What does “patient engagement” really mean?
It’s easy to use catch phrases to define strategies but what actions are you taking? When you talk about implementing patient engagement tools, what are you doing?
The greatest challenge we face in this industry is the reality we provide the most important piece of technology a human being needs, yet it is the one piece of technology nobody wants to buy.

“Hey honey, guess what? I got a bonus at work. I can’t wait to spend this money on a new hearing aid.” ….said by no one…. ever.

The fact that it takes about 7 years for someone to finally figure out that hearing , well , is kinda a big deal and that getting someone in your door is not exactly easy or cheap, you better be ready to engage them and give them a wow experience once they are there. If your front office staff isn’t rocking that greeting , if you do not have a patient engagement program in place, in the waiting room, you are missing HUGE opportunities to fit more hearing aids, create stronger customer relationships and develop a customer fan base that becomes a powerful word-of-mouth marketing tool for your practice.

Here are two simple tips to get you started creating a remarkable point-of-care patient engagement program.

1.Create an emotional connection

Emotional anchors are triggers -sounds, images, smells – that take us back to a place in our head- like mental sticky notes. Triggers can take us back to wonderful places. They can also take us back to
not-so-good places. Emotional anchors are powerful. Your waiting room is one big ass emotional trigger for your patients and their family. How it feels, how much light comes in, how the furniture is laid out, the attitude of the front office staff, the visuals – these all create emotional triggers. Engaging your customers in that space can be the beginning of a lasting relationship or it can result in an expensive lead, leaving after that first appointment, with no intent to return.

2. Deliver dynamic content

We all know the power of keeping a customer’s mind occupied or entertained while they wait. They loose track of time and the waiting process becomes painless. That’s all good. However, that does not mean throwing a TV up on the wall and playing The View, HGTV or any other daytime program is a good idea. Instead of numbing your patient’s mind or even worse, adding to their stress with messaging you cannot control (BTW- your competitors might be advertising on TV. Wouldn’t that be great having your patients watching your competitor’s ad while sitting in your waiting room – NOT!) present dynamic, professionally developed customized hearing health content on that screen. Having your patients as a captive audience if even for a few minutes, is an opportunity to educate them and showcase your expertise and products. So take full advantage of this time and get yourself a digital point-of-care content delivery system for your waiting room.

Need help? No sweat, we are available to provide guidance.