Becoming a preferred general dentist for your local community.
Making a difference in your region by providing your community with exceptional dental care is an incredibly rewarding aspect of being a dentist. Achieving a stellar reputation and becoming the preferred family or general dentist office in your area not only yields this reward but also ensures the long-term success of your business.
Whether you’ve just opened your doors or you’ve been established in your community for years, here are 5 ways to grow your reputation as a favorite local dental professional.
1. Perfect your practice’s patient-welcoming strategy.
First impressions are usually not forgotten, and patients will certainly remember if they felt as if they weren’t welcomed or prioritized. This is why having an effective patient-welcoming strategy in place is crucial for your team. From the moment a ringing phone is answered or a patient walks in the door, your team should take steps to make everyone feel warmly welcomed, comfortable, and in a positive mental space for their appointment.
Remember, a patient isn’t a customer paying for dental care services. They are individual people who’ve chosen to give your practice the privilege of caring for their smile. Instilling the importance of this trust and privilege in your team can help them tailor their approach to patient care.
2. Partner with parents in prioritizing their family’s health.
If you provide family dental care services, you have a unique opportunity to partner with your patients who are also parents. Family dental care is most successful when parents and dentists are able to form a collaborative relationship. It encourages more frequent dental care visits; reduces the number of preventive care appointments your patients skip; and helps prevent common oral health issues, such as tooth decay and gum disease.
When you change your approach from treating a parent as an individual patient to treating a parent as the leader of a family, there are far more opportunities available. Parents prioritize their family’s health, especially their children, and will feel a greater bond or loyalty when they know their dentist shares their same concerns.
3. Create an online presence that encourages contact.
A great website and complementing social media platforms are an absolute must in achieving status as a choice family or general dentist in your area. Competition is fierce, even in small communities, and having a less-than-stellar online presence is going to be a significant obstacle in your practice’s success. A very high percentage of prospective patients are going to look for your website online, so it’s vital that it forms a great virtual first impression.
You want your website to not only offer all of the important information necessary, such as team member introductions and information on services you offer, but also reflect the same patient-welcoming strategy mentioned earlier. You want your website and social media to portray your practice as a place where patients feel welcomed, respected, and prioritized.
4. Invest in the latest scheduling software and online booking.
Scheduling problems are not only stressful on your business team but also stressful and off-putting for patients. While you can’t necessarily create more hours in a day to see patients, by investing in advanced scheduling software you can maximize patient flow, improve productivity, and provide more opportunities for urgent care appointments.
Don’t forget about online booking options being readily available on your website. When a patient visits your website, seeing a very obvious “Schedule an Appointment” button, complete with a streamlined online booking system, encourages them to go ahead and create the appointment right away. By eliminating the need to have to call to schedule, you reduce the chances of them postponing.
5. Open your menu of services to include advanced dentistry.
Evaluate your current menu of services and consider if your practice is offering the most it can for patients. Adding new services to your practice is not only exciting for you and your team, but it also shows patients you’re dedicated to expanding your knowledge and providing a greater selection of dental care to the community.
But, you don’t need to offer everything. Instead, focus on one or two services you feel passionate about learning and see what continuing education opportunities are available. Encourage your staff to continue their education as well, perhaps by learning a new skill they can apply to their current position.
One option that is incredibly rewarding for a family or general dentist is straight wire orthodontics.
Straight wire orthodontics courses for a family or general dentist.
Williams GP Orthodontic Seminars offers courses specifically designed to help a family or general dentist learn the necessary skills to confidently add straight wire orthodontics to their practice. Courses include three levels—Basic, Intermediate, and Premier—as well as additional seminars for orthodontic assistant training and orthodontic practice management.
For more information on Dr. Williams’ courses or to register for a class, feel free to contact us at any time!
