Build Trust and Grow an Army of Dental Practice Ambassadors
How Internal Marketing Grows New Patient Referrals
When dentists decide to grow their practices, they usually don’t consider internal marketing first. Instead, they believe that finding new patients is all about spending money on digital marketing, print ads, and postcards. This mindset shouldn’t come as a surprise because most people view marketing as something that works outside a business, funneling in a steady stream of new customers. We tend to believe that good marketing is an ad campaign, complete with a catchy jingle and memorable logo, plastered across various forms of modern media. We understand that effective marketing is expensive and that it’s all about brand recognition and social media followers and online presence. Most would agree that external marketing really does have the potential to reach the most new customers—but does it reach the best new customers?
More Dental Referrals with Internal Marketing
In a digital world, external marketing is critically important, and it’s certainly the best way to keep your dental brand fresh in the minds of prospective patients living in your community. That said, however, it’s important to realize that your best patients will not arrive via external marketing. The patients who enter your practice with an exceptionally positive attitude, the patients who immediately feel comfortable with you and your staff will come by way of internal marketing, as referrals. When someone calls your office after consulting a friend, much of the heavy lifting is done. Assuming your team avoids any major blunders, you now have a very loyal patient who is likely to accept your treatment recommendations and look past any small grievances. Referral patients tend to anticipate a good dental experience and, therefore, find it most of the time.
How Social Proof Works in Your Practice
So what’s at work here? Why do referral patients enter your practice with such a good attitude? The answer is best explained by considering a type of behavior mirroring that psychologists call social proof. Simply put, social proof is when people feel compelled to follow the lead of others who they trust and have confidence in. In this case, the new referral patient trusts the referring friend; the referring friend trusts the dentist; and, therefore, the new referral patient trusts the dentist.
Patients Don’t Remember Your Dentistry—They Remember You
After reading and responding to hundreds of patient reviews, I’ve noticed some trends: Patients very rarely comment on dentistry; instead, the overwhelming number of reviewers focus on things such as office decor, refreshments, technology, promptness, comfort, and—most of all—patients note their emotions, how the doctor and staff made them feel. From this, I’ve concluded that patients still judge your dentistry, but they do so using non-dental factors. For example, if your office is nicely decorated, provides refreshments, appears to have the latest, state-of-the-art equipment, is organized well with a friendly staff, clean lab coats, nice landscaping, and maybe flowers by the door, patients instinctively feel that your dentistry will reflect the same level of care and detail. On the other hand, if your internal marketing is worn and dated and if the staff members wear yellowing lab coats, patients will assume that you bring the same low standards into the operatory.
A Quick Analysis of Patient Reviews
To illustrate the importance of internal marketing, I did a quick, informal examination of about 40 reviews. As noted below, I recorded positive comments in one of four categories. The results confirm what I have always suspected; patients are overwhelmingly concerned about how the practice made them feel. Secondarily were observations about the office, followed by comments on treatment pain/comfort, and then only two comments about professionalism. Bottom line, if you want to get more referrals, make sure that your current patients feel good when they walk out the door. The majority of your patients don’t understand dentistry; they have no idea what you are doing to their teeth. They do, however, understand how to draw conclusions from their environment, and they really, really know how they feel during appointments.
Feelings: always welcoming – friendly – fun and playful with kids – warm – relaxing and comfortable – eased my anxiety – courteous – personalized service – great relationship with staff – goes above and beyond – considerate – family oriented – welcoming – gentle – helpful – explained thoroughly – takes extra time to explain – don’t feel like just a number – feel right at home (19/31 = 61%)
Office: like the music being played – insurance processed – well-oiled machine – prompt – beautifully decorated office – great refreshments – new technology (7/31 = 23%)
Pain: painless injections – no discomfort – gentle (3/31 = 10%)
Professionalism: knowledgeable – professional (2/31 = 6%)
Respond to Online Patient Reviews—Period
How Online Reviews Can Attract New Dental Patients The Largely Untapped Practice Builder If you don’t respond to online patient reviews, it’s like deciding not to cash in winning lottery tickets. There’s so much opportunity in both good and bad reviews—yes, even less-than-perfect reviews can strengthen your online practice brand
Internal Marketing to Get More Referral Patients (Top 10)
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- Make every patient feel special, like he/she is your only patient.
- Follow up after appointments. A quick phone call goes a long way to express your genuine concern and commitment to patient care.
- Remember details about your patients’ lives and catch up with them at future appointments. Remembering such details demonstrates your investment in the relationship.
- Look for ways to make each appointment memorable and special. Patients don’t forget small acts of kindness and service.
- Respect your patients’ time. Avoid running late. If you are delayed, find ways to express your understanding and apologize. A gift card for coffee might be a nice compensation for their inconvenience.
- Keep your office clean and smelling nice. Remove stains in the carpet. If you have a torn couch cushion, replace it. Sit in your waiting room from time to time and judge it as if you’re a new patient.
- Invest in new furniture and decor; keep the office looking fresh.
- Make sure your lab coats/uniforms are clean and ironed. Patients spend a lot of time staring at what you wear; they will notice stains and yellow, worn fabric.
- Keep the outside of your building looking clean and nicely landscaped.
- Provide WiFi, drinks, and snacks to your patients.
