Hoarders You Are Not, Brand Champions You Are

Remember that patient communications inventory? How is it coming? Do you have some pieces sitting on a table or are you still waiting to start? If you gathered a copy of all of your patient communications, you are ready to move on to the next step. If you are still completing your inventory, we totally understand. There are a lot of patient communications in a practice today – more you than you probably even realized! Just keep compiling those patient communications. The inventory doesn’t need to be complete to benefit from the next steps.

As you look at the communications you have gathered, what is the first impression that comes into your mind? For some of you it may be ‘old,’ ‘outdated,’ ‘inconsistent.’ For others it may be ‘not bad,’ ‘more than I thought,’ ‘sharp,’ ‘clean look.’ This first impression is likely the same impression your patients will have, so you want to make sure you are giving a great first impression.

For your own sanity, if you haven’t looked at or touched some of the communications in more than a year, it may be time to toss them. This is no time for hoarding.

More importantly, if you take away nothing else from this post, remember your BRAND is the most important piece of information to include on every piece of patient communication. Your emails, your forms, your letters, brochures, appointment reminders, statements, books, etc. So at a minimum you should have your practice name, logo, colors and important contact information on every patient communication.

Remember your brand is more than a color or a logo – it’s a promise to your patients. It represents the highest-quality services you provide. Your brand helps you maintain a consistent, professional image with your patients. Your patients will begin to recognize your brand image as uniquely yours. And this is the first important step in making a good first impression – keeping your practice in the forefront of their minds all year long.

Check in again next week for more ways to improve your patient communications.