People choose one hospital or doctor over another based on how they are treated as human beings than any other parameter
Let me give you a secret for marketing of services. It is more about the experience and emotion than it is about the product and its features. Contrary to what I just said, many hospitals and doctors in India believe the reverse to be true. I constantly run into hospital promoters and doctors who brag about the latest equipment they have acquired and its features. They want to ‘differentiate’ their offering based on the tangible assets that they have. Seldom does anyone talk about the excellence in customer experience management.
Why does an airline seldom flaunt its aircraft? Kingfisher raves about finest experience in Indian skies. MacDonald highlights the fun and family and not about the ingredients of the Big Mac burger. A premium resort in Goa will focus on the great time you will have there!
The irony is reflected in a recent survey conducted in the US. The survey suggests that people choose one hospital or doctor over another based on how they are treated as human beings than any other parameter. In other words, the most important consideration for a patient to visit a hospital is the experience that he will get as a ‘person’.
Some initiatives have already been taken to stop treating the patient as an outer wrapping of a disease. He is now turning into a customer who has expectations from the service provider. He is evaluating the hospital in his head all the time. He now has options. If his expectations are not met, he may go elsewhere and never come back again.
When we talk of delight, we talk of going a step ahead of customer’s expectations. For example, the customer may expect the receptionist to be soft-spoken, efficient and well-informed. Meeting all these expectations will result inasatisfied customer. However, to create customer delight, you will not only have to meet all the expectations, but also will have to provide at least one additional pleasant surprise.
Providing delight is a complex issue. Here are some of the intricacies you can master:
If it does not deliver this basic requirement, the customer goes home with a bitter memory and may not recommend the credit card company to his friends.