Episode : #1,204: The Biggest Way to Make Your Practice Stand Out

Podcast Description

Post-visit follow-ups — this episode is all about ’em! Following up with patients is one of the most overlooked ways to build trust. Kiera shares tips on both how to accentuate and accelerate your post-visit methods as a practice, as well as what to avoid doing.

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Transcript:

Kiera (00:01)

Hello, Dental A Team Listeners. This is Kiera. And today I wanted to just talk about a way for your practice to stand out in a pretty easy, pretty easy way. Along with that, it’s also a great way to boost your case acceptance. So I want to talk about how, like, outside of your visit, the post-visit follow-up is actually one of the biggest things that can differentiate a practice. And I think it’s something we haven’t talked about a lot. It’s just something we naturally do. And I was excited to do a podcast about it because realistically, the patient experience doesn’t end when they walk out the front door.

But I think for a lot of offices it does. A lot of times it’s like, my gosh, they’re back in six months and they don’t have their treatment scheduled. I think some of you can feel that. sometimes it’s like, well, do we do follow-up on these patients? And people are like, but we’re too busy to do that. And so making sure that we realize that follow-up isn’t just customer service. It’s truly one of the most overlooked systems for being able to build trust, to being able to increase your case acceptance, to be able to really grow a raving fan patient base. and I think it’s just something that’s a very easy piece to add into your practice without a lot of lift.

but it’s going to give you a lot of lips. So I love the ones that are like, what’s that 1% that I could do that would give me like 20%? That’s one of these awesome tips that I wanted to give all of you today. So I want to just walk you through some of the post-visit follow-up things and how you can how you can really accelerate and accentuate that. Also some of the mistakes that practices make after a patient leaves. And then what are some of the things that we recommend you do to really help increase that patient care follow-up. So these are things that we do all the time in Dental A Team. We work with hundreds and thousands of offices.

We help, we see, we see the patterns. And our job is to really make your life so easy, so comfortable, so confident, and for dentists to really like have fun doing dentistry again. So I wanna just go through this with all of you today, give you some tactical, practical tips. And remember, Dental A Team’s mission is to possibly impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. So I just want you to know that today you’re gonna learn how to follow some of these tips, put them into play, and hopefully gain patient loyalty.

increase those raving fans and really boost that case acceptance for you. So the goal is like people love to feel remembered. And there’s this whole thing where people remember the beginning and the end of an experience. And so your intro, you probably have that really dialed in. We say hello, we have the coffee bar, we make sure it says warm welcome. And if not, start there. Okay. If you don’t have that dialed in, start there. But then the second thing is what people actually remember a lot is how they feel when they leave.

And so a lot of times when a patient leaves, we’re like, check the box, they’re done, great. No communication from them. The next thing they’re gonna hear from us when it’s time to schedule and do their six-month appointment. But like it’s follow-ups automated and it’s very impersonal. And I know you’re like, but Kiera, we have so many patients. Like, how am I supposed to make this feel personal? So a couple of things, and there’s some resources out there, so it doesn’t have to be a major uptick, but one great thing that makes patients stand out all the time in practices is to call after a major procedure. also on a new patient who’s coming in, call before they even get there.

And call after the new patient visit. There are softwares that actually let you just leave a voicemail so you don’t even actually have to call. You can just have it as part of the dental assistants checklist. Here’s the three patients, call them tomorrow. You can send a personalized text when appropriate, making sure you stay HIPAA compliant. You check on the patient’s comfort and recovery. And you can also thank patients for choosing your practice. Now, there’s ways that it can be automated. And I had a dentist that I just went and saw, and they’re like, How was your appointment? It was one of the worst appointments. Like, I will tell you, it was absolutely one of the worst dental appointments.

Ever had, and that’s saying a lot because I work with hundreds of offices and I’ve seen some pretty ratchet experiences. Like, that’s okay. You’re growing, you’re learning, there’s no judgment. When I’m coming in as a patient, I’m not here to consult you. I want it to be a great experience. Well, they texted me afterwards on an automated thing saying, How was your appointment? Leave us five stars. And I was I freaking hated you guys, like, not the thing to do. But if they would have, and I was a new patient, if they would have sent me a text like, hey care, we really loved you choosing our our practice. We’re so grateful for you, and we’re really excited to see you next time. Like

Fantastic. And then if I write back and say something, awesome. but really just quick little things to be intentional rather than automate. And I know we’re just looking for the automation, and you’re welcome to automate. I’m just saying, like, think about it. How many big procedures did you have yesterday? And also how many new patients did you have? Odds are we’re probably looking like two to four. Two to four. And this isn’t necessarily a dentist. This can be the front office team. This can be our clinical team. So it does not need to fall on the dentist shoulders. How much time, truly, would it take to make four phone calls tomorrow?

The appointments and just say, like, hey, how is that going after that crown was done? We want to make sure that you feel cared for. Any questions that you have, and also like if the experience was great, just tell your friends. But like, I’m gonna ask and make sure everything’s good before I ask for a referral. but just calling and saying, like, hey, I just want to check in with you and make sure that you’re good. People want to feel important, people want to feel great, and people will remember how you make them feel. So, small little things of follow-up will create that raving fan culture.

Like I can’t tell you if I’ve ever had a dentist call me after a procedure. The answer is probably not. Like zero for zero. So do you recognize how this is something so small? The uptick, like that’s two minutes a day that we’re gonna be doing? Now you’re like, but Kiera, like what if they’re in pain? Great. It’s a great way to get ahead of it instead of getting a Google review that tells you it’s a great way. And we’d rather know if our dentistry is not doing well. So that way we can fix it long term. So just do a quick follow-up on them. Check in, see how they’re doing. This one thing.

Like, so if we just say like one procedure that should automatically trigger a follow-up the next day, just add that in. Add that in as a simple thing. I would do new patients and I would do any big procedure. Call them that night, call them the next day, just make sure that they’re good. Again, this can be some doctors do it on their drive home, some delegate it to their front office team, some delegate it to their assistants. I don’t care. What I’m saying is we’re doing our job to make that patient feel seen. It’s like, think about restaurants that put fresh flowers on the table. That doesn’t take a lot of effort, but it’s something that’s memorable. It’s something they’re like, wow.

They went a little bit above and beyond. And to me, that’s a two-minute uptick for you that’s really gonna make patients feel seen, valued, and loved. The other piece is with treatment. This is gonna be a second part of it. We also have treatment plans. And my goal is for you guys to get your treatment plans scheduled, to make sure patients are saying yes in the chair, making sure that we have them. If they don’t, you need to be following the two two two follow-up. So anytime a patient does not schedule with me, I tell them, like, fantastic, no problem, Marsha. I want to make sure that you have all your questions answered. I’ll touch base with you in a couple of days, just see if any questions popped up that we maybe didn’t think about.

Just to make sure that you feel like you’re rock, solid, confident moving forward. I’m gonna call Marcia in two days, then I’m gonna call her in two weeks, then I’m gonna call her in two months. And some people are like, ugh, I feel like it’s such a nuisance. Well, if you feel that way, they’re going to feel that way. For me, I believe that like if a patient doesn’t get treatment done, I failed them because we diagnosed it. Like, this is something where I need to like make sure that treatment plans are revisited. Patients are definitely not the ones where it’s in their court saying, I’ll call you back to me. I’ve left them with.

something that they don’t that they need clarity on that I need to resolve. There’s no ownership of unscheduled treatment and it just sits out there like, okay, well, moving on to the next day. Versus like, no, we have follow up every time. We know we follow up in two days, two weeks, two months, and we know that there’s a personalized conversation instead of it just being like, are you ready? It’d be like, hey Marsha, I know we chatted about this. I wanted to make sure all your questions were answered. I’ve been thinking of a few things for you too. Give me a quick call. I want to chat them with you. Well Marsha’s like, well what has gear been thinking about?

She’s been thinking about me over there. What are we thinking about? I’ve just made Marsha feel like the most incredible VIP girl out there. In two weeks, hey Marsha. Dr. John and I were talking about you. And Dr. John actually asked me to call and reach out to you. He wanted to make sure you were taken care of. Give me a quick call. I’ve got a couple of ideas for you that I wanted to work through with you. Fantastic. This is something of like it’s consistency, it’s not pressure. It’s going to boost your case acceptance, but more about that, like.

Patients oftentimes just need a reminder, not a sales pitch. It’s like, yeah, I forgot to get that done. Sometimes it was money, sometimes it was foul, sometimes it was timing. I don’t know what it is, and I’m not going to project and assume that. What I am going to do is I’m going to make sure I have consistent follow-up and I’m going to have more patients in there. And also, me having to do follow-up is a way for me to get really good at my case acceptance because I don’t want to follow up with these people. So for me with patients when like, I need to check my schedule. I’m like, my gosh, Marsha, I would, I, Kiera, would hate to forget about you and let you slip through the cracks.

Let’s just pop you on the schedule. It’s a reminder for me not to let you slip through the cracks. And that way we both are able to connect. If anything comes up, I’m happy to move you. This way I don’t forget about you. Marcia’s like, yeah, Gar, don’t you dare forget about me. Put me on that schedule right now. Marsha might still say no to me. But guess what? I’ve tried really hard to make sure that she does not fall through the cracks. Also, treatment coordinators should be reviewing their unscheduled treatment every single week and reporting back ownership of all of what’s going on. Who did you reach out to? What was the 222 follow up? I have practices that see

Hundreds of patients a day and we have treatment trackers on them. Every treatment coordinator is tracking it. And guess what? Just by tracking this alone and having a set follow-up, our case acceptance has already increased 15% in one month and implementing this. And this is across three different doctors in a very, very, very large practice. I have another practice, $5 million practice. We’ve already added 100,000 of additional treatment every single month by following some of these processes. This is not something we’re like, we’re doing this in the rookie league. It is even the big leagues are benefiting from this.

Of just having consistent follow-up. And also patients feel good, but again, you have to have the right mindset. I say closing treatment is 80% psychology, 20% skill. What am I thinking about when I call them? I’m like, gosh, I just have to call these patients. Or is it, hey, I didn’t solve their pain point when they were here. I need to find out what that was. My job is to make sure that they get their dental treatment taken care of. And I need them to feel like they are the most important person in the entire world. I care about you so much. So when I call a dentist who chose not to like sign up right then and there with Dental A Team.

It’s not because I care if you work with Dental A Team or not. It’s because I care about you as a human. And if Dental A Team can serve you, amazing. I’m here to serve you. If Dental A Team can’t serve you, amazing. I want to make sure that you’re taken care of because I care about you as a human. That’s the difference. Do you care about these patients as humans, making sure that they’re getting their best treatment? Or are you just concerned about like, well, we just have to do the list because Kiera said, no, remember, it’s about the follow-up, the intentionality, the love, the adoration, because people then feel great about it.

And the third piece I want to bring up is like creating lifetime patients, not one-time visits. And retention is one of your greatest things. And a lot of people I think live in the, they’ve just been coming to me forever. And insurance, I will tell you, the buyer is different. The buyer is not as loyal as it used to be. People are inundated constantly with ads. Like we have a like an Ivy stream of information that comes to us every second of every day. it’s wild. I deleted Instagram off my phone because I was like, I just feel like I’m on it a lot. Like, let’s see.

Back to it like 10 times in one day, and the app was deleted. Like, I’m talking like we are getting that, like just coursing through our veins. And so when I look at this, how can I make sure that we have retention where people not just out of ease, but out of loyalty, continue to come back to dental practices? and things when it’s broken, when you have broken systems, are patients disappear after treatment, hygiene appointments aren’t reappointed, referrals are happening by chance instead of design. And you can look at this through attrition rates, like we have.

software for all of our clients that were able to watch their attrition rates. and what happens is like little simple things. So all hygienists are just reappointing their their patients. You should be able to sit at 98%, create that bond, create that love, and just like don’t ask them if they want to come back. Like, look, I’m here on a Thursday at 12 o’clock. Schedule me in six months on a day on a Thursday at 12 o’clock. Odds are I’m probably going to be free. People are people of creature. And you just made my life so easy. Creatures of habit. People are people of creature. People are

People are people, people are creatures of habit. There you go. That’s what I’m trying to say here. You’re welcome. This is unedited, unfiltered. Kiera, hi, nice to meet you. but they are, they’re creatures of habit. So just reappoint them. Say, hey, Kiera, I made your life easy. I’ve scheduled you on this date. Can’t wait to see you in six months. Great. If I have an issue with that date, I’ll tell you. Otherwise, I think that you are the nicest human because I didn’t have to think of that decision with you. Other times, like celebrate the milestones and anniversaries, write notes about me.

When I come back in, say it. I don’t care that you have a cheat sheet note behind the scenes. Like, say it, have a conversation, remember me as a human. Ask for feedback and reviews. Like truly, if they had a great experience and you know you connected with them, just say, Kiera, I adore you. Like I love seeing you every time. The greatest way to have more Kiera’s on my schedule is to have you leave a review. So I would love it if you could leave a five-star review for us. That way people know and people can come because realistically, you’re not writing it for me. You’re writing it for all the other Kiera’s that are looking for a dentist out there.

Who are scared and you sharing your experience will help more of them do it. Do you see? It’s not about Kiera. I’m not looking for the review for me. I’m looking for all those other patients that are just like you, and you’re helping all of them know that we’re a great dentist that they can trust and choose. and like just making sure that these people feel like they are your family, that they are your friends. Dentistry is such a weird healthcare profession, guys. Like I think it’s one of the most intimate, minus the gyna, like that’s the only other more intimate I feel that there is of a professional.

Like the mouth. Like we are our eyes are open. I I’m looking you in the eyes. Like I know I can at least like look up at the scene and not see them. Mouth, like it’s eye to eye, guys. There’s nothing like we can’t we can’t like mm, I can shut my eyes, which most patients do. We are so close, we are so intimate. We want those patients to feel comfortable, we want them to feel confident, we want them to feel that we’re gonna check in with them. So this is a space of like where if a practice will consistency, follow up, have a great experience.

Ask for those reviews, stay connected with the patients. It’s going to give you this strong retention where people want to share about you as a dentist. I remember when I was asking people when I moved to a new city, I said, who’s the dentist you go to? All of them said the same dentist. And that dentist, I looked at them. They have strong systems. They have strong systems for reviews. They have strong systems for how they schedule. They have strong systems for how they do referrals. Like they are very, very, very strong. And five people that I asked told me the exact same dentist. The dentist didn’t get a chance to talk to me. I didn’t see their Facebook ads.

I didn’t get a mailer. I asked because when people move to a new town, they’re gonna ask their colleagues and their friends. So, how can you stand out? Call them after an appointment. You better believe they’ll be like, Yeah, my dentist calls me after my procedures and make sure that I’m doing okay. My dentist called me like when I first joined their practice, they called me. When I got to their office, they gave me this like awesome swag thing. They were so nice to me. I was in and out on time. My dentist is no pain. Like, I absolutely love going to them. My dentist, their front office is so easy to work with. They get me in, they accommodate my schedule.

They’re fantastic. Whatever it is, stand out. This is your chance. This is your time. And I feel like, why not be the best of the best? because I want you to remember that every patient interaction is either strengthening or weakening that relationship. So I have to think about like if we’re on this scale, like, am I putting more coins on the weakness or am I putting more coins on the strengthening? And every day we get to put votes on there. And this is something where it’s again.

Two minutes here, we add it to a checklist, we add it to an end of day, we talk about this. What can we do for those magic moments for our patients? Because we want to stay connected. We want to stay connected between appointments and do it in a way. There’s a practice in Hawaii that I work with. Every patient knows them and they love every single patient. Every time we go to the store, those people know people. And that’s because I feel like they’re a family, they genuinely care. They care about their patients. They’re not just a number. They care. They’ve built these long-lasting relationships for generations.

And I think for you to just think about why would generations for years want to keep coming back here? It’s not because you’re a dentist. Yes, your hand skills will get you so far, but what is it about you? What keeps you going back to your favorite restaurant? What keeps you going back to your favorite places? It’s the small little things that don’t seem very big and they probably don’t take a lot of time that actually make the biggest difference. So I would recommend that you guys go through our patient journey and ask, like, what’s the last impression we leave our patients with after every visit? What can we do to improve that?

What’s our follow-up on unscheduled treatment? And let’s put a system in place that we never miss and everybody follows the same path. And let’s make sure that in between visits there’s some type of communication where patients know we genuinely are thinking about them. Whatever it is, I think the book Unreasonable Hospitality is coming to mind of how can you make these magic moments for your patients stand out a little bit? Because making your patients feel remembered, making sure that they feel like it’s consistent, making sure that there’s a relationship and a bond.

Well, keep people tethered to you. And like I said, I feel like this is a great opportunity where not a lot of offices are doing it. So it’s a great way for you to have a cutting edge, for you to be a cut above the rest by just being nice, by being a human, by going one step further than someone else, but it takes you two minutes longer. So great dentistry earns trust, great follow-up earns loyalty. And I think if you guys remember that, it’s follow-up. They say like the devil is in the details, and I feel like the magic is also in the making. And so make sure that we’re doing those follow-ups. Make sure that we’re

Checking in with our patients and really, truly, it’s a space where we want our patients to rave about us. We want them talking to their friends. You want to be the office that when someone moves to the neighborhood, five people not even related or working in the same area voluntarily say you are the best practice. That’s how you know that you won. And it’s by making people feel genuinely cared for. So if you want ways and help on this, I know we help teens, we walk through this, we work with offices on this, we help you see what your exact

pieces that makes you special. We work with a lot of offices and there’s not a one size fits all. It’s your practice, your style, your life. So let’s work on it. Let’s get the follow-up in place. Let’s add the the production to your schedule. Let’s add the loyalty to your fan base. And let’s make you the best dentist there can be. Reach out if we can help you. [email protected] and as always, thanks for listening. And we’ll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.