Al Lipper who is a Dental Success Consultant gave some interesting insight into dental marketing on the dental discussion forum recently. He talks about how persistent interaction with the patient help retention and in the acquiring of new patients. He give some very interesting information that is very helpful to all practices. The following is an excerpt from his article:

Interaction #1 – The Medical Questionnaire
By surveying patients, Dr. Wise learned that most patients prefer to complete their paperwork at home. Many perceive the form as “too time consuming” to complete during the visit. To improve patient satisfaction, Dr. Wise has office personnel complete patient’s medical questionnaires by phone.

Interaction #2 – The Patient Orientation Package
Dr. Wise mails an orientation package to welcome new patients. The kit features useful dental information accompanied by a copy of their completed medical questionnaire. The completed form gives the new patient a chance to add or amend any information. The patient orientation kit instills patient trust that Dr. Wise’s office is professional and devoted to quality dental care. Since the practice started mailing new patient packets, the number of appointment cancellations has been reduced substantially.

Interaction #3 – The Personal Appointment Reminder
When Dr. Wise’s office leaves the appointment reminder message, it demonstrates a commitment to reliable dental care.

Interaction #4 – Distinctive, Branded Giveaways
To distinguish his practice from other dental offices, Dr. Wise equips new patients with a gift box opposed to a gift bag. By using a different encasement for the dental supplies, Dr. Wise’s giveaways brand and set his practice apart from the competition.
Interaction #5 – The Appreciation Communiqué
As a follow-up to the patient’s appointment, Dr. Wise uses the appreciation letter as a form of market research. The letter requests that the new patient provide feedback on their experience so they can receive even better service in the future. The thank you note again exemplifies Dr. Wise’s devotion to customer excellence and supports the exceptional patient experience.

Interaction #6 - The Referral Reward
At Dr. Wise’s office, referring patients receive a $5 Gift card from Starbuck’s Coffee. However patients who provide on-going regular referrals or those who refer large cases get specials gifts - anything from a nice pen or travel alarm clock to a new iPod. You might think this is excessive, but gifts like this are more than paid for by a single additional referral. What’s more is that each time the patient uses one of these gifts, they are reminded of what a great dentist he is. Rewarding existing clients for making patient referrals conveys an appreciation for patient loyalty and inspires future referrals. Not to mention, maintaining patient allegiance is as important as cultivating new customers.

At the end of the day, Dr. Wise wows and dazzles new patients with attentive customer service. It’s not because he doles out nifty gift boxes and gift certificates. It’s the exceptional patient experience. Aside from extraction, cosmetic procedure or other dental services, it’s the cumulative patient contact or interaction that provides the patient experience.

Perpetual persistence is the tool and strategy multi-millionaires apply. Ask any uniquely successful individual the secret to their success, and they will purport perpetual persistence among their keys to success. At least, it’s what Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates claim. Whether it’s the persistence of knocking on doors for new business or perpetually following a proven market strategy, this strategy provides dependable, consistent results.

Perpetual persistence is a marketing methodology that not only cultivates new patient relationships; it ensures the retention of new patients. How will you implement it in you practice?

I wanted to make my own comment regarding what Mr. Lipper has stated here. I believe that all 6 of the above interactions can be done via the Internet! That is what is so wonderful about the web. Granted it’s still good to interact with people in person. But all 6 of these interactions can and will add up to be quite costly for you in terms of overhead. But if you can utilize the web to help you in these interactions, you will save time and money and make more money reaping the benefits of such practices.

There is a lot of talk going around the dental industry these days about Dental Patient Registration Forms being made available to fill out online by the patient. At this years ADA International Session in San Francisco it was a topic that created some buzz around the show. But do you really need to have your dental patient registration forms online? How important is it?  The real person to ask… the office manager!

Online dental patient registration forms make life easier for office managers when patients can fill them out from home, before they come for their visit. The office manager has to ensure that the forms are fully filled out, filled out correctly, and that all information makes sense and is legible in order for all information to be recorded. Not to mention ensuring that the patient (or new patient) brings all the required materials to the visit necessary to complete the forms. When the forms are filled out at the patients home, online in digital format, all of those problems are taken care of. This gives the office manager the ability to focus on other items and emergencies that are going on around the office.

So if your dental patient registration forms are not currently made available online for your patients, you need to seriously start considering the option. Doing so will enhance your dental practice efficiency and productivity. Our website www.patientdocs.com will tell you more about our services and how our Med eForms service will help give you want you are looking for with online dental patient registration forms.

What is dental web site development? Dental web site development is much more than just web design. It’s much more than just having a website. It’s about having a functional website for your dental practice that actually does things for you. Creating a custom, good looking website is half the battle. You need to be able to visually appeal to your potential patients and show off your professionalism and clinical excellence. But the other half of the battle is giving your customer a website they can use. Something tangible. Something useful.

Patientdocs.com has been working extensively for the past 6 months on their  dental web site development service.  You get a custom web design with Patientdocs.com, but you also get online forms, appointment request tools, patient education tools, and many other features with your website that help enhance your site for the user and achieve ultimate dental web site development. So when you are looking for a new website for your dental practice, make sure you are asking yourself the right questions when you are figuring out what you want on that website. Make sure that you are asking for features that your patients and new patients can use. Ask for dental web site development!

It is said that it takes a mother with small children 20-30 minutes to fill out their forms at the Dentist Office. Also that with elderly people it typically takes even longer than that. The poor mother with little children running around everywhere driving her crazy, has to sit down for 30 minutes just to fill out the forms her Dentist requires her to complete. How stressful must that be for that mother? If only the mother could fill out the forms at home on the Internet before she came to the office. That way, she would not have to deal with it when she came in. She could just come in and get her teeth worked on and get out.

That’s why PatientDocs.com created a service to provide Dentist Offices everywhere to have their forms filled out on their website. This service of Online Forms makes life easier for everyone. The office staff and the most importantly the patients themselves. And perhaps even more importantly than that, the mothers with small children!

Have your forms ever run out of space for your patient to ENTER APPROPRIATE INFORMATION? Do you need a FORMS OVERHAUL? Are your forms COMPLIANT WITH STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS?

At PatientDocs, our Professional Form Designers will make your forms look and feel more professional than any form you’ve used before, allowing patients to fill out the forms automatically online with Validity Checks and Helfpful hints to guide them through the process. Your forms will be designed specifically to meet the needs of your office, your patients, as well as all State and Federal laws.

Your forms will be designed with your Practice logo and pertinent contact information and any other information that you request. If you’re not satisfied with the layout of the form, just let us know and we’ll redesign it for free until you are satisfied;

Not only will your forms be automated and put online, but you will receive a HIGH QUALITY PRINT VERSION to use for all your interoffice needs… And…Your forms are UPDATED FREE with your service whenever you need it. Check us out at www.patientdocs.com for more information regarding this service.

Has a patient ever had to ask you WHAT SOMETHING MEANS on your forms?

Has your office staff ever messed up an insurance claim because they didn’t understand what was on the form?

PatientDocs has made it possible not only to have your forms professionally redesigned for both print and digital formats, but we are able to place POP UP INFORMATION ON THE ONLINE FORMS that allows patients to have all their questions answered for each field on the form. Any information needed can be included, not as part of the form, but as a HELP SYSTEM TO THE PATIENT.

This technology also includes what are called VALIDITY CHECKS. We can design your forms to only allow appropriate information for each field. This reduces form errors, insurance claim problems, and other residual problems from erroneous information on forms. If this technology alone could SAVE YOU UP TO 10 HOURS EVERY MONTH in dealing with form errors, wouldn’t it be worth it? Click Here to learn more about Med eForms for your practices website.

Are patients excited when you hand them a clipboard and say “Please fill these out and sign these and BRING THEM BACK WHEN YOU’RE DONE and we’ll call you in when the doctor is ready.”…?

Do you schedule patients at least 20 to 30 minutes ahead because you know THEY WILL BE FILLING OUT FORMS first?

Have you ever had a mom or a dad in your office TRYING TO MANAGE CHILDREN while they have to fill out your office forms?

Your practice along with all the others obviously understand the importance of good time management. The better the management, THE MORE PATIENTS YOU CAN SEE. You will find that by having your office forms online and automated that you will be able to see up to 3 -5 more patients per week if only 1 out of every 10 patients used your forms online, or emailed.

The greatest benefit to having your forms available online is your PATIENTS NO LONGER WAIT in your waiting room. They fill out their forms at home and bring them in already filled out and ready to see the doctor. Click Here to learn more about this service for your dental or chiropractic practice.