Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2023 - 59

Practice Management
Staff Report
Success Factors for Great Customer
Service
In today's competitive business environment, it's
more difficult than ever for organizations to differentiate
themselves from competitors.
Mr. Danny Snow
Orlando, FL
Snow & Associates, Inc.
Products are quickly becoming commoditized,
resulting in patients feeling that one orthodontic
practice is pretty much like every other one. Patient
loyalty is increasingly in jeopardy, and you likely
end up in a constant quest for new patients to
replace those who've left for another option.
Orthodontic practices are finding that building
strong relationships with their patients through
superior service is the key to differentiating themselves
in the marketplace. If patients perceive the
products orthodontists offer to be the same, the
only remaining loyalty drivers are rates and quality of
service. And as organizations in nearly every industry
have discovered, trying to compete on price or rates
alone is a difficult and frustrating battle, which leaves
service as an ideal platform for generating loyalty.
As a consultant who has helped organizations
improve their customer service for the past several
years, I've been in the fortunate position to see
what works and what doesn't when it comes to the
service many companies provide.
I've seen companies that pay close attention to their
customers thrive. I've also seen companies lose their
brand equity and suffer because they don't understand
how to truly serve their customers. Or, they do
understand how to do it, they just don't try.
Over and over in my experience, I have seen three
key customer service factors differentiate the strong
performers. It is these three factors, I believe, that
not only generate customer loyalty but can also
catapult an organization into " world-class " status.
Success Factor 1: Clearly Define What the Patient
Experience Is Supposed to Be
Many organizations mistakenly believe that the
products or services they sell define the customer
experience. At a restaurant, it's the meal; at a car
dealership, it's the car; in an orthodontists' office, it's
the braces or retainer, and so forth. Of course, their
belief is partially correct-the product is important.
Spring 2023 PCSO Bulletin
The meal has to be good, the car has to run well,
and the orthodontic products have to be good
and appropriate for the patient to be happy with
the experience. However, there are a lot of processes
customers go through in order to purchase
the product, the meal, the car, or the orthodontic
appliance.
In the case of an orthodontist and their practice,
patients (or their parent/family member) might have
to schedule an appointment, park their car, enter the
practice, wait in line, speak with an administrator,
fill out paperwork, and so forth. All these different
encounters, in addition to the actual product, make
up the " real " orthodontic experience. And these moments
of truth, touch points, or whatever you want to
call them, are significant drivers of patient satisfaction
or dissatisfaction.
When an orthodontist hasn't clearly defined the
patient experience, the patient is at the mercy of
the team member with whom they happen to be
dealing and that representative's interpretation
of what constitutes a quality interaction (or the
representative's mood that day). Inconsistency is
a loyalty killer. Even consistently average service
is better than unpredictable swings in the patient
experience.
World-class service organizations, on the other
hand, carefully define each part of the customer experience
so that everything is carefully orchestrated
to deliver on the promise of their brand. And you
can't deliver on the promise of the brand without
first knowing what your brand represents. Worldclass
organizations know exactly who they are and
what they represent in the minds of their customers.
They then carefully orchestrate each part of the
experience so that it consistently delivers on the
promise of their brand.
Look at the process of doing business with your practice.
What does the experience entail? Break it into
the small components that truly make up the patient
experience. For a typical practice, it might include
parking, walking toward the office, entering the facility,
waiting for an appointment, and so on. Then, with
your brand image in mind, define what you want the
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Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Spring 2023
