The First Touch

As The Practice Grows  "The First Touch"

Hi, and thanks for tuning into another episode, I’m your host, Brad. Today we’re going to talk about something I call the first touch. This is the initial contact potential patients have with your practice. Now, usually, this starts with the phone call. When a new patient calls your office, it’s hugely important to project an upbeat attitude right from the start. Every phone call at your practice should be answered with a smile. It’s great to use a customized greeting that can help brand your practice and make it unique. Make sure to keep it authentic. You don’t want to sound like a robot. Instruct your team to ask for the person’s first name and always call them by their first name. People love the sound of their name. Make sure to ALWAYS have someone answering your phone. Yes. This includes off hours and during lunch. Statistics show that if a potential patient gets an answering machine - they will not call back. But once you do get this person on the phone, try to find out how they discovered your practice. It’s so important to track referral sources that are working effectively for your practice. Train your team to gather the necessary personal information, and schedule the patient as soon as possible. Another important first touch is to have an interactive chat feature on your website. Now I’m not talking about live chat, which requires a person standing by. This is having a chat feature on your homepage and it’s the easiest way to capture new leads to your website. This allows you to grab their contact information so you can get back to them at your convenience. Text messages are the most effective way to communicate with patients today. Just look at your phone. How many unread text messages? Maybe a few. Possibly none. Now look at your emails on your phone. How many unread do you have there? That’s why texts are so effective. Most text messages are actually opened within the first 5 minutes while emails clearly are not. Another key first touch is the contact form on your dental website. Make sure it’s working properly. Email yourself on your dental website contact form to make sure you’re receiving those messages. You’d be surprised how many are broken.