most people. Whether they have fears, insecurities or just plain strange stuff going on, each situation is personal to the patient.
Therefore, the way in which your patients relate to you is really important. You may not have gone through training to be a dentist or an optometrist because you want to please people, but it’s actually a vital part to your professional success. People liking you matters.
Why People Choose Your Practice
Many patients don’t always understand the differences between your type of X-ray machine and the guy down the street. They may not understand your amazing fee structure that is different from others and saves patients lots of money. And, most won’t understand all of the differences in license and training (although having special training and licensing is obviously important to them on some level).
What separates you out from the others is the unique personality of you and your team, which means that your patients find some connection with you because of your personality.
Going to the Doctor Is Not Fun
If you had to rank the top things people hate to do, going to the dentist or the eye doctor is usually ranked pretty high on that list. Most people don’t jump for joy to go to the doctor, which is why most practices go out of their way to make a positive experience for patients.
Video games, beautiful artwork, rewards at the end of the visit and coffee bars are just a few bribes we regularly see around private practices to help make a visit to their office a little more fun.
Earn Trust
Likability can be won with the bribes we just mentioned or other similar ideas. However, it can also be won by simply earning patients’ trust. Let them know that your office is a safe place where they can share the self-conscious medical topic with you without fear or judgment or blame. Assure them that they can ask questions without worry and they can share their ideas with constructive support.
The more you build an environment of trust, the most loyal your patients will be.
You don’t have to wear a clown costume or dress up like Justin Bieber to be liked. Being likable looks different for everyone, but it is a huge factor as to why people choose to come see you over so many others in your area. Focus on building a culture that people like and you’ll see your patient loyalty increase significantly!