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Posts Tagged ‘Patient Relations’

Social Media has changed marketing as we know it.  It’s instant, engaging, and presents a multitude of opportunities and benefits for connecting with new and exisiting patients. 

However, one of the oldest and still most cost effective social media marketing tools in your practice is your telephone!  Are you utilizing it to it’s full potential?

Although we don’t want to place or keep a caller on hold, in reality we know it’s going to happen. 

Since your caller is holding, a captive audience you might say, it’s the perfect opportunity to grab your listeners attention, but I can’t tell you how many offices I’ve called (speciality and general) and I get to listen to music  or worse yet, be placed on a dead line while holding. 

Obviously the caller wanted some type of information when they called, why not offer them additional information about you, your team, and your practice/services they may not be aware are available.

Some of the services you can share with your caller:

• Your credentials – the caller may have attended the same school
• Types of dentistry provided (ie. general, cosmetic, family, children, RCT, Perio)
• Infection Control – patients are very concerned about this area
• Your location
• Office hours – early morning, evening, or even Saturday appointments?
• Oral Cancer screening -Oral cancer is on the rise… (ie: Vizilite, Identifi3000, etc)
• Zoom Whitening (or the type you offer)
• Implants – one of the most searched for dental procedures
• Invisalign – let them know you offer clear braces
• Referrals – they may not know you’re accepting new patients
• Arestin
• Laser treatment – soft tissue management and uclers for starters

Even your patients that have been in your practice for awhile probably don’t know all the procedures and services you offer.  Let them know in a short, timely message shared while they are on hold.  Never underestimate what your caller knows, or doesn’t know, about you, your services, and your practice.

I’ve come back on the phone, after placing a caller on hold many times, to have them say “I didn’t know you offered…..   Could you tell me more about it? or Can I make an appointment?”  You never know what else your patients may be looking for…let them know what services you have available.  

Again, we should do everything possible to not place a caller on hold, but when we do these are a few of the procedures and services you can have your callers listen to while holding. 

What additional services or procedures can you add?

Technorati Tags: Building Business, Dental Marketing, engaging and connecting, engaging social media, Livvie Matthews, Patient Relations, social media marketing, Telephone and social media

This is the age of Social Media and at the heart of social media is relationship marketing.  It’s all about building relationships by increasing visibility, establishing credibility and gaining trust.    

As the shift in dentistry has turned from just running a practice to running a business (which they didn’t teach in school) so has the focus shifted and the emphasis grown every day in your business office from just making appointments and collecting the money to patient services with the emphasis on patient relations.

In the treatment rooms you perform your procedures – preventive, basic or major – sandwiched in around the business office procedures of having seen the patient before and after your procedure.

With the emphasis on patient relations, have you thought about everything that’s going on up front in your business office? This is your first and last impression area, it’s your hub of activity:

• Telephone calls are received and made
• Patients are welcomed and dismissed
• Appointments are scheduled and rescheduled
• Treatment is enrolled and financial options arranged
• Finances  are discussed and money collected
• Insurance is filed and payments received
• Relationships are started, nurtured, take root and grow

This area is not only a top producing area, it’s your in-house “specialist” area…. the actual lifeline of your practice!

When we think “specialist” we think “tops in their field” because of what they know and what they can do.  What would happen to production if any one of these areas above were to break down? Whether or not you have more than one front desk person, the break down in any one of these areas could be detrimental to your practice.

So, if you find production is down, broken appointments are up, collections are off and stress is on, consider this scenario and ask yourself this question then answer truthfully.  Once the patient leaves your treatment rooms, they are in the hands of your business office “specialist”.  Are they hearing from your Wal-Mart type sales associate or are they hearing from your CEO in charge of production?

Technorati Tags: Building Business, Dental Marketing, engaging and connecting, engaging social media, Livvie Matthews, Patient Relations

Do you know what your patients are saying about you? How about past employees- what are they saying about you, your practice, or other team members?  Are you aware what your competitors are saying? Do you have someone actively “listening” to what’s being said about your practice? 

 A concern often voiced when discussing creating online communities or social media marketing is “What if someone makes a negative comment” or Aren’t we opening ourselves to criticism?”  Their concern is if someone makes negative comments it will harm their business and their reputation. 

Like building your practice, building relationships and a good reputation through credibility and trust takes work, commitment, and time.  As we know, this brings in more new patients and opportunities (through referrals), more treatment acceptance, and ultimately more revenue. 

News, especially bad news, has always traveled fast.  Add to that the Internet, cell phones, instant messaging, and texting and news is now traveling at the speed of light and the news is, geographically, all over the place. 

First, we have to remember, there’s a good possibility negative comments have already been made at one time or another.  In the community, to a neighbor, to a friend or family member, or even a call back to the office after a procedure.  But unless it was a call back to the office, you usually weren’t even aware anything negative had even been said and never had the opportunity to address the issue.  

Negative comments not addressed can grow and can lead to damaging the practice’s reputation, lost opportunities, and less revenue. 

A simple way to initiate and monitor your Online Reputation Management:

• Set up Google and Yahoo alerts for your brand – your name, your practice name, and the names of key employees 
• You can also set up alerts for your competitors
• Use Technorati for tracking your brand in case the post was in someone’s blog 

Note:  The above items mentioned are for simple monitoring for practices without a major or ongoing problem with negative comments and issues. There are companies that specifically monitor businesses brands and go much deeper into Online Reputation Management.  

For the most part, people give very good reviews.  Of course there are always the exceptions to the rule.  Often times complaints can show a practice an area that needs to be improved resulting in better patient services and better patient relations. 

Online Reputation Management allows you to watch your brand, follow what’s being said about you, and allows you to address any negative as it happens.  

This is not to be confrontational, argumentative, or offensive, but rather seen as an opportunity to resolve a negative situation in a positive manner.  It’s not really a question of “What if there’s a negative comment”, but rather the real question is “How will we address negative comments and issues”.

Social media platforms allow you the unique opportunity to address the negative and turn the negative around into a positive.  Even if you aren’t able to resolve the situation (and sometimes you can’t) your online viewers will see you didn’t try to avoid the situation.  Instead the viewers will see you value your patients experience in your office and the positive manner in which you tried to resolve the situation.  Oh, and don’t be surprised if your viewers also come to your defense! 

Online Reputation Management, when used correctly, is just another positive element of social media.

Have you had any negative comments that you were made aware of with social media?  What steps did you take to resolve the situation?

Technorati Tags: Blogging, engaging social media, Google alerts, Livvie Matthews, managing your reputation online, monitoring online reputation, Online Reputation Management, Patient Relations

Do you find yourself being Reactive to whatever comes along?  Never quite knowing what to expect or what your response would be when something out of the ordinary happens?  Or are you Proactive and have tried to anticipate what’s needed BEFORE it’s needed?

Proactive -vs- Reactive  makes all the difference when it comes to your practice and as an added benefit, it greatly reduces frustrations!

Being PROACTIVE involves nine specific areas:

P     PERSISTENCE

Persistence is the key to success in your practice and in social media networking! Sticking with it almost to the point of being stubborn. You keep at it. If it doesn’t work the first time, you don’t quit, you try it again and again. It may need to be rearranged, tried a different way, “tweaked” a little or revised, but the point is….you keep trying, you keep working it. Be persistent!

R   RELATIONSHIPS

Trust is the basis for any lasting relationship. Get to know who your patients are. Listen and understand their perceived needs and wants. Use their names often, pick up conversations where they left off at their last visit. Use social media to interact with your patients and build relationships. Your patient may not be able to explain the in-’s and out’s of the procedure or how you did it, but, your patient knows how he/she was treated and what type of experience they had while visiting your office, your social networking site, or purchasing your product. Build relationships!

O   OPPORTUNITIES

New services, options and availability can create tremendous opportunities for revenue and profit from existing (as well as new) patients. Seek to provide so many services and benefits that your patients choose to keep returning, even if their insurance changes or they move and the drive is a little further away. Every patient is an opportunity looking for a place to happen. Look for opportunities!

A   ACCOUNTABILITY

Any contact with a patient~ office visit, e-mail, social network site, web site,  or ezine ~reflects on your practice.  Each staff member should “own” the patient and be held accountable by their interactions for patient satisfaction. It’s all about service! Your “absolutely outstanding service”! Be accountable!

C   CONSISTENCY

You must be consistent with patients at each contact. Relationships are building with patients or possible new patients each time contact is made. The worst impression you can make is to meet your patients needs and expectations on one visit and then fall short during subsequent visits. Patients need to know what they can expect. Be consistent!

T   TENACITY   

Along with persistence and consistency comes tenacity. Holding firm and strong. Stay focused. Create a daily, weekly and monthly schedule and stick to it. Set your goals and stick to them. Develop your policies and procedures and stick to them. Be tenacious!

I  IDENTIFY

20% of your patients are providing 80% of your profits! Identify your patients who are in this 20% category to find the “core” of your business. What can be done for the other 80%? Identify your patients!

V   VALUE

Your services must be perceived with value by your patients. Value = Quality and the patient defines “Quality”. The “quality” appearance of your office or social site. “Quality” of patient interaction. “Quality” of your service. Market the value of your service!

E   ENTHUSIASM

Enthusiasm is exciting and contagious! Patients can distinguish your enthusiasm, or the lack of it, over the telephone, in your e-mail, or in person… within seconds. It is crucial the atmosphere of the practice, whether over the telephone, e-mail, ezine, online or offline be one of enthusiasm:  A love or passion about what you are doing!! Be enthusiastic!

Remember: Every patient-viewer is an Opportunity looking for a place to happen! By being PROACTIVE you will be ready for those Opportunities because you can leverage the….Dynamics Of A PROACTIVE Practice!

Technorati Tags: caring dentists, Dental Marketing, Draw patients, Livvie Matthews, Patient Relations, Proactive practice

Social media allows for something that’s never been available to businesses using traditional marketing in the past.  Social media allows you to connect…to talk…to create…an ongoing dialogue with your target audience!

Unlike print ads and direct mail outs that are static and limited in their information or even networking events that are one time meetings…social media allows you to “talk” with your audience…24/7.

This creates incredible opportunities to be visible and responsive to your market!

Your social platforms, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Blogs, allow you to present information to your patients they may not have known before.  Plus it presents the opportunity for them to connect with you and your staff.  You become real.

All the procedures you have available in your practice…articles of interest written by your or other dental professionals…”How to” information…local and national events happening that you are participating in …and what community services you and your team are a part of.   You can even create your dental video’s and post to your platforms.

If you are collecting email addresses through your social platforms, what about creating your online seminar’s  or video for specific procedures of interest – you already have your audience!

The biggest problem with traditional advertising – your telephone book ad’s, magazine ads, direct mail-outs – is there is no interaction between you and the potential new patients.

Using social media, you have the amazing opportunity to speak directly with your patients and perspective new patients AND be responsive to them by answering their questions and/or responding to their posts…joining in on the conversations.

Through your social media marketing strategies and platforms, you have an ongoing representative marketing your practice…24/7…creating credibility for you and your practice…gaining their trust…and building profitable relationships.  You’re REAL…they’ve gotten to KNOW you! 

In the mean time, if anyone they know has a dental problem…who do you think they are going to recommend and refer to??  You!  All because …you know how to draw new patients to you instead of driving them!

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Would you like to learn more about using Social Media to increase your online visibility, build profitable relationships, and grow your practice?  My name is Livvie Matthews and I help dentists learn how to leverage the incredible marketing power social media presents for your practice, treatment acceptance, and for your bottom line! I invite you to visit my website and sign up today to receive my Free Social Media Report http://bit.ly/5Pi0hl. Visit my Blog http://www.WriteBusiness.net/blog

Technorati Tags: Dental Marketing, Draw patients, engaging social media, Livvie Matthews, Patient Relations