Depending on your location, there could be any number of practices competing for patients, offering different deals and discounts, engaging in flashy advertising.
But what’s really going to give your practice the winning edge, is the six-star service you provide and how you make your patients feel.
Every patient will walk away from your practice with a story – and it’s our job as practice managers to choreograph that story to ensure they have the best possible experience worth raving about. You want your patient experience to be created by design, not by default.
And I’ll let you in on a secret, this is key to building an enduring brand, one that stands the test of time. So, here’s the drill-down on how to develop six-star patient service.
It starts with a phone call
The minute a patient picks up the phone to book an appointment or make an enquiry, that’s when they begin to form an opinion about whether or not your practice is going to offer them a service that’s worth their time and money.
It’s crucial to set the tone and ensure that your delivery over the phone is helpful, informative, and genuinely kind and sincere. If a patient calls up a practice only to be left on hold forever and barked at by a team member, they may well hang up and take their business elsewhere.
Maximising your phone and front desk experience is crucial for retention, reviews, and referrals so it’s well worth training and upskilling your team specifically for this.
Optimise your practice aesthetics
When people choose a dentist, they’re not necessarily choosing based on the décor and furnishing of the practice… but it sure is an added bonus.
Your practice acts as an extension of your culture, team, and brand – patients can’t help but make a subconscious judgment about the practice based off how it looks.
Of course, a practice should always be clean, tidy, and held to the utmost hygiene standards. That’s the absolute bare minimum.
But also consider comfort and amenities – can patients sit and wait peacefully? Is there a water cooler they can refresh themselves with? Are the patient bathrooms inviting? What do they feel, hear, see, and smell when they walk into your practice?
I’m not saying you need to budget in a small fortune for wall art, scented candles, and chic throw pillows, but it’s a welcome surprise for a patient to feel like their practice notices the little things.
Be a good listener to be a good caregiver
Patients will remember how you made them feel, before they remember what you said or did.
As a medical professional and health care provider, it’s important to make your patient feel comfortable and reassured in your capabilities;
When you ask them a question, don’t interrupt or multi-task – make them feel heard and valued.
Otherwise they’ll likely leave feeling frustrated and ignored, and might consider checking out a new practice where they feel more looked-after.
Ultimately, six-star service comes down to doing what is the most basic but sometimes overlooked aspect of practice ownership– making the patient feel comfortable, welcome, and valued.
P.S. Whenever you’re ready …. here are 4 ways I can help you grow your dental practice:
1. Grab a free chapter from my book “Retention – How to Plug the #1 Profit Leak in Your Dental Practice”
The book is the definitive guide to patient retention and how to use internal marketing to grow your practice – Click Here
2. Join the Savvy Dentist community and connect with dentists who are scaling their practice too
It’s our Facebook group where clever dentists learn to become commercially smart so that they have more patients, more profit and less stress. – Click Here
3. Attend a Practice Max Intensive live event
Our 2 day immersive events provide access to the latest entrepreneurial thinking and actionable strategies to drive your practice forward. You’ll leave with a game plan to take your results to the next level. If you’d like to join us, just send me a message with the word “Event and I’ll get you all the details! – Click here
4. Work with me and my team privately
If you’d like to work directly with me and my team to take your profit from 6 figures to 7 figures …. just send me a message with the word “Private”… tell me a little about your practice and what you would like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details! – Click here
