3 Easy Way To Keep Patients Coming Back More Often
Success in any dental practice is all about the human touch. Something that’s unfortunately missing in most practices today.
It’s important to remember that your patients are all human beings who have a wife or husband, kids who don’t listen, a mortgage that’s too big, a house that’s too small, a swimming pool that needs cleaning and a garden that needs weeding.
Just like you, they are concerned about their health… they like to laugh, eat out, go to the movies and want to be happy.
And so the more you treat your patients as friends, the more they’ll talk about you to others and want to do more business with you.
So here are 3 simple ways for making friends with your patients… and turning them into life-long advocates for your business.
1. SEND BIRTHDAY LETTERS
Everyone likes to be remembered on their birthday. Personal birthday letters are the easiest to implement. But why not send a little gift? Or maybe a gift voucher to a local restaurant. (The restaurant should give you the voucher FREE or at least a 60% discount since it introduces a new customer to them at no cost.) Or perhaps a couple of movie tickets or whatever… The options are endless.
2. GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS RECOGNITION
Get photos of your patients at your practice together with a written testimonial about the results they got by using your services. Put these on your reception and office walls. They’ll be flattered and will talk to their friends about it. How do you get them to agree?
Simply say, “ , you got such great results with your ______ treatment that I’d like to get a photo of you and a testimonial to put up in reception. Would you be ok with that?”
3. SEND LOTS OF THANK YOU LETTERS
Thank your patients for everything. Especially for paying their bills on time. Thank them for referring people to you, thank them for coming to see you, thank them for giving you their business. What you reward is what you’ll get more of. So reward your customers by thanking them often. When is the last time someone thanked you for spending your money with them? Why not get your staff to send a little note with:
“Hi , thank you for taking care of your account so promptly.”
And attach a bag of… jellybeans. Remember, what you reward is what you’ll get more of. Thank your patients often and they’ll respond by talking about you and giving you more business.
IMPORTANT… All the simple ideas above will not work unless you do them. Make someone in your practice responsible for making sure that whatever you decide to do actually happens – every time. Make it into a documented system, outlining exactly who is going to do what. If McDonalds can do it with 14 year old kids, so can you.
And hey, don’t stop there.
I’m sure you can think up your own ways to make customers feel special… and to make your practice a lot more fun. So do it.
Loosen up a bit. And watch the enthusiastic response from your practice go straight to your bank account.
