What is the most important asset in your practice?
If your answer was anything but patients, you are dead wrong.
You see, everything else in your practice, the x-ray, the chair, the staff, and yes, even that DDS or DMD degree on the wall is useless without patients.
Over the life of your practice, you have developed a list of these patients that are current in your practice, and you also have a list of those that USED TO BE patients, but for some reason have not returned.
This list is your most valuable asset in the practice. Make sure you have a backup copy of it in a very safe, fire resistant place.
IF you showed up to your practice tomorrow and the whole place had gone up in flames, what would you have left? The only thing that could not be replaced easily is your patient list.
Also, true Marketers would pay hundreds of dollars to have a list of dedicated and loyal consumers of a specific service. These consumers are known to be health conscious and committed to having the best health possible.
I’m not suggesting you sell your list, in fact, it’s illegal to do so, but you do have the option to send communication to them yourself. You should be sending newsletters, postcards, appointment reminders, and Thanksgiving cards to your current list to keep them coming back.
Action To Take: This November, consider sending your patients a simple Thanksgiving card. Include a message that thanks them for being a patient. After all, without them, you have no practice.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Why Your Patients Leave
I just finished an article in the latest issue of Dental Economics regarding building trust in your patients.
The article cited a survey of 1000 consumers in which 25% of the respondents said they stopped seeing a physician due to communication problems.
You say, "But I talk to my patients all the time, my communication with them is great!"
OK, point taken, but we have to remember, (and your spouse will tell you) communication is a two way street. It doesn't mean just talking, but LISTENING.
Case in point, this morning I was at the dentist, and had just began a prophy when my worst fears came to realization...
Grape flavored prophy paste...YUCK!!!
Now, I have been at the same dental office for the last 3 years, and every time I experience this little bit of discomfort. I am not a big fan of these "flavored" pastes at all, and prefer either the regular mint, or the No Flavor paste. (Who taste tests these anyway?)
I have let the office know this every time I have been there, and yet every time I go it seems I have to tell them again. And usually I am the one left with a bad taste in my mouth.
Being in the industry, I know there are places in the practice management software, or special "alert" stickers that can be placed on a file. These are usually reserved to alert the dentist to any allergies, or special conditions. In other words, the best interest of the practice.
Now, in my case, there is no alert sticker, note in my file, or even a yellow sticky note alerting the hygienist to my request for flavorless paste.
It is almost as if my likes/needs were not documented for sake of practice efficiency.
All it takes in this instance is a little extra step from the hygienist or dentist (who also noted my flavor choice aloud) to write this in or on my patient file, or make a note in the fancy computer system, and next time I won't be surprised by the newest sensation in flavored prophy paste.
It's small things like this that make people leave the dentist. You may have done your cleaning and checkup to perfection, but when I taste grape in my mouth by surprise, that is what I will note.
So, when communicating with your patients, make sure the patient gets a chance to talk, and make sure you take the opportunity to listen.
Don't leave a bad taste in their mouth.
Have a profitable week!
The article cited a survey of 1000 consumers in which 25% of the respondents said they stopped seeing a physician due to communication problems.
You say, "But I talk to my patients all the time, my communication with them is great!"
OK, point taken, but we have to remember, (and your spouse will tell you) communication is a two way street. It doesn't mean just talking, but LISTENING.
Case in point, this morning I was at the dentist, and had just began a prophy when my worst fears came to realization...
Grape flavored prophy paste...YUCK!!!
Now, I have been at the same dental office for the last 3 years, and every time I experience this little bit of discomfort. I am not a big fan of these "flavored" pastes at all, and prefer either the regular mint, or the No Flavor paste. (Who taste tests these anyway?)
I have let the office know this every time I have been there, and yet every time I go it seems I have to tell them again. And usually I am the one left with a bad taste in my mouth.
Being in the industry, I know there are places in the practice management software, or special "alert" stickers that can be placed on a file. These are usually reserved to alert the dentist to any allergies, or special conditions. In other words, the best interest of the practice.
Now, in my case, there is no alert sticker, note in my file, or even a yellow sticky note alerting the hygienist to my request for flavorless paste.
It is almost as if my likes/needs were not documented for sake of practice efficiency.
All it takes in this instance is a little extra step from the hygienist or dentist (who also noted my flavor choice aloud) to write this in or on my patient file, or make a note in the fancy computer system, and next time I won't be surprised by the newest sensation in flavored prophy paste.
It's small things like this that make people leave the dentist. You may have done your cleaning and checkup to perfection, but when I taste grape in my mouth by surprise, that is what I will note.
So, when communicating with your patients, make sure the patient gets a chance to talk, and make sure you take the opportunity to listen.
Don't leave a bad taste in their mouth.
Have a profitable week!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Remind Your Patients What Time Of Year It Is!
Yesterday, I was browsing through the local paper looking at all the advertisements from the national retailers. These are your normal weekly ads from Lowes, Target, and Sears showcasing all of their fall special prices.
Everything was targeted at fall savings. Reminding me to buy the gutter cleaners, lawn rakes, and Halloween decorations that were all featured.
I couldn’t help but think of how nice it was for these huge stores to remind me what time of year it is, and what I should be doing with my money. I broke my lawn rake last year, my gutters do need a good cleaning, and I could use a little decoration for the season.
These guys have a smart plan to advertise what is needed, when it is needed. Do I need a swimming pool… not now, but a lawn rake? I could use two.
It’s the same way with your patient’s insurance benefits. Many of them have leftover benefits that they will forget to use because it is not on top of their list (like gutter cleaning is not on top of mine). Once December ends, many of your patients will find the benefits they could have taken advantage of have now gone, and they now have a huge deductible to overcome putting them further away from getting prescribed work done.
So it’s up to you to remind them. Not so much for your benefit (although it is beneficial to you), but as a service to your patients. You have worked hard to build a relationship with your patients, and by taking a small extra step to remind them what time of year it is, and to use their benefits; it will help them, and in turn, help you.
Action To Take: Send your patients an insurance letter soon. If you need a FREE example, Fax us at 503-371-1299.
P.S. A doctor we sent insurance letters for reported 5 scheduled appointments within one week of sending the letters, and booked all 5 for prior undone treatment!
Everything was targeted at fall savings. Reminding me to buy the gutter cleaners, lawn rakes, and Halloween decorations that were all featured.
I couldn’t help but think of how nice it was for these huge stores to remind me what time of year it is, and what I should be doing with my money. I broke my lawn rake last year, my gutters do need a good cleaning, and I could use a little decoration for the season.
These guys have a smart plan to advertise what is needed, when it is needed. Do I need a swimming pool… not now, but a lawn rake? I could use two.
It’s the same way with your patient’s insurance benefits. Many of them have leftover benefits that they will forget to use because it is not on top of their list (like gutter cleaning is not on top of mine). Once December ends, many of your patients will find the benefits they could have taken advantage of have now gone, and they now have a huge deductible to overcome putting them further away from getting prescribed work done.
So it’s up to you to remind them. Not so much for your benefit (although it is beneficial to you), but as a service to your patients. You have worked hard to build a relationship with your patients, and by taking a small extra step to remind them what time of year it is, and to use their benefits; it will help them, and in turn, help you.
Action To Take: Send your patients an insurance letter soon. If you need a FREE example, Fax us at 503-371-1299.
P.S. A doctor we sent insurance letters for reported 5 scheduled appointments within one week of sending the letters, and booked all 5 for prior undone treatment!
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Follow Up Systems
I receive a lot of questions asking me what kind of follow up systems that we recommend here at Jerry Jones Direct. This month I figured I would cover a couple of ways to follow up with those patients that scheduled, as well as those new callers that may not have scheduled.
First things first…You cannot follow up with people if you do not collect their name, address, and phone number! This is very important. Even if the caller does not appoint, collect all of their information. This will let you follow up with them to see if their needs have changed.
Also, I don’t know what it is, but I even talk to practices that don’t even collect address and phone information when a new patient appoints, they wait until the patient actually shows up in the office. This is practice suicide. This also leads to many no shows.
That being said, there are many ways to follow up with both those patients that schedule, and those that do not. I will break them down into those two categories.
For patients that schedule…
Immediately send them a reminder card. Something for them to hold in their hand. A simple Thank You card that says “Thank you for calling and scheduling an appointment on Saturday, February 12th at 3pm. We look forward to seeing you then.” And make sure to personally sign it.
Have a letter from you go out with all the new patient forms. The letter from the doctor should say something to the effect of “Thank you for appointing, we realize that you have a lot of dental care options and we are glad you chose us. I have enclosed our new patient forms for you to fill out and bring to your first appointment; this will ensure we get you in on time.” Have the doctor sign it IN BLUE INK. This is a very important step. Blue ink shows that the signature is not a photocopy, and the doctor has actually taken time out of his day to sign these letters. Also, hand address these envelopes!
Also, the day before the appointment, call the patient and remind/confirm their appointment. This is a simple step that will decrease no-shows quite a bit. Your office staff should do this, not you.
Remember, all of these follow up methods rely on getting the patient’s name, address, and phone number. Failure to get any of those will eliminate at least one of these follow up methods, if not all chances for follow up.
For a new-caller that does not appoint…
If the caller chooses not to appoint, BEFORE the call ends, add this line, “you can visit us at www.yourwebsitehere.com for more information.”
Also, IMMEDIATELY send them a thank you card (handwritten and signed) that says “Thank you for calling us, we realize that you have many dental options, and we would be privileged to have you in our practice.” Or something similar.
If the patient asks a question about whitening, send them a ZOOM brochure, with a short handwritten note.
Once again, the above options all depend on collecting the name, address, and phone number of the caller.
These are just a few of the methods available to follow up with patients and new callers, but there are plenty more. Get creative. Remember, human nature follows the rule of reciprocity, meaning, if you do something for them, they feel compelled to do something for you. Whether that is showing up for their appointment, or calling back to schedule an appointment. The more creative and thoughtful you are, the more rewards you will reap.
If you need some help putting together a follow up package, or need to design a brochure to use for follow up and other reasons, please give us a call at 1-800-311-1390.
Have A Profitable Week!
First things first…You cannot follow up with people if you do not collect their name, address, and phone number! This is very important. Even if the caller does not appoint, collect all of their information. This will let you follow up with them to see if their needs have changed.
Also, I don’t know what it is, but I even talk to practices that don’t even collect address and phone information when a new patient appoints, they wait until the patient actually shows up in the office. This is practice suicide. This also leads to many no shows.
That being said, there are many ways to follow up with both those patients that schedule, and those that do not. I will break them down into those two categories.
For patients that schedule…
Immediately send them a reminder card. Something for them to hold in their hand. A simple Thank You card that says “Thank you for calling and scheduling an appointment on Saturday, February 12th at 3pm. We look forward to seeing you then.” And make sure to personally sign it.
Have a letter from you go out with all the new patient forms. The letter from the doctor should say something to the effect of “Thank you for appointing, we realize that you have a lot of dental care options and we are glad you chose us. I have enclosed our new patient forms for you to fill out and bring to your first appointment; this will ensure we get you in on time.” Have the doctor sign it IN BLUE INK. This is a very important step. Blue ink shows that the signature is not a photocopy, and the doctor has actually taken time out of his day to sign these letters. Also, hand address these envelopes!
Also, the day before the appointment, call the patient and remind/confirm their appointment. This is a simple step that will decrease no-shows quite a bit. Your office staff should do this, not you.
Remember, all of these follow up methods rely on getting the patient’s name, address, and phone number. Failure to get any of those will eliminate at least one of these follow up methods, if not all chances for follow up.
For a new-caller that does not appoint…
If the caller chooses not to appoint, BEFORE the call ends, add this line, “you can visit us at www.yourwebsitehere.com for more information.”
Also, IMMEDIATELY send them a thank you card (handwritten and signed) that says “Thank you for calling us, we realize that you have many dental options, and we would be privileged to have you in our practice.” Or something similar.
If the patient asks a question about whitening, send them a ZOOM brochure, with a short handwritten note.
Once again, the above options all depend on collecting the name, address, and phone number of the caller.
These are just a few of the methods available to follow up with patients and new callers, but there are plenty more. Get creative. Remember, human nature follows the rule of reciprocity, meaning, if you do something for them, they feel compelled to do something for you. Whether that is showing up for their appointment, or calling back to schedule an appointment. The more creative and thoughtful you are, the more rewards you will reap.
If you need some help putting together a follow up package, or need to design a brochure to use for follow up and other reasons, please give us a call at 1-800-311-1390.
Have A Profitable Week!
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