If your practice isn’t the one to STAND OUT, you will be forced to STEP ASIDE to the practice that is. To a typical patient, a dentist is a dentist, a filling is a filling and a cleaning is a cleaning. What is the one thing that will always set you apart and make you STAND OUT? Unmatched Customer Service.
When your practice STANDS OUT with consistent delivery of the highest level of customer service/patient care, you can expect;
- Happier patients because you’ve built a solid relationship with them based on your standard of care – building loyalty and trust
- Happier team members – because YOU care, because THEY care and because they see the tangible results of STANDING OUT
- Happier YOU – less stress because you aren’t dealing with an empty schedule, patient complaints or a less than stellar team
- Increased production – happy patients, trusting patients are more apt to keep their scheduled appointments AND refer other patients to your STAND OUT practice
- Increased treatment case acceptance – because your patients trust you and your team and because your team is actively working patient care systems to provide patient education and care
STAND OUT practices focus and deliver on the following:
- Red carpet customer/patient care – Every single patient (well, anyone really) who enters your door should be immediately greeted and welcomed. Every person who visits or calls your practice is a potential patient, and know others who are potential patients. New patient? Shake their hand and let them know how happy you are they chose your practice as their dental home. Give them a quick tour. Show them where the restroom is. Encourage every single member on your team to take 10 seconds to pop their head in the patients room and introduce themselves with a welcome. You want WOW factor in your practice? This delivers.
- If you tell a patient you are going to do something, DO IT. Follow up! If a patient calls and complains that so & so said they were going to check into something and call the patient back last Tuesday and the patient has to call a week later because they haven’t heard anything yet, there is a huge problem. Following through with what you say, and consistently delivering MORE than you promised is what you want for your practice. You want your patients to know, and TRUST that what needs to be done, will be.
- Post – op calls. Simple, yet oh so appreciated by the patients. It’s a real “warm fuzzy” type of care call that makes them feel good. And gives you a great opportunity to be available to answer questions, field pain complaints and even schedule a next appointment.
- Answer your phones with a SMILE. Answer your phones often. Create a fabulous greeting that will totally make your practice STAND OUT to any caller! (It’s a great day at Dr. Smith’s office, how may we make you smile today? It’s a great day at Dr. Smith’s office where our goal is to improve the oral health of all, how may I help you? End your calls with “It was my pleasure to assist you”. ) It may sound so simple, but I’m here to tell you the results in such simplicity are profound.
- Solid consistent use of detailed systems from everything to recare to undone treatment, insurance and accounts receivables, confirmations to NOTES and everything in between. Solid, consistent systems to ensure patients don’t get lost in the shuffle, patients get scheduled, insurance co’s and patients are prompt with their payments. No one in a STAND OUT office is ever confused as to why something happened, where a patient went or if a patient was followed up on.
- Communication. With team members. With patients. All documented so every one is always on the same page. Patient cancelled? NOTE it. (why, when, may we follow up etc) Patient left without scheduling their next appointment? NOTE it. (why, what was the scheduling challenge and when are we going to follow up) I cannot begin to express how much detailed notes will change your practice in all areas. (Come on, I know you’ve all looked at an appointment or wondered where a patient has been and no one can answer you as to what happened)
- SMILE. and mean it.
- As Zig Ziglar says “You don’t build a business. You build people. And then the people build the business.” Build your team.
- Credit to Howard Farran – “Hire fast, fire quicker”. If you know they aren’t a fit, help them succeed elsewhere.
- Focus on the patients, building connections. Commit to making a difference. Success follows.
Are you a STAND OUT practice or are do you STEP ASIDE?
The choices you make today will produce your results tomorrow.
STAND OUT! STAND OUT! STAND OUT!
It’s time to replace your boring, non-productive answering service with a relationship building, appointment scheduling AWESOME service!
330-639-1333