Owning and operating a successful dental practice is not an easy feat. There are the day-to-day tasks of overseeing dental procedures, and focusing on operations as a whole. It is necessary to also focus on providing exceptional customer service. How you manage your practice leaves a lasting impression in the minds of your patients, which greatly impacts whether they will stick to visiting your office or find oral care elsewhere.
We have provided you with some key factors to put into practice to see to it that your office delivers that exceptional customer experience.
Competitive Edge
Find out what sets your practice apart from all the others. What are your strengths, and what resources do you have access to that can help ensure you have a competitive edge? These are components that you must analyze. Maybe a strength of your practice is technology, allowing you to offer exceptional results in a fraction of the time for your patients. You should be marketing this to attract and retain patients.
Branding
Attracting and retaining patients in today’s market means that you have to put forth extra effort. Patients want more than just exceptional service and convenient appointments, but want an emotional connection and lasting relationship with you. You must find a way to engage and connect with your clients on this level, which helps create trust between the patient and you. This can be done through the use of social media by posting engaging posts for readers or keep them up to date on promotions. The idea is to engage with your patients and online viewers that could potentially become patients.
Office Culture
Even the most successfully established business can fail if it doesn’t have a healthy office culture. If you have issues with your office culture or attitudes of staff members, it is time to put an end to these issues once and for all. Since your office culture is essentially a reflection of you, be sure that that reflection is a good one. To achieve this goal, sit down with your team, discuss their challenges and work together to find appropriate solutions. Set goals both as a team and for individuals. Be open to feedback and suggestions from your team. These aspects encourage trust and a healthy office culture. Most importantly, your patients will be able to sense that your office culture is thriving.
Referrals
Most businesses grow their client base by referrals. Referrals are exceptionally helpful for people looking for a new dentist, because they may ask family or friends what their experience was like when they visited your office. Encourage patients to refer family and friends, and to share their personal experience on your website or social media outlets for others to view. Another idea is to provide a referral card that offers a discount. Who doesn’t like to save a little money? Whichever method you choose to use, be sure to follow-up and follow through.
Ease of Scheduling
Let’s face it, your patients are busy, and they appreciate the convenience and ease of scheduling appointments based on their schedule. Also, having a system in place that sends automatic appointment reminders or when a new appointment is needed is a plus.
Training
Your patient’s experience starts when they call to schedule that first appointment and continues as they encounter each person at your office. Therefore, staff training is an essential part of offering exceptional customer service. Be sure that your staff is well trained in how to handle difficult situations, always being pleasant, understanding, and listening to the needs of the patient. Remaining professional and maintaining a positive attitude can have a lot to do with the type of experience your patients have while dealing with your office.
Last but not least, set benchmarks for your practice as a whole, measure your progress and make adjustments when necessary. This will ensure that you remain on track to reach your goals. Also, nip any bad behaviors in the bud immediately – one bad apple can ruin the whole bunch, as the saying goes.
Business Consulting Worldwide
At Bryant Consultants, we provide consultation, training, and coaching to help improve the operations of your business so that you can provide exceptional results to your customers. No office is out of reach for us; we will even come to you!
Ready to learn more about the services we offer? Contact Bryant Consultants by calling (877) 768-4799 to schedule a consultation.
