Stop Losing Dental Patient Referrals

Many dentists realize the value of referrals, yet few communicate with their patients on a regular basis… This results not only in lost referrals, but also in lost case acceptance and sometimes lost patients.

Your patients are regularly receiving generic postcard offers from neighboring dental practices, each promoting a new special service, new technology or better location. The best way to ensure your patients are loyal, motivated and referring regularly is to keep in touch with them. Yes, excellent patient care is vital, but how often are you permitted to make someone’s day? Once or twice per year is not enough. Here are a few effective tips to follow up throughout the year:

• Email- few practices are collecting email addresses. While not every patient will elect to receive email from you, many will and this will allow you to communicate with patients inexpensively and quickly.
• Postcards- don’t bother sending patients a generic dental postcard- remember, they’ve likely already received dozens in their mailbox- instead, why not pick up colorful postcards from your favorite local town and have someone from your team write out a seasonal greeting (think summer destinations or great fall color drives).
• Newsletters- not your father’s newsletter! Despite our desire to interest patients in cutting edge dental technologies, most patients would rather read about you. More personal touch articles and less dental procedure will allow patients to feel like they have a real relationship with you.

The key to winning more referrals is to keep in touch with your patients, one quality follow up at a time.