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Successful and appropriate growth FOR YOUR HOSPICE is based on many factors, but the recipe for success internally and externally is based on:
- LEADERSHIP
- CLINICAL EXCELLENCE
- MARKETING
- SALES
- CUSTOMER SERVICE
Leadership is the art of motivating your teams (ALL TEAM MEMBERS: clinical, administrative, admissions, sales, marketing, senior management, volunteers) to work together toward achieving common goals: clinical excellence, quality measures, business plans, growth, etc. You are the one, whether in a management position or non-management position, who inspires others to achieve success. Leadership success, which equates to your hospice’s success, is dependent upon identifying opportunities to improve/enhance services, planning to achieve goals, and being able to communicate the plan in a way that engages everyone.
Clinical excellence is a given. You can’t position your hospice as “The Hospice” which is the provider of choice for all customers – referral sources, the community, and terminally ill patients and their families – without it. Clinical excellence is based on hiring qualified people, providing a top-notch orientation and on-going training, on-going performance improvement, setting the expectation that anything less than 100% is not OK and establishing an environment which fosters ideas and openness to try new things.
Marketing according to BusinessDictionary.com, is “thinking about the business (your hospice program) in terms of customer needs and their satisfaction.” Marketing discovers creates, arouses and satisfies customers. For example: customized communication for referral sources, developing an end-stage cardiac program, brand specific brochures, etc.
Marketing and sales are not the same!!!
Sales is a process that includes identifying and building relationships with customers, effectively conveying the features and benefits of your hospice’s services and obtaining agreement on an action such as referring a terminally ill patient and family, choosing your hospice, identifying others who should hear about your services, etc.
Often in hospice, marketing and sales are interchanged because hospice people may be afraid of the word ‘Sales’. Don’t be afraid to use the word sales internally and be sure your Liaisons understand the difference between marketing and sales. Their responsibility is to build professional relationships with targeted customers which results in the referral of appropriate terminally ill patients and families by implementing the sales triangle/process.
Customer service can be an activity, a performance measure, an attitude and on and on. Therefore, one definition can’t cover all the aspects of customer service but here are a few of my favorites which I think are pertinent to hospice:
- “Ability to provide services in the way it has been promised”
- “Commitment to providing value-added services to external and internal customers, including attitude, knowledge, technical service and quality service in a timely manner.”
- “Proactive attitude summed up as: I care and I can do.”
WE ONLY HAVE ONE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE PATIENT AND FAMILY.
Examples: answering the phone correctly, everyone (not just management and liaisons) owning communicating and working with referral sources, everyone using the name of your hospice when they introduce themselves (“I am Judy, your nurse, from Top Notch Hospice”), being on time, and so forth.
You must implement and impact these five areas every day! Your knowledge of and commitment to leadership, clinical excellence, marketing, sales and customer service will make a difference and assure achievement of the goals for your hospice.
Hospice University education and consultation is a resource to you as you position your hospice as the premiere provider in your service area.