It's always a great time to brainstorm and implement ideas to make your dental practice more accessible to existing and potential patients. Here are 5 things you can do to enhance your dental practice:
1. Mobile-compatible website: Everyone is ‘on the go’ these days. Personal tasks, like scheduling a medical appointment, or even searching for a dental provider, are handled more often on cell phones and tablets and less so on home computers. If your website does not already have a mobile-compatible layout, now is the time to make the switch. Make life easier for your existing patients—and gain new ones—in an increasingly mobile market.
2. Provide engaging, interactive website content: Demonstrate to your patients that you’re current on the latest industry news and best practices, and boost traffic to your website by including a blog with useful information on new dental procedures and advances. Allow space for website visitors to leave comments or ask questions, and respond timely. Another idea: include a patient satisfaction survey with an incentive to participate. To make it interactive, respond personally to those participants who provide contact information.
3. Email is a great way to communicate: A 2014 study revealed that over 90 percent of adults prefer a doctor who offers e-mail communication as an option. While e-mail cannot replace in-person contact, it offers convenience and efficiency for both patients and dentists. E-mail is a great way to answer patients’ follow-up questions outside of regular appointments. Of course, be sure to establish procedures to safeguard patient privacy when communicating electronically. Take your use of e-mail a step further and launch a periodic e-newsletter with practice news and information, and links to the blog posts discussed above.
4. Implement a Patient Portal: Is email not enough? Try adding an online patient portal to your website. An online patient portal is a convenient way to keep in touch with your patients. On a patient portal you can an allow the patient to see their dental records, make an appointment either in person or through video call, or to ask questions. This smart tool is easy to add on your website and you can advise your patients to use it during their next visit.
5. Make it personal: Aside from the obvious--your credentials and practice history--your dental practice website biography should include some personal information, such as your hobbies, fun facts, or philanthropic activities. Allow your patients to get to know YOU, the person. They want to see their dentist as a person who cares, not just someone who knows a lot about teeth.
The above steps will help move your dental practice to the top by providing potential and current patients the tools and information they need to have a great experience.
