SUMMER REPLAY: Patient or customer?

It matters how we think about the people seeking fertility care.

This story was originally published in HeyReprotech on 11 Oct 2022.

Is a person who seeks fertility treatment a "patient" or a "customer"?

It's not a new question, but it's been on my mind.

Those who think people seeking medical treatment should be "customers" tend to focus on how customers have choice and agency. They have "the ability to choose between suppliers." They are "not taken for granted." They are "powerful."

"Patients," on the other hand, these people argue, are "passive." They just receive, and accept, whatever care is offered. They are not "partners."

Those who think people seeking medical treatment should be "patients" frame it differently. They argue that in important ways, "patients" aren't like "customers" at all, and we shouldn't pretend they are. For one thing, they are not always in a mindset to compare their options; they are often desperate for help. They also may not have the knowledge or context to do so — fertility care isn't a toaster.

There are other differences. Unlike the customer, "the patient is not always right." (Think twins.) Also, patients can't just demand a positive result. Medicine is not a widget — it's an interaction with a living body.

Anyway, in musing about this, I found myself down the rabbit hole. As I said, a lot of people have thought about this question — and not just with respect to fertility care, but also with respect to medical care more generally. There are consequences to perceiving people seeking care as customers and seeing care itself as a commodity in the marketplace. It changes how we regard people, how we behave with them. Spend enough time reading the marketing advice, the financial announcements, the business news, and it becomes clear.

Below, I have collected word fragments gleaned from such sources, put them side by side, and let them tell a story.

4 minute read

medical practices as brands

fertility practices are commercial enterprises

independent practices are entrepreneurial

what can you learn from exceptional service brands?

what can you apply?

build a presence in your local community

sponsor community events so people link your practice with charitable causes

establish friendly relationships with reporters

hire a marketing agency

patients/customers as a marketing tool

people believe their friends

recommendations from friends are the most trustworthy form of advertising

women are more likely than men to trust word of mouth

use word of mouth to boost your brand’s credibility with women

reap the benefits of the women who already trust your brand

loyal fans don’t necessarily equal brand advocates — yet

get them to share those opinions with their networks

ask followers to take the action you want

tell people what you want them to do

create marketing materials that advertise where to leave reviews

ask the right patient for a review

don’t be afraid to ask the right patient

seek patients who give your practice high marks

ask them

invite them to write testimonials

their own story in the comments section

a “meet the doctor” post about the physician

post the requests on social media

in your waiting room, use video

use multiple channels: email, social, apps, phone, text, in person

ask satisfied patients to like you on Facebook

ask satisfied patients to rate you on Yelp

ask satisfied patients to fill out a patient satisfaction survey

use a service that automates repeat requests and pushes them to important platforms

share positive patient feedback with prospective patients

highlight positive reviews and testimonials

right on your home page so they aren’t missed

if your centre does not have amazing, professional patient testimonials that blow folks away, it’s time to get that changed right now

take charge of your online reputation

impact the number of new patient appointments, retrievals and ultimately, revenue

staff as promoters

leverage your brand internally

promote the mission

employees who believe in your mission are likely to act as brand ambassadors

motivate them

a sense of pride

a tally board

a thank you board that patients can see

a patient compliment repository

reward them

gift cards

gift baskets

event tickets

a team lunch

a desirable parking spot for a week

send them out doing referrals, doing lunches, dropping off bagels

semen analyses and hysterosalpingograms are not just useful tests; they’re powerful lead generation tools

clinching the sale

at least 50 percent of a fertility centre’s leads, or inquiries, should be converted to appointments

increase conversion

conversion to initial consult

don’t use your ad spend on those not ready to convert

proper conversion tracking

know what is generating the phone calls and form submissions

separate the two populations of patients, new and existing

have a scheduling team just for new patients

new fertility patient concierge team

not call centre, digital chat team, or new patient navigators

have a phone line just for new patients

answer the phone

hire enough people to answer the phone

respond to voicemails and web forms

offer the appointment

mandate that your staff offer the appointment

book the shortest waitlist

record your lead interaction

be respectful

this is patient care but

clients in a market place

gently guide potential patients through the buyer’s journey

the buying cycle for a new patient is lengthy

reduce experiential friction of the “patient” so that the next time they make a choice as a “customer,” they choose you

if your practice doesn't make a move on an opportunity, a competitor will

we understand that medical practices will never use the word, “sales” but, essentially, that’s what both fertility treatments and fertility consultations are

maximizing profit

increase patient volume

rank opportunities by profit potential

profit

opportunity potential

a basic formula

goal volume minus current volume

using IVF cycles as an example:

goal of 1,000 IVF cycles with a profit of $4,000/cycle = $4 million

currently at 500 IVF cycles with a profit of $4,000/cycle = $2 million 

(4,000,000) - (2,000,000) = $2 million opportunity

pursue a more profitable service

fertility preservation instead of IVF

higher profit margin

a challenging market

the quicker win

what’s the lifetime value of the customer to your organization?

attracting big money

femtech

fertility tech market

technology to enhance women's health

especially in the fertility and contraceptive lanes

the business of family planning is booming

the business of fertility treatments is soaring

historically underdeveloped

the industry has drawn significant investment capital

the sector has attracted big investment dollars

femtech to continue upending the healthtech industry

significant influx in the number of startups in the fertility space

fertility startups have had a big year

fertility support startups banked $345 million in 2021

startups focused on women's health raked in $1.4 billion last year, up 80 percent from 2020

fundraising has more than doubled

doubled its client base in just the past year

entrepreneurs are keen to grab their share of $5 billion male fertility market

global fertility services market size expected to reach $36 billion by 2023

the market for fertility treatments will reach $41 billion by 2026

investors see big money in infertility