Websites. Electronic Communication Systems. Direct Mail Marketers. Radio Ads. Newspaper Ads. Social Media Support. Logo memorabilia. Special Events. In house marketing gimmicks and print material. Newsletters. Email blasts.

Marketing isn’t cheap, right?  You spend thousands of your hard earned dollars on marketing, all aimed at driving patients and potential new patients to pick up their phone – call your office, choose YOUR office for their dental home, right? Saying “PICK ME! PICK ME!”

Yet most offices only provide phone availability to their patients an average of 26 hours a week. That equates to 56 normal business hours of opportunity that you miss out on each month. 56 hours!!! You say you are welcoming new patients, but not on Fridays or Wednesdays – you know, when you’re out of the practice…. Or better yet, not during your lunch hours.  (Top 12 reasons your dental chair might be empty, and it’s NOT the economy!)

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Follow-up. We know how critical the correct follow-up can be in a dental practice. It can make or break treatment case acceptance. It can make or break a new patient scheduling. It can make or break the positive reviews you want your patients to go out and spread to the world. Lets face it…. It can make or break you.

To ensure that nothing falls in between the cracks, great systems need to be in place for follow-up. Along with the systems, we need to know who is doing what, and by when.

You come in to the office on Monday morning, after being closed on Friday with no phone coverage, to an answering machine full of cancellations, messages and reschedule requests. Although it may seem a bit archaic, phone logs are really a must in every practice. Record who called, when, what they needed and if follow up/appointment scheduled is complete. This log can also be used as another avenue for short calls.

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