Why should your dental patients refer their friends and family to your practice? Answering this question can help you know whether you are promoting your practice effectively.
The common answer I hear from dentists is patients are lured by the technology in the office. The new endo system. The Cerec. The microscope.
Another typically answer involves the dentist’s dedication to continuing education. Patients will refer friends and family because they know the dentist attended a great perio course on Saturday or the dentist is involved in a top-notch study group.
While these items are important, they simply brush the surface of why patients refer to you. The real reason most patients refer their friends and family is because of how they feel in your practice. That’s right, the decision is usually made at the feeling level.
Friends do not compare notes about their dentist’s technology or hours of continuing education; instead they discuss their experiences in the practice. When someone talks about how friendly their dentist and team are or how much they trust their dentist, people listen. When someone brags that they are seen on time when they go see their dentist, people take note. And when someone talks about a toothache or other emergency and their dentist made time to see them, even though it was after hours, people remember.
Therefore, consider how your technology or continuing education helps you build trust or create comfort for your patients. For example, patients may not remember anything about your Cerec’s CAD-CAM technology, but may really appreciate getting their crown the same day.
Also consider how you can fine tune the patient experience to emphasize what matters most to patients: friendly greetings, feeling comfortable, and getting in and out on time. The more you can treat your patients to what they want to experience, the more they will brag about you to their friends and family.
Learn more about how our dental consulting can help you grow your practice with more new patients.
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