“Especially as COVID-19 got going in 2020, making people feel comfortable and safe in our offices was top priority,” explains Karla Tolzin, director of admission at Southdale ObGyn. “Patients are always watching, now more than ever, and they need to see that we’re doing what we say we’re going to do. During this pandemic, that’s everything from disinfecting chairs and cleaning bathrooms to having one bucket for clean pens and one for dirty pens.”

This concept of being “on stage” is a best practice that leaders in the hospitality industry have honed to near perfection and continue to advance. At every touchpoint, the customer – in this case, the patient, from the time they schedule an appointment to reconcile billing statements – can become a positive or negative experience. Positive experiences, of course, win the day and build long-term brand loyalty.

At CEL Marketing PR Design, Chelsea Janke refers to Disney. She says, “At Disney, there’s a lot of activity that goes on behind the scenes, exactly like in a hospital or clinic. But everything in the public eye at Disney is carefully coordinated, monitored and measured to make sure the guest experience is net positive. Building trust depends on seeing, hearing and believing, and it’s far more cost-efficient to keep and retain customers than win them back.”

Christian White of White & Associates Practice Consulting coined the term “demonstration marketing.” “Patients are always watching what the staff is doing,” he notes. “We work with dentists on the business of their practices, and we stress the fact that they have to demonstrate what it’s like coming into the office because new patients are going online and looking at reviews. They need to know what to expect, and it’s personal service that keeps them coming back.”

Ultimately, delivering positive customer experiences in a health care setting comes down to how patients interact with all staff. It starts from the moment they contact the clinic, whether by phone or using a scheduling service or going to the website.

Tolzin looks ahead and notes, “In 2021, everyone is more comfortable with telehealth, and no doubt we’ll continue to use it. It’s great for a routine check-in with a new mom who prefers to stay home with her baby because of COVID-19 guidelines or just because it’s a subzero winter day. But as important as it is now and moving forward, we can never lose the human touch.”

Frame Changers, a Minnesota-based consulting firm founded in 2021 by Paul Omodt and Mike Porter, Ph.D., lists seven points for defining the human touch and knowing what effective employee engagement looks like:

• Anyone can be friendly
• Everyone can be helpful
• Learn the issue, find a solution
• Explain your plan
• Act on your plan
• Assure passing of responsibility
• Follow-up as needed

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated trends in health care as it has in every industry. Understanding and meeting the hospitality expectations of patients will remain an ongoing driving force for reaching new customers and retaining existing ones.

This is easy to do when the comments are positive. Thank them for their comment, give them a shout-out, ask a follow-up question, etc. By doing this you are starting (or continuing) a conversation and you will begin to build a relationship and trust.

What about when the comment is negative or false?

Best practices for social media conversations

1. Be aware of your social media policy, terms of service and what you can or cannot do under those guidelines.
2. Know who to go to if things heat up. General counsel, communications director, team manager, etc.
3. Take time to craft a good response; don’t rush. This is especially true if the initial comment causes you to feel defensive, hurt or angry. When managing Facebook comments, it is never a good idea to engage with anyone on social media from an emotional perspective. Social media expert Andrea Gribble suggests “Don’t get into a war of words on social media.”
4. If it will take time to develop or research a response, post a short comment to acknowledge you saw their question and that you are working to find the information they need. 
5. When you respond, use the tone of voice that reflects your organization.  When you respond, you elevate the issue and the post. Many more people will see how you replied than saw the original post. Whether the tone is professional, conversational, hip, etc. be sure you reflect the voice of your brand—which should be stated in your brand guide. 
6. Sometimes it’s better to take the conversation off-line.
   The nice thing about managing Facebook comments is that posts are tied to a name; they can’t be anonymous. If you see a post from an upset parent or community member, try picking up the phone and helping to solve a problem. If you can resolve the issue, you may gain a champion going forward.

Tips for responding to less-than-positive comments

Know when to monitor and when to respond

A response is not always the smart choice when you encounter a negative comment. If the comment is any of the following, consider monitoring the situation:

• If the source is dedicated to bashing or degrading others, such as a vocal community activist with a clear agenda, you should avoid responding.
• If the post is a rant, rage, joke or satirical in nature, do not comment or reply. These can be very tricky because you can’t judge the tone or intent with online comments.
• If the negative comment is from a person or source that is credible and with strong viewership, such as a local elected official or your local paper, you should probably not engage. This is especially true if their trust level is higher than yours in the community.

When a negative comment should have a response:

• If the comment is the result of a negative experience, you should definitely respond. Write a public response to a public complaint that invites the person to contact you directly to resolve the situation. Try to avoid a back-and-forth online conversation. If you know the person and can contact them directly, do so. Resolve the matter offline, then go back online and post a thank you to the person for taking the time to resolve it. This allows the public to see that you are responsive and care about peoples’ experiences.

Fix the facts

If the comment has misinformation or blatant lies you will want to reply. Be sure your response is transparent. Explain the situation, cite sources and identify yourself (see “pro tip” below). When possible, provide a web link to authoritative information.

Pro tip

When engaging with an angry or negative comment online, it is always helpful to add your first name to your response (if allowed in your social media guideline). It is much easier for someone to be emotional and disrespectful towards an organization, as opposed to another person. This strategy has a tendency to deescalate things quickly. Here is an example:

Now more than ever, your customers want to know what they’re getting and how it will benefit them. So, it’s in your best interest to define what truly makes you great, rather than summing it all up with “great customer service.”

Take Maser, Amundson, Boggio & Hendricks, P.A. This knowledgeable and talented team of elder law and special needs trust attorneys has helped countless individuals and families through some of the toughest times of their lives. They give their clients exceptional customer service, but when our CEL team looked beyond the surface, we discovered something much more valuable – Passionate advocacy, ethical representation, and guidance across generations. Simply stated, they will be your rock in a hard place.

Your conversation with potential customers should begin with telling them how they benefit from what you do. In preparation, ask your clients why they choose to work with you.

Let’s go back to Maser, Amundson, Boggio & Hendricks for an example. On any given day, they provide exceptional estate and life care planning services, but the result of those services is what really matters. A daughter will sleep tonight because she knows she will have the money she needs to provide care for her father with Alzheimer’s disease because they were her rock in a hard place.

Dig beyond the surface and find the words that truly describe your customer service.

As you continue to serve your clients and customers well, keep your eyes open for opportunities to exceed the daily requirement. Here are some things to think about:

Are you making a good first impression?

When customers call, a friendly human voice on the phone is more magnetic than a recording, even in our high-tech society. A warm welcome and the question, “How may I help you?” tells the caller they are important.

Do you follow up with your customers to assure satisfaction?

Burton A/C, Heating, Plumbing and Electrical of Omaha, Neb. makes a point to make daily “happy calls” in follow up to their home service calls. They make sure the customer was satisfied and if for some reason they’re not, they dispatch their “love bug” to the scene, a bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle, driven by their customer service director. The vehicle and the personal attention leave a lasting, positive impression.

Are you a problem solver?

Tuning in to your customer’s pain points and easing that pain is invaluable. Always be thinking of creative solutions and ask yourself what you can do to make their work and life easier.

Judd Frost Clothiers of Wayzata, Minnesota went over and above the call of duty to make sure a groom had his pants on at the altar. After finding his “wedding pants” left behind in their dressing room, the owner put the pants on a plane to get them to the church on time. This exceptional customer service story grabbed the attention of the  Minneapolis Star Tribune and The Washington Post. That is national media coverage for a small, Minnesota-based business.

What’s a customer service story you could share? Is it a story that you could tell to educate and inspire others, while putting your business and good employees in the media spotlight?

In today’s social media world, customer service has stepped further into the forefront. When a consumer has an opinion or experience to share about your brand, many do not hesitate to share it with everyone, via Facebook, Twitter, and within online reviews.

When businesses first began communicating the services behind their brand through social media channels, customers were pleasantly surprised if they responded to their comments or complaints. Today, customers expect it and businesses are going public with responsive answers and action.

Here are some ways you can improve your customer service experience online:

1. Engage with your customers. Use your social media to create engaging content so your audience feels like they are a part of your brand. If a customer feels like their opinion matters, they are more likely to gain loyalty to that brand and keep coming back for more.
2. Provide your customers with a give. Create a coupon they can to show on their mobile device or can print out, link to a great deal on your website, or create a giveaway contest. These simple, yet engaging posts to social media can keep your audience coming back to check your social pages, where they will run into your other content as well.
3. Respond to your customers’ comments and concerns. Whether a post is positive or negative, responding to your customers in a timely and respective manner on social media can even help you keep a disgruntled customer who had a bad experience.

Start your training at the core by making sure that your entire staff knows your mission and values as a company and why they are important. Share your elevator speech with everyone (if you don’t have one, we recommend it) and ask that it be used and spoken consistently throughout your company. This kind of training is key to preserving and building your brand.

Next, train for customer service. Your staff puts a face on your company, so make sure your people have personality and a natural propensity for service and then train them in your principles and expectations for interaction.

It’s also important to train on the services you sell. For example, a one-day social media seminar inspired us to expand our social media services, leading to the launch of The Social Media Incubator which now provides training and social media support to most of our clients.

Training is a must for small to mid-size businesses that employ a salesperson(s), but it can also be beneficial for your entire staff because the lessons learned can be applied within every position that interacts with your customers. We’ve found this to be particularly true when it comes to selling additional services to customers who are already benefiting from your support. Simple sales tips make it easy to identify additional pain points and needs that you can help meet and lead your clients to greater success.

Training your team on new technology is a good idea, whether you’re implementing a new software program or purchasing a new copier. Not only does it assure less chance of error, but it can also give people the basics needed to think about new solutions and ways to utilize the technology.

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but I think we would all agree that you can, if you expect them to be a good watchdog and new business fetcher with a commitment to being a loyal in a dog-eat-dog world.