5 Keys To Health­care Sig­nage + Pro Tips for a Bet­ter Cus­tomer Ser­vice Experience

We’ve all been there or will be at some point, rush­ing to the hos­pi­tal after a call that a loved one has been admit­ted. Your only con­cern is get­ting to that loved one to sup­port them and ease your worries.

Sig­nage is only one com­po­nent to the cus­tomer expe­ri­ence, we know. But the health­care and senior liv­ing mar­kets are com­pet­i­tive, online rat­ings and reviews and word-of-mouth ref­er­ences are based on cus­tomer ser­vice. Peo­ple make deci­sions based on their expe­ri­ence and we all need to stay ahead.

Your wayfind­ing sys­tem must act as your first cus­tomer rela­tions con­tact point, extend­ing a wel­com­ing hand and help­ing to alle­vi­ate the men­tal stress that is often present when trav­el­ing through the hos­pi­tal campus. 

No sign is going to replace a real per­son tak­ing the time to escort ner­vous fam­i­ly mem­bers. But you must get your vis­i­tors and guests to the cor­rect loca­tion to meet the escort, make an appoint­ment, or check-in for a procedure. 

5 Keys To Health­care Sig­nage + Pro Tips for a Bet­ter Cus­tomer Ser­vice Experience

1. Approach. Enter. Find. Place­ment of signs should be based on deci­sion points along cir­cu­la­tion path­ways. Think of mes­sage sequenc­ing as bread crumbs that lead you to your destination.

👉🏻Pro Tip: Sketch out a cir­cu­la­tion plan. Mark out the entry and exit points, pub­lic cor­ri­dors, and key des­ti­na­tions, then review at what points vis­i­tors are faced with a decision.

2. Sign for the major­i­ty. What are the busiest depart­ments that have the most first time vis­i­tors? Where do guests check in? Pri­or­i­tize com­mu­ni­ca­tion on pri­ma­ry, sec­ondary and ter­tiary destinations.

👉🏻Pro Tip: Use your cus­tomer ser­vice rep­re­sen­ta­tives to poll or tal­ly ques­tions for a peri­od of time to under­stand the biggest ques­tions, issues, and then devel­op solu­tions to accommodate. 

3. Use sim­ple terms. No jar­gon, tech­ni­cal words or fan­cy names. Talk with indi­vid­ual depart­ments and the words they use with their patients. Do they say X‑Ray or Radi­ol­o­gy when the appoint­ment is made? Make sure this is con­sis­tent. You can use prop­er or donor names at the des­ti­na­tion, but sig­nage should be basic and straight-for­ward com­mon language. 

👉🏻Pro Tip: Bring in out­siders and non-pro­fes­sion­als to find out their under­stand­ing of terms. 

4. Do not use paper or cre­ate tem­po­rary sig­nage. You do not want to over stim­u­late peo­ple in a space, espe­cial­ly in a high stress environment.

👉🏻Pro Tip: Do not make signs because one per­son sug­gests it. Don’t sign for anom­alies, and don’t sign for employ­ees. Employ­ees can be trained. Sig­nage is for visitors.

5. Less is best. Too much infor­ma­tion on a sign (or mul­ti­ple signs) lead a view­er to tune out and walk right on by. Mes­sag­ing should be lim­it­ed enough to com­pre­hend as you are approach­ing and walk­ing past (no stopping).

👉🏻Pro Tip: Train employ­ees to be on the look­out for lost indi­vid­u­als and know where depart­ments are. When peo­ple are in stress­ful or con­fus­ing envi­ron­ments they will look for a friend­ly face to help them with direc­tions. Always offer that lev­el of cus­tomer service.

It is tricky, but sim­plic­i­ty and log­ic help to ease the strain.

Remem­ber: You must get your vis­i­tors and guests to the cor­rect loca­tion to meet the escort, make an appoint­ment, or check-in for a procedure.

Want to learn more? Con­tact your favorite Lat­i­tude Expert, or find Your Expert here.

Have a quick ques­tion? Email our Wayfind­ing guru, Kristin.