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First Impressions: The New Dental Patient
When do you think the decision to buy is really made? It’s certainly not during the case presentation. Hardly. In fact, more than likely, the “decision” isn’t a decision at all. It’s more than likely a process. The process starts with the patient’s first contact with or about your office. If a personal referral, it begins with the information provided by the referrer. Perhaps the new patient was attracted by external marketing or a public relations effort. Whatever the means, the tone has been set.
Your first live opportunity to foster the right impression comes during the first phone call. Much has been said about telephone technique. Both Dr. Roger Levin of the Levin Group and Walter Hailey of Planned Marketing Associates offer excellent insight into maximizing telephone skills and opportunities.
Tom Peters, in The Pursuit of Wow, describes the “wow” experience as anything that causes the customer to leave the transaction saying, “Wow!” When that happens, they are more likely to buy, to refer and to return for more. Before we look at a wow “New Patient Experience,” let’s look at what more commonly occurs.
It’s 12:30 p.m., and a man walks through the front door to Dr. Jones’ dental office. He steps inside and pauses that uncomfortable pause -- the one that says that he’s never been there before, and doesn’t quite know exactly where to go, or what to do. He looks around for a moment, then heads over to the reception desk. One staff member is busy checking out a patient, and another is on the phone. She notices the stranger, nods toward him, as if to say she’d be with him shortly.
The stranger waits patiently as the staff member wraps up the conversation. “That’s right, Cheryl at Dr. Jones’ office. Please remember extra onions and garlic on the steak and cheese.” She hangs up and turns toward the stranger, “May I help you?”
“Yes, I’m Jim Smith; I have a 12:30 appointment.”
“Please take a seat, and fill these out.”
Does this sound melodramatic and absurd to you? If so, one day I’ll tell you of my personal experience at a local physician’s office, an experience that will make the above seem like the Ritz Carlton! If, on the other hand, you don’t see anything wrong with the above, please read on anyway.
As I said earlier, case acceptance and the impulse to refer are “processes.” The first few minutes in your office play an absolutely pivotal role in determining your future with the new patient. If they are greeted like an uninvited stranger, and then asked to sit and fill out paperwork, you’ve missed an enormous opportunity.
At my office, the Center for Esthetic Dentistry, the new patient experience is carefully scripted. In fact, for new staff members, there are little laminated cheat sheets, the size of a 2x2. We call it a “guest mentality.” The new patient (and every patient, for that matter) should be treated as if a guest in your home. If you expected guests at 12:30, wouldn’t you come to the door and greet them by name?
You’re the receptionist. It’s 12:30 p.m., and a man walks through your office front door. You don’t recognize him. There’s a new patient, Jim Smith, on the schedule for 12:30 p.m. Take a risk! Walk around the counter, up to the man, shake his hand, and say, “Hi, you must be Mr. Smith. We’ve been expecting you. Welcome to our practice. My name is Izabel.”
“Here, let me take your coat. Any trouble finding us? Great. Won’t you please come with me?” Here’s where we begin what we call the “new patient tour.” The very last thing we want to do is to hand our new “guest” paperwork and leave him by himself. When we first started this, we used to tell the patient we’d like to show him around the office. We stopped telling them, and just asked them to follow us now. Why the distinction? Twenty percent used to nervously refuse, saying they’d be fine, and prefer just to sit down in the reception area. But ironically, these 20 percent were exactly the folks who most needed the extra soft touch we were trying to provide!
“Mr. Smith, won’t you please come with me?” Put this way, no one has since refused. The tour is short and sweet, but orchestrated and scripted for consistency. As we show the new patient around, we invoke the “10-foot rule.” Any time within our practice any staff member is within 10 feet of a patient, we acknowledge them! If we’re free, we say hello. If we’re on the phone, or with a patient, we at the very least will smile, nod or wave hello.
“Mr. Smith, this is Jim, he’s our hygienist.” Since Jim is with a patient, he doesn’t want his patient to feel that his attention is lost. Jim gently touches the shoulder of the patient he’s treating, while looking over his shoulder and acknowledging Mr. Smith.
As they approach my end of the hall, I’ve already looked for the new patient’s name on the schedule (although we have computers in all the ops, you could also do this with paper copies of the schedule just as easily). Again, it’s 12:35 p.m., Izabel is showing a man around the office and introducing him to everyone she passes. The schedule shows a new patient, Mr. Jim Smith, for 12:30 p.m. I’ll always take the risk, and greet the new patient by name, before Izabel has a chance to introduce us!
Compare this start to the office where the staff member was ordering lunch, kept the new patient standing at the desk, only to hand him forms and ask him to take a seat! Devil’s advocate would ask about my patient in the chair. Aren’t they going to feel embarrassed, or abandoned? Certainly each situation is different, so one must use judgment, however the majority of the time the patient in the chair gets into the act as well! That’s right. Unexpected at first, and certainly unscripted, the patients in the chair will often twist around and wave to the new patient, welcoming them to the practice as well! Since this has happened often, we actually encourage it.
In addition to introducing them to the staff as they walk through, Izabel will also give them a brief description of each area. For example, “Mr. Smith, this is the sterilization area. We have two of the most up-to-date, modern pieces of sterilization equipment. Anything that can be sterilized, goes through here. Anything that can’t, is disposed of.”
“This is our lab. In addition to using several of the finest labs in the world, we do some of our own lab work right here. For instance, we make the models and trays used in cosmetic whitening, as well as making temporary crowns and bridges.”
“Here, in our staff lounge, we bake bread for our patients, as well as make coffee, and gourmet coffee. We also offer White Zinfandel, Chardonnay, hot chocolate soda, and about forty different kinds of tea. What may I get for you?”
Helping the new patient with some fresh bread and a drink, Izabel escorts him to the consultation room. In the consultation room are before and after cosmetic photos and diplomas. This is another brief, but important marketing/impression-making opportunity. “We’re very proud (use this word often) of the type of cosmetic dentistry Dr. Orent performs. These books are our family albums. Dr. Orent was the editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, and was the first dentist in Massachusetts to be accredited by the AACD.”
Whatever makes your resume special, have your staff glow about you here. Just a few choice words that show why they’re proud to be a part of your team -- and what makes your office different than all the rest. Perhaps you teach at the local dental school. Maybe you do missionary work, or donate your time to the local parish. Have you ever written an article or column for a local newspaper? Let the patient know from the outset why they should choose you for their treatment.
The entire new patient tour only takes a few minutes, yet the effects can help determine the long-term relationship to be established with each and every new patient. Just because it is so different is reason enough to make this a wow experience. The “guest mentality” permeates our practice. We’ll do whatever we can to make folks feel extra special at each and every visit. The first impression is critical to ensure there will be future visits.
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