Over the last twenty years, the internet has made things like scheduling appointments with dental practices easier than ever before. Patients don’t have to scan through their phonebook to find a dental practice. They don't have to sit on the phone with their insurance company to make sure the practice accepts their insurance. And they don't want to do any of that anymore.
That’s why I sat down with Tom Brown, Vice President of Sales at LocalMed. Tom and I talked about how LocalMed can make it so no patients ever face a complication with scheduling an appointment with your practice online.
Our conversation inspired me to share two simple tricks I’ve learned that make it simple and convenient for any patient to book an appointment with your dental practice. After all, when it’s easy to book an appointment, it’s easier for your practice to grow.
Send social media leads to a simple scheduling page.
Now that we’re in the 2020s, social media is something almost everyone uses. So, dentists need to make sure scheduling an appointment is quick and simple for patients who are finding them through social media.
At Delivering WOW, we’re all about using Facebook marketing, or really any form of internet marketing for dental practices, to grow your practice. Whether you prefer placing your ads on Facebook, Instagram, or any other site, making it easy for leads to schedule an appointment can increase your results significantly.
Many prospects from social media websites won’t take the time and effort needed to call your practice or navigate a complicated scheduling process. Make sure to direct social media leads to a webpage with a simple, prominent scheduling option.
Make scheduling a patient’s next appointment a habitual part of the post-appointment process.
If a patient leaves the office without scheduling their next appointment, it is unlikely that they will do so any time soon. Their life will take over and unscheduled treatment will sit for weeks, months, or longer. Or, maybe they won't want to spend the money. Or they might forget to schedule the appointment. It's critical to schedule the appointment before they leave. Even if your team member has told them they need to reschedule for more treatment, a patient might never schedule if they leave your office.
To combat this, have your team members be more proactive about scheduling after each appointment. They can do this by confidently in two simple steps. First, they should tell the patient how much time is needed for their next appointment. Second, they should ask what time of day or day of the week the patient prefers to come in. Those two steps lead the conversation to choosing the right time for an appointment. That way, you avoid discussing whether the patient will schedule the appointment at all.
Another benefit of scheduling in the office is you remove all complications from scheduling. Your team member does everything for the patient. All the patient needs to do is confirm the time works for them.
Are you making scheduling convenient for your patients?
To Tom, these tips are just the tip of the iceberg. He offers many helpful tips and tricks to make scheduling easy for your patients. To learn more from Tom about how to increase revenue through strategic scheduling strategies, head on over to LocalMed’s website or join us at this year’s Delivering WOW Live Summit event, where he’s scheduled to speak, which takes place in New Orleans, LA, on March 13-14th!
If you want help with getting patients to schedule appointments with your practice, join the Delivering WOW Platinum Coaching Program where you can access top training and coaching from experts in all facets of running a high-growth dental practice.
This article originally appeared on DeliveringWOW.com