3 Simple Ways to Improve Net Promoter Score
Ask any marketer if they’ve heard of the term “net promoter score” before, and they’ll probably say yes. However, the healthcare industry may not be familiar. Simply put, net promoter score (or NPS) refers to how likely a customer is to recommend your organization, product, or service to their network. NPS in healthcare refers specifically to how likely patients are to recommend you as a provider to their peers.
Net promoter score has traditionally been associated with industries like retail, food service, and hospitality. However, healthcare organizations are beginning to pay close attention to it. It makes sense — in addition to providing insight into your patient experience, you can use your NPS to help you forecast growth. After all, having a high NPS frequently translates to attracting new patients and increasing revenue.
Wondering how you can improve the net promoter score at your organization? Read on for three simple yet actionable ideas.
Boosting NPS in Healthcare
1. Provide a pleasant environment
Healthcare facilities tend to be drab. Picture harsh fluorescent lights, bare walls, and nothing to do but stare at your phone while you wait. Combine that with the anxiety many patients already feel, and it can make for a pretty negative experience. While staying in a healthcare facility isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, a little sprucing up can go a long way. And don’t worry — you don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a remodel to make it happen.
Playing some soothing background music in your waiting room, for example, can help people feel at ease at very little cost. You might also consider offering beverages. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. A coffee/tea dispenser and water pitcher (perhaps infused with some cucumber slices) are plenty sufficient. You could even lay out a small selection of packaged snacks, like pretzels and granola bars.
If you want to get decorative, you can try adding some plants, pieces of artwork, or a small tabletop fountain. Oh, and don’t forget something to keep patients entertained — a selection of different magazines and newspapers is always nice. If you want to go all out, you can repaint, buy new furniture, or reinstall new lighting, but that’s not required.
So many healthcare facilities have a sterile, utilitarian feel that even small touches will stand out to patients. If you can manage to make your environment calming and enjoyable, patients will be significantly more likely to recommend you to others.
2. Prioritize efficiency
Another great way to increase your NPS is by operating more efficiently. Many patients feel that a doctor’s visit (or hospital, physical therapist, imaging center, etc.) is a tedious process. With inconveniences like stacks of paperwork to fill out and long wait times, who can blame them? Streamline your processes to eliminate some of these common frustrations, and your patients will thank you.
Take wait time, for one. Long waits are among patients’ most common complaints. Research has even shown that they have driven one in five patients to switch providers. Although wait time isn’t always within your control, it’s frequently the result of poor patient flow. A patient appointment reminder tool helps ensure that patients move through each stage of care, from check-in to check-out, as efficiently as possible. This, in turn, allows you to stick to your optimal schedule and reduce wait time for patients across the board.
You’ll also want to keep convenience in mind for your patients. Anything you can do to reduce the time and effort patients put into seeking care will help you stand out from your competitors. Most people would rather schedule an appointment online, for example, than play phone tag with your administrative staff. Similarly, you should communicate in whichever way works best for your patients. Sending appointment reminders and patient surveys via text is typically less cumbersome for patients than having to field calls, emails, or snail mail.
Of course, these are just a few examples. So if you want to improve the way your facility operates, you’ll have to do some digging to identify which areas need updating.
3. Follow up with unhappy patients
Few things can affect NPS in healthcare as much as a dissatisfied patient whose concerns have been ignored or unaddressed. But the good news is, an unhappy patient doesn’t have to stay that way. You have an excellent shot at turning a situation around if you reach out to a patient after negative feedback. Attempting to rectify the situation is a tactic referred to as service recovery. If you can appease them, they might even go from complaining to singing your praises. Let it fall to the wayside, though, and your patients may leave negative reviews.
One crucial component of service recovery is timeliness. Unhappy patients want to be attended to at the moment, not days, weeks, or months after their visit. If you don’t receive feedback in time to intervene, you’re overdue for an upgrade. Look for a patient experience management solution that provides you with real-time data so you can instantly be alerted to any patient experience in need of attention as it occurs. The sooner you get in touch with the patient, the better your chances of being able to set things right.
How to follow up
When speaking to the patient, demonstrate empathy and listen closely to whatever issues they’ve encountered. Even if their negative experience was largely out of your hands, fight any urge you have to cast the blame on a particular person or situation. You don’t want to send the message that you’re more concerned about covering yourself or your organization than helping resolve an issue.
Once the patient has relayed their experience to you, apologize without playing the blame game) and work to identify a remedy. And of course, make sure to follow through — as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. If there’s anything you can do to go the extra mile, the effort will likely be very appreciated.
The Bottom Line
It can be a challenge to improve your net promoter score in the healthcare industry. Unlike retail, food service, or hospitality, healthcare workers can’t simply provide disgruntled clientele with a coupon or freebie. There are ways you can create a more enjoyable environment, eliminate any inconveniences in your operations, and assuage unhappy patients. Each one of these actions adds up to a better patient experience. Over time, this effort might just be able to convert indifferent patients into loyal advocates eager to recommend your facility to the people in their lives.
Interested in learning more about how Quality Reviews® can help you improve your patient experience and net promoter score? Let’s talk. Contact us to learn more about our solutions or schedule a demo.
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