No matter how long you’ve been running your dental practice, you know for a fact that getting new patients by word-of-mouth equals practice growth and more revenue. But how do you get new and existing patients to become raving fans that spread the word about your practice? It’s simple (not easy)! Customer service, it’s the foundation of your business. Today on the blog, our dental practice consultants share three ways to provide unmatchable customer service at your practice. The kind of customer service that gets patients talking about you in a good way.
Your practice should be customer service focused
As the old saying goes, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” If we’re honest, patients don’t care about how fancy your practice is or the high-tech equipment you use. They care about how you (and your team) make them feel. Patients look for and expect an amazing experience from the time they call your office to book an appointment to how they are invited back to the treatment room, how things go at checkout, and follow-up correspondence they receive, and everything in-between.
We get it. Everyone has bad days every once in a while, but it’s crucial for your practice that everyone check their feelings and worries at the door when they come into work every day. Patients should always be greeted with a smile and a warm tone. Phones shouldn’t ring off the hook. Furthermore, don’t put patients on hold unless you ask first! These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many, many more ways to ensure every team member offers the best customer service. Not sure where improvements are needed? Consider hiring a dental practice consultant to “secret shop” your practice. Rest assured, we will take an honest and thorough account of our experience and provide a plan to help get your practice on track. If patients aren’t leaving your practice telling others that there’s something “different” (in a good way) about your office, then you aren’t providing unmatched customer service.
Foster a Healthy Practice Culture
Zappo’s CEO once said that your culture is your brand. What is your practice culture like? Is your team engaged? Do you and your team support local community efforts? Do you and your team actively and eagerly promote the practice? Do patients come to your practice because of the people? Do patients have a sense of your practice’s culture? These are all aspects of practice culture that you should assess. Here’s the thing, you have your perspective of the practice’s culture, as do each of your team members and your patients. You owe it to yourself and the practice to dig a little deeper and ask what these valuable individuals think about the culture. Consider soliciting feedback from your team members. You can do this anonymously or during a team meeting. Ask a few trusted, long-time patients why they continue choosing your practice over the others. Better yet, dial-up former patients and find out why they had their file transferred. We’re going to warn you. Be prepared for unexpected and maybe even hurtful responses, but the purpose of this exercise is to take an honest assessment of your practice’s culture, so you can move forward with creating one that thrives.
Here are a few hints that your practice culture is on the rocks
- High turnover rate of team members
- Team members not getting along
- Poor attitudes among team members
- New patients don’t come back
- Your schedule has too many no-shows
- Your hygiene schedule doesn’t get repeat patients
These are all clues that you can identify if you look close enough, although there are other, harder-to-identify signs that your practice culture is in need of repair.
Know Your Numbers
Many successful CEOs and managers say that you don’t know your business if you don’t know your numbers. If we were to ask you right now about your practice indicators, like how many new patients you saw last month, what your practice revenue was last week, or the balance of your collection’s accounts, would you know the answer, or would you have to call your office manager? It’s OK to have a trusted team member pull reports and compile information about practice numbers. Our dental practice coaches even encourage getting the whole team on the same page by discussing practice numbers. But you should know your numbers. It’s your business to know! If you want to see your numbers increase, then get busy and track, track, track! Want more patients on your hygiene schedule? Track it. Want to increase case acceptance? Track it. We promise it works!
Dental Practice Consulting
If you’re tired of spinning your wheels and not seeing your practice improve, it may be time to hire a dental practice coach. Our experts can help you identify areas of opportunity, improve customer service, and track your practice numbers (plus, show you how to use the information once you have it). Don’t let your practice miss the mark. It’s time to capitalize on your most precious asset – new patients!
Learn more or get started today by calling Bryant Consultants at (877) 768-4799.
