Dental Office First Impressions By Referral
Dental office first impressions often occur through the referral of a friend or family member. Its true! Each and every one of our dental patients is our best source of referrals. So, if your new patient numbers are not what you might like them to be, this one is for you! Because I believe most of our energies really belong in patient care. Take the best care we can of our existing patients, and more new patients follow. Our dental practices grow beyond our wildest expectation and seemingly little effort when we provide exceptional customer service!
This powerful dental customer service systems course is for you! And will support your dental administrative team members as well as the entire team too! Because we can all settle in and get used to things just the way they are. But we can also all use a fresh outlook from time to time on just how to better succeed with our superior customer service systems. And a little nudge to stretch just a little more is always welcome!
Keep The Focus On Existing Patients!
Dental office first impressions begin before our new patient ever calls the office! Because, remember, each existing patient is a referral source. And our number one referral source! So, this is where we want to win. When an existing patient happily schedules dental treatment we win. And when this same patient keeps their scheduled appointment and pays for their treatment, we win again!
So, remember, it begins long before a patient arrives at our door. Treat each and every patient as a valued guest and member of the family. And keep in mind just how much we value each individual. For we exist as a dental practice solely for them. And think about just how many people each and every patient knows and can influence! Especially with their social media accounts!!
Dental Office First Impressions in 7 Seconds
Dental office first impressions come through other venues as well. Hopefully, you are tracking how your new patients come to you! You definitely want to enter new patient referral sources on your patient accounts. And then run these reports weekly and monthly to track just where your referrals are coming from. And where you might need to improve your efforts.
We have 7 seconds to make our first impression. And that could come by our website, a drive-by, a phone call, or even someone who lives near the dental practice. But the greatest point of impact here is the telephone! When the dental office phone is answered by a live listening person within 3 rings, we’ve made a better first impression than we realize! Because many dental practices today answer with a recorded message, or a “please hold” greeting!
Listening Is Everything!
Remember, we have a 7 second window here! Do we want to place our patient on hold in that 7 second window? Probably not if we want to make a great first impression! And here’s the thing… We want to make a great first impression over and over and over again! No matter who is on the phone! Even if the caller is a patient of the practice for 15 years! We still want to impress them. That’s the name of the game!
Let’s really tune in and listen to our caller. And it might be that we are occupied with another task at the time. And it might be that it feels really stressful to answer the phone and listen well. But … remember.. we have 7 seconds. So, let’s try to make that important connection within that 7 second window. Which we do when we listen. And greet our caller by name. And truly hear how we can be of to help them at this time.
Dental Office First Impressions Determine Growth
Dental office first impressions determine dental practice growth. When we make our day all about our patients, we grow! We see patients accept and schedule needed treatment. The growing dental practice has a plan for any open appointment times which might occur. And solid business systems take our administrative focus off the “to do” list. But support us in keeping our eyes on our patients while getting it all done!
Make it all about the patient. But that doesn’t mean to give the farm away. The dental practice cannot grow by giving treatment away. We give treatment away when patients do not pay in full for treatment. Or if there is an insurance mishap. We might lose revenue in dollars and in patient retention as well. Because the number one thing that often pushes a patient out the door is a financial misunderstanding.
Consistent Dental Office Collections
Consistent patient care includes consistent collections! We do not provide superior patient care if we mismanage our patients’ resources. And our patients are right to leave us if we can’t get this right. It’s just as important to our patients as their dental care is. And to some, it might even be more important.