What are the most common mistakes in patient loyalty strategies?

The most common mistakes in patient loyalty strategies often revolve around a lack of personalization and engagement. Generic approaches without considering individual patient needs and preferences can fall short. Overlooking the importance of consistent communication and failing to demonstrate genuine care and appreciation for patients can diminish loyalty.

Segmenting patients based on demographics and conditions can be dangerous as it creates the opportunity for unintentional discrimination and bias. Segmenting based on health conditions can also result in treating that segment as a “homogenous group”, contradicting the point of segmenting that the article is trying to make. One hundred people with the same diagnosis are not going to have the same symptoms or reactions to treatment, and rather than lump every one of them into a “depression” folder, it’s important to target their specific symptoms or underlying causes instead. At the same time you have to be careful your targeted marketing doesn’t “out” the recipients medical condition to others as that can be a HIPAA issue.

I’m not sure what this article is trying to discuss here; “rewards” programs and “loyalty initiatives” are pretty rare in healthcare since the primary payers are insurance companies and the government, and the services provided are often isolated occurrences, such as treating a broken bone or an infection. If you run a massage parlor or some other pseudo-healthcare business where payment comes directly from a client, then yes loyalty initiatives and customer rewards may apply, but a clinic would not reward a patient with something like “make five appointments and your sixth is free”. I’ve seen some dentists who reward patients for referring friends with a gift card to a local coffee chain, but that’s about it.

Building loyalty among clients is crucial for any business, including healthcare. We can draw insights from other industries to find innovative ways to engage and retain patients. Traditional methods such as lecturing and providing excessive information are not effective in the long run to motivate individuals. However, fun and interactive activities can attract and retain their attention. By offering loyalty programs that reward patients for their support and referrals, we can establish a meaningful connection with them and set our practice apart from competitors. Loyalty reward programs need not be expensive or complicated. They can be in the form of exclusive benefits, preferred access, added-value services, or tangible items.

Even though needs and expectations can come in a myriad of diverse and variable ways and some could be way too personalised, the provider has to be actively responsive common and legitimate needs of patients, while acknowledging that the provider cannot satisfy every need and expectation, industry trends and the most apparent and changing needs and expectations have to be adjusted for. Indeed there is need to have an effective feedback mechanisms and a system that fast tracks reception of feedback from patients and categorises it accordingly for proper evaluation and timely response to align to the changing needs.

Mistaking loyalty for “there’s just no choice”. Customer loyalty can be defined differently. However, some believes that being the preferred choice is loyalty driven. Chances are, there is just no choice because of factors that cannot be controlled by the consumers. While this may seem an advantage, disruption always is a lingering threat. Build relationships that can become your foundation in creating loyalty programs that matters to your customers. Putting value and allowing your patients decide on its worth can be helpful in understanding if the strategy works. Otherwise, incorporating feedback management from your frequent buyers or repeat consumers can be insightful on what changes you need to adapt and prepare for to stay relevant.