By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA
Organizations often ask, “What type of marketing materials should we develop for our physician relations program?” There are lots of options but you’ll do yourself a favor if you start with your visit goals and then assess your relationship-building process rather than starting with materials.
Especially for early visits, the representative’s most important tool is a blank writing pad and a business card. This approach conveys that the rep is there to listen, to learn and to gain understanding of the physician’s needs. With the first few visits completed, the hope is that baseline credibility is in place, and subsequent visits can go deeper with key topics of interest.
When advancing the visit relationship, there will be more dialogue regarding program specifics. If service-line questions surface as part of the conversation, a rep has options. One is to provide a leave-behind document-in essence, a summary of the discussion points. The alternative is to carefully frame the questions; with this information, the rep will provide the desired level of detail as part of the next visit. These can be print tools or my preference, tablet versions of data.
Although there is no right or wrong approach, here are some advantages gained by bringing the answers at the next visit.
- The info sharing garners a repeat visit. It provides a solid source for discussion next time.
- The representative can use his or her time between visits to learn supplemental facts based on the physician’s specific interests. This detailed pre-call planning offers tremendous opportunity to customize and add value for the physician.
- Using the communication piece as a focus for discussion on the physician’s topic of interest maximizes the significance of the content. Although many leave-behinds are left in the round file, this approach calls attention to content specifics based on the physician’s interests.
Information tools can take a variety of forms and provide different types of content. Experience has shown that briefs, data, clinical outcomes, process bullets, or an occasional photo of a new doctor or technology on a one-page sheet works marvelously well.
Simple-to-view and easy-to-update materials are the best. Spend your time and money on getting good, current content. Update them regularly; force a timeline on this. Ensure that content is written for physicians and not consumers. Trying to make one piece meet everyone’s needs generally means you fall short on meeting the needs of one or the other or both.
There does not need to be discussion tool, every time or for every topic or every visit. Spontaneity is always good. Mix up the style and approach of the meetings and the offering. Personalize and customize your meetings based on physician’s needs and how they like information provided.
Although elaborate tools are not necessary to advance the physician relationship, there is a place for more sophisticated communication tools. Many organizations have active outreach efforts designed to grow regional referrals. When working with these practices, it is important to provide background and access tools to the office staff members. It gives them valuable information, which assists them with referral specifics that result in a comfortable transfer for the patient and the patient’s family. If outreach is relevant for you, take the time to learn the needs of your target offices and then work to create patient-oriented tools that the target offices can share with patients that are referred.
The bottom line is that simple, concise, and physician focused materials make sense. Office staffs need tools for access. Patients and families may need more details; ask the practices what would help them communicate with the patients they refer. Done right, communication tools strengthen the dialogue, position the difference, and provide depth in the referral process. Use your tools to enhance your face-to-face relationship building, which is where they are best used.