Orthotown October 2020 - 56

Create and
distribute
a follow-up
survey

Communicate
with patients and
provide helpful
resources

*
*
*
*

Over the past few months, people's everyday routines have
changed drastically. Because of these changes, there may be
hesitancy to add tasks like scheduling orthodontist appointments.
There are several ways orthodontists can help patients be
informed about whether practices are open for appointments,
and the protocols orthodontic practices follow to help protect
patients and staff, including:
Email or call patients to schedule appointments. This ensures
your office is actively communicating with patients directly.
Regularly update your website. Your website will be the first
place patients will check for up-to-date information. Ensure that
it has all necessary COVID-19 and protocol information on it to
keep patients informed. These updates should include any alerts
regarding office closures, alternate office hours, changes to contact
information and any requirements for in-person appointments.
Knowing what to expect before visiting your practice is a great
way to help patients feel more at ease.
Share any updates that will affect patients. Important
updates should be shared on any owned platforms you have,
including emails, texts and social media, as well as on printed
signs in your office (when applicable). These updates can include:
* Changes to protocols or procedures and patient
expectations.
* Highlighting how any updates from governing bodies
would affect the practice and what that means for
patients.
* How to contact the office in case of emergency.
Develop a list of FAQs and update as needed. When dealing
with any changes, people will have questions. To help your staff
respond to patients, develop a list of frequently asked questions
and their answers. Ensure that this list is readily available to
staff members to use during phone calls, in emails or on social
media. This will help everyone stay consistent with their answers
and provide patients with accurate, concise information. Add
the FAQs to your website, too, so patients can easily access the
information on their own.

Word-of-mouth is a powerful
marketing tool for orthodontists.
Patients are very likely to share their
experience with friends and family.
Because consumer feedback is so
critical to a business, it's important
to make patients' visits as seamless as
possible and find ways to improve any
hiccups they may see in your process.
To do that, consider distributing a patient
survey after each visit. Some postappointment
survey best practices:
Use a tool such as Survey Monkey or Qualtrics for easy
survey setup and distribution.
Keep the survey short-no more than 15 questions.
Include an open-ended question to gather additional
comments.
Communicate and act on findings.

Social media is a powerful
tool your staff can use to
inform and engage patients.
As you plan out your social
media posts, include content related
to changes or any important information patients may need to be
aware of. But don't forget to also
share content in line with your
typical communication strategy.
Here are a few creative ways you can share positive patient
stories on your social media channels:
* Share photos/stories of patients who had successful visits.
This is a great way to showcase new protocols in place and
highlight that patients are coming in for appointments.
* Encourage patients to share their story on their own channels, tagging the practice's social channels when applicable.

Use
social media

Share videos on social
media or via email

Videos can be a great way to stay in touch with your patients.
Videos can be easily recorded on a smartphone, tablet or desktop
device and shared through email or on social media. Topics for the
videos can include anything from your approach to reopening, the
new office experience, the sanitization process or an introduction
to the personal protective equipment your staff will wear. n

OCTOBER 2020 // orthotown.com

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Orthotown October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown October 2020