5 Patient Appreciation Ideas To Create A Remarkable Dental Experience

People are more vocal on social media about customer service than ever before, and not just about bad experiences. A personal, meaningful gesture of patient appreciation will help you create a remarkable experience patients can’t help but share, which goes along way in helping to market your dental practice.

Think about the last time a business unexpectedly did something nice for you. Do you remember how you felt about that company afterwards? Chances are it wasn’t anything elaborate — maybe a small gift card or even just a thank-you note. But these experiences have a way of sticking with us because they don’t happen very often, and they make us feel like VIPs.

Practicing customer appreciation is a tried-and-true dental marketing strategy. For example, say the manager of a sandwich shop notices the same customer coming in once or twice per week in the last month. The next time he visits, the manager gives him some cookies with his lunch and personally thanks him for coming by. For the cost of a couple of cookies, he’s greatly increased the probability that this customer will continue returning for years.

Plus, the goodwill built here will act as a buffer, keeping the customer from immediately going to local competitors if he ever has a bad experience.

In the same way, finding small, creative ways to go the extra mile for your patients will help you build relationships and boost retention. And not only that, it will help new patients find you through word-of-mouth. A study showed that 72 percent of people that had a good customer service experience told friends and family about it — for dentists, those are the people most likely to become new patients themselves.

People find it much easier to connect personally with businesses and brands that show their human side. Customers want to know that there are people that care about them on the other side of the keyboard.

Showing gratitude is one of the quickest paths to creating authentic, personal connections. This is particularly important for dentists because building relationships goes a long way in helping patients and potential patients overcome dental anxiety.

Create an opportunity for patients to come say hello by having a treat day!

A week or two in advance, announce on social media a day patients can drop by and get a cookie or cupcake (and a reminder to brush after!). Invite them to bring a friend as well! Remember to snap a few photos throughout the day and share them on your pages. Read our post on guidelines for sharing photos that include patients.

One of the best ways to show appreciation for your patients is to ask for their feedback. All feedback is valuable, but online dental reviews are especially important because they can also help build your online presence and social proof! You could even scan your upcoming appointments list and select one or two patients per day to ask for a review.

Use social media to occasionally ask fans what one thing they appreciate or would change about your practice, and make sure to always respond promptly to any messages your social media pages receive.

Doing frequent, small prize contests  and giveaways is an excellent way to show patient appreciation and keep people coming back to your page! Even the chance to win a $10 gift card is enough for fans to Like, comment, and share with friends — which helps new patients find you.

Few things draw everyone’s attention like a chance to win a prize! And when you’re looking to grow your dental practice’s social media presence and increase visibility with potential patients, a giveaway can be a great icebreaker.

Whether it’s on social media, in your practice, or even through an automated email, let patients know how much you appreciate them on their birthday. It’s just one more small thing you can do to let them know you’re thinking of them and looking forward to their next visit.

If you didn’t download the life events social sign pack, you need to.

About the Author: Adrian Lefler is an expert dental marketer and a key member of the dental marketing team at My Social Practice. My Social Practice is a dental marketing company located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Adrian is passionate about helping dental practices grow. If you’d like to book one of the members of My Social Practice’s speaking team, you can do that HERE. Interested in learning more about the benefits of SEO for dental practices or our dental websites service, you can learn more here.