Hello Friends,
It has been said that “how you present yourself is how people first view you.”
Clearly, First Impressions Matter. How are you presenting your dental practice, your services, your care, yourself and your team online? What you’re showcasing or not showcasing provides a first impression. Are you attracting potential new patients or turning them away?
Let’s consider briefly just three areas where your online presence and first impressions matter most…
Website
It amazes me how many dental offices still don’t have a website or they have an old website with cookie-cutter, canned content and little to no information about the office, the doctor and team, and the services that they offer.
Your website should reflect the culture and personality of the practice and the team. The content should be fresh and relevant. The photos should be attractive and current. This reminds me if you have pictures on your website of team members that are no longer working at the office please remove them. Ensure that you don’t have any broken links or “coming soon” pages that have been there far too long. Think about this, when people visit your website are you welcoming them with warm and helpful messaging or inadvertently turning them away with poor messaging and unattractive pages? Keep in mind, this isn’t about what you like or dislike – this is about the patient and potential patient. For example, if I am researching dental implants on your website I do not want to see the step by step details of how an implant is placed – it freaks me out. What I want to see is the result – a beautiful tooth that allows me to smile with confidence. I don’t think that I am alone here. I feel it’s safe to say that most people care more about the why and not so much the how.
What’s in it for them to choose your dental office? Why should they choose your office over the many other dentist websites they’ve visited?
- SEO – Make sure people can find you without much effort.
- Listing – If you have more than one Google listing for your office that can be quite confusing to potential patients and you end up being your OWN competitor. Make it easier on everyone by merging your listings into just one. Or if you haven’t claimed your Google My Business listing as yours please do so today… it’s simple and free.
- Information – Ensure that your name, address, phone number, website, etc. are all current and accurate.
- Content – Are you regularly posting fresh content to your Google business page? If not, you should. It’s easy to do, it’s FREE and people visiting your listing like to see fresh content. When you post on your page you can add a link that will direct people to your website or social media pages.
- Photos – Have attractive photos (both inside and outside the practice) of your office on your listing. As well, share photos of you and your team. If you have old, outdated photos of the office or team members on your listing please delete them,
- Reviews – You want Google reviews. You also want to acknowledge the reviews…the positive and the negative ones.
Social Media
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Blogs, Online Community News Pages, YouTube, and more help to build your dental practice. Even if you’re not a fan of social media, please remember that most likely many of your patients and potential patients are using these platforms regularly. You want to be where they are and since first impressions matter – you want to make sure that your office is making a positive impression. Just like with reviews on your Google listing you want reviews/recommendations from your patients on your office Facebook page too.
Learn more about how to use these platforms here: Dental Practice Social Media Platform Tips and Content Ideas
The internet is full of information and choices so make it easy for your potential patients to find accurate information about your practice moving them to choose to make your office their dental home.
Another quick reminder is most often after someone finds your office on the internet unless they direct message you or utilize online scheduling they’ll be picking up the telephone and calling the office so please take some time now to ensure that your office phones are being answered during the times when potential patients are most likely to call and that they are being answered effectively. Learn more here: Dental Office Telephone Principles
Are you tracking your new patients each month to learn how they are finding you? What about other important data such as how many active patients you have? How many of your patients have a future appointment scheduled? To help you get that data quickly, like within minutes – if your PMS is either Dentrix, Eaglesoft, or Open Dental you can request a complimentary, no-obligation practice data snapshot here: Game-Changing Awareness from Dental Intelligence – Within minutes we’ll identify your practice’s strengths and uncover hidden opportunities. I am happy to assist you with this at no charge.
I love hearing from you and would truly appreciate for you to please leave a review/recommendation for me here on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK. Thank you!!!
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Yours for Greater Success,
~Betty – Dental Coach
P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest
