The Journal
digital era, there has to be something in sync
with the world which gives you a presence or
say, advertisement in current times, 365 × 24 ×
7 (year round and 24 hrs a day). What is it? A
website!!!!! A website serves as a very good
tool and is paramount for any new start-up. We
would recommend a responsive (dynamic)
website; compatible with all digital devices,
although for a startup even a webpage or a
static website would do as well which comes at
no cost and low cost respectively. Establishing
an online presence is an essential marketing
strategy for dentists today. There are several
free places to create an online profile, with
some websites and social media sites providing
a bigger return on investment of your time and
energy spent. Initially, you can use those free
sites to get a hang of the things and how you
want to go about the task of creating your
identity online. Static or dynamic, the website
should have a lot of rich scientific content where
the patient can read about you, your services
and it should be patient educating so that
patients know you and your
acumen/qualifications and what you do (in
services part), before they call you up to take an
appointment. A nice looking website also allows
you to gain the attention of those searching for a
great dentist online. The better the website is,
the more likely that people will visit you online in
this digital era which transforms into physical
visits and further referrals as they tell their
friends to visit it. A satisfied patient leads to
another (referral chain) as the source (website)
still stands tall and stays as the generator of
new patients before the conventional methods
including word of mouth (especially) take over
eventually.
2.Patient Retention : The thought process that
a new patient leads to a growth and
multiplication in business, which, ultimately, is a
kind of practice management strategy to retain
and increase the revenues. Patient retention is
critical to the long-term success of a dental
practice as retaining current patients is far less
expensive also than attracting new ones.
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According to Harvard Business Review, the
cost of acquiring a new customer is 5 to 25 times
more expensive than retaining an existing one
and also notable, was that even a 5% increase
in customer retention leads to an increase in
profits anywhere between 25% and 95%. The
biggest role of ours comes in to retain the same
patient and making him our marketing tool. The
most probable reason of discrepancy in
retaining patient for the dental practitioner is the
lack of proper communication. Lending a
‘patient’ ear to the patients’ problems raises
your value in their eyes. Always strive to give a
careful listening to their concerns giving them
your undivided attention. Many dentists try to
show off their patient that they are too busy or
visibly looking at their watch as if saying you just
got two minutes, shoot. Never ever make your
patient feel rushed. Your patient inside your
operatory is your VIP for that moment; make
him feel special. Maintaining a one to one
conversation with patient for any procedure to
be done is very important. Direct all your focus
to them during those vital moments, may be
someone is suppressing their problems to just
vent it out to you. They came to you looking for
answers to their questions. You have to treat
them like they are your ONLY patient (there may
be many sitting in your waiting but in that
moment, they are). Adopt an approach of
empathy and compassion to be genuinely
interested in their problems at that time. Further,
the communication has to be a two-way to keep
it transparent. One needs to discuss all the
treatment modalities, the fees included, any
complications chances, if there and any post-
operative care follow up. If there is any thing
relevant to the patient for his utmost attention,
then that should be brought to his notice. Use a
patient friendly language rather than a medical
lingo to explain them their diagnosis,
recommended treatment plan or procedure and
follow-up care making it easy for them to
comprehend. Make your patients feel at ease
while addressing them and their concerns.
Always take a proper history and try to
document it (usually in front of patient on your
Vol. 14 No. 2
May-August 2018