Orthotown July/August 2022 - 51

Deliver a great patient
experience that ensures
continued referrals.
When you started your practice, you
needed to make relationships with general
dentists in the area who would send
patients your way. So you probably joined
local networking groups and used various
marketing strategies to extol your credentials
and experience and invite referrals.
You
probably enjoyed a
natural growth spurt early on,
which lent the impression that
practice growth was now on autopilot-dentists
would just keep
referring people to you, you'd have a
steady stream of new patients and you
wouldn't have to worry about growing
the practice because it would just happen.
Au contraire! Your patients regularly
report back to their dentist what they think
of you, your office and your team. No matter
how good you are as a clinician, if the
patient-and often the parent as well-
isn't impressed with the experience they
get at your office, the dentist is going to
hear about it. Moreover, kids talk. Parents
talk. They compare notes-and especially
complaints.
The dentist's reputation is on the line
along with yours. All the schmoozing and
qualifications in the world won't grow your
practice if the dentist feels criticized for
having sent a patient to your office. That
pipeline of referrals will run dry in a hurry
because, of course, dentists also compare
notes and complaints.
When it comes to delivering a great
patient experience, there is little difference
between a general and a specialty practice.
In fact, the primary hurdle is exactly the
same-you're in the back treating patients,
with little to no time to observe what's going
on at the front desk.
A patient's experience with your practice
begins with their first phone call to
the office. Your front desk team members
need to understand what it takes to make
a great first impression and handle the call
in a way that satisfies callers and results in
scheduled appointments. As easy as you
may think that is, front desk phone skills
are the biggest blind spot practice owners
have about their offices.
Moreover, patients who have a disappointing
experience with any of your team
members or processes-or even the look
and feel of your office-will express those
views to their dentist. You may not lose
revenue on that one patient, who's already
locked into a complete treatment plan, but
you'll begin to see referrals drop off without
even knowing why.
Make case acceptance
a team responsibility.
Just because a patient is in your office
as a referral from their dentist doesn't make
it a foregone conclusion that they'll accept
your recommended treatment. Then again,
you're not the only person responsible for
growing the business! Others on the team
who interact with patients should also be
trained to properly present treatment plans
and cost options so as to gain case acceptance.
These
presentations aren't about aggressively
selling; they're about influencing
patients to make decisions you know are
in their best interest. When patients have
Orthotown July/August 2022

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