Tooth Be Told: Nailing First Impressions

It’s often said that perception is reality, and certainly the patient’s perception has a direct impact on the realities of your practice. The patient’s observations significantly influence your case acceptance success. Their insights shape their opinions of you and your team – and consequently, their opinion of the quality of your dentistry.

And by the way, their perception of quality has NOTHING to do with margins!

I have a CHALLENGE for you...

I’d like you take a short walk in your patient’s shoes.

1. Enter through the front door of your practice and look around your reception area, then answer the following questions - 
2. On a scale of 1-10 how accurately does the physical appearance portray your vision?
3. If you were the patient, what would you think?
4. What image does your practice convey within the first 30 seconds? Is it a cluttered mishmash of magazines and materials? Maybe you have a copy of Golf Digest from 2006 and a few issues of National Geographic that are scattered about.
5. What about the reception area conveys that you are glad the patient is there, and although the wait won’t be long, you want them to sit back and relax in a comfortable pleasing space? Or is this an area that feels more like you’re stopping by the Quick-n-Cheap oil and lube joint for the $20 filter change?

There’s a lot of focus on physical surroundings, but even more attention should be paid to HOW they are greeted.

• How quickly would you be acknowledged after entering the practice?
• Are you on the phone?  Away from the front?  Distracted with something seemingly more important than the person that just took the morning off to spend time and resources in YOUR practice? 
• Good grief people – there’s nothing more important than the patient right in front of you!
• What are the chances you be welcomed by name if you were a patient walking into your practice? 
• Are you greeted with a clipboard, or with a warm welcome and New Patient Interview?

What is the trek back to the treatment room like?

• Is it a dark and dreary channel linking one room to the next? Is it cluttered and crowded? Can two people pass each other or does one have to step out of the way because there’s not enough room?
• What is the perception of the team dynamic as patients are transitioned from the front office to the clinical area?
• When you sit in the dental chair and look around the room, what does the physical appearance and technology of your practice say about you and your team?
• Will patients perceive that your practice is state-of-the-art, or a sorry state of affairs? it in the chair and look at the ceiling. Is it dirty and dingy? What about the dental exam light? Is it splattered with water spots that have ricocheted off past patients?
• This little stroll in your patients’ shoes should give you more than a few insights into what your practice’s physical surroundings say about you.

CHALLENGE: Find out how your patients measure 'quality'. 

Ask ALL new patient callers "What is most important to you when choosing a dentist?" or "What are you looking for in a dental office?"

Ask ALL patients that are referred, "What did (referring patient) say that made you choose our office?" 

Ask ALL patients that say they were motivated to schedule because of your reviews, 'What stood out to you the most when reading our reviews?"

Ask ALL existing patients, "What do you value most about our dental practice?"