Strike While the Iron Is Hot

Lisa Stiles / Apr 7th / Comments

A while back I missed the first step of our stairs at work and gravity took over. I landed about eight steps down. I didn’t think anything was broken, but on the way home my whole body, particularly my thumb, which I had managed to twist under me when I landed, began to ache. By the time I pulled into my driveway it was swollen, immovable, and the pain was excruciating.

The rest of the evening was spent in the ER. X-rays revealed the thumb wasn’t broken, but the doctor thought I had torn a tendon and would need surgery. He referred me to a “hand doc,” whom I saw the next day. Fortunately, the surgery was never needed. I healed just fine. I saw the doctor for a follow-up visit and went on my way.

Here’s the thing – a full FIVE months later that doctor’s practice sent me an e-mail asking me to fill out a patient satisfaction survey. By then, I couldn’t remember his name let alone the number of particulars the survey wanted me to recall. I had had a positive experience, but they waited so long to ask me about it I could offer them no real information.  I never took the survey.

Timeliness is of the utmost important in gaining feedback. When was the best time to ask me about my experience? How about right after the experience? The next month I received a holiday greetings e-card from. After that, I heard no more. I’m still puzzled about their strategy.

We hear a lot in marketing strategy about messaging, tactics, and tools. But we also can’t forget the importance of timeliness in cultivating relationships with an audience. The iron cools very quickly; we need to strike while it’s still hot.