There are more than 200,000 dental offices nationwide and the number of new dentists continues to grow. But traditional advertising and digital marketing is losing effectiveness. At the same time, there is an increase in “solutions” from dental marketing agencies that show inconsistent results.
Even if you have an effective marketing and advertising strategy, it may not always be effective in helping you increase the number of patients at your dental practice. Patient interaction is critical in marketing for dental practice.
First and foremost, you need to communicate clearly and effectively with patients. This is regardless of how and when they contact you. For example, social media, a Google ad, or your website. If your dental marketing strategies work and potential patients get in touch, you need to respond immediately This includes after hours when your office is closed.
Managing Patient Calls and Queries
Ask yourself these questions:
- What happens if a call comes in and the front desk is too busy to answer it?
- If a prospective patient (or current patient) calls or texts you after hours, when do they get a response?
- What happens if patients contact you to schedule an appointment outside your business hours?
For most dental practices, the answer is to ask patients to leave a message and get back to them as soon as possible. This can cost you patients. Studies show that 85% of prospective patients will never call back if you miss their call and ask them to leave a message. These are lost opportunities to grow your dental practice.
Provide an Immediate Response
The right dental patient communication software guarantees patients get an immediate response. It doesn’t matter when they contact your dental office. If someone calls your office after hours or when your front desk staff is busy, TrueLark connects with them via text. It’s conversational AI:
- Manages patient interactions
- Lets them book and reschedule appointments
- Provides immediate answers to common questions
The same process applies if dental patients text your office on your dental practice website. Or contacts you using Web Chat on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram.
Stay in Touch
TrueLark also follows up with dental patients. If they do not respond to you, our AI software sends timed follow-up messages to encourage people to complete the booking process or re-engage.
You can also use TrueLark to stay in touch with your current patients or reactivate patients you have not seen in a while. You can send targeted marketing messages to groups of patients and let the automation book appointments for you.
Offer 24/7 Online Scheduling
Today, people prefer transacting business online. They expect a completely interactive experience. However, only a quarter of dental offices let patients book appointments online. Adding real-time, online scheduling can make a significant difference in filling up your appointment calendar.
The Mayo Clinic recently conducted a year-long study regarding the use of self-scheduled appointments and found two significant findings. First, nearly 30% of appointments were booked after office hours. These appointments might never have been made if self-service options were not available. Second, when patients schedule appointments themselves, they are more likely to honor the appointment. Online scheduling significantly reduces no-shows and cancellations compared to when the staff schedules appointments.
With TrueLark, you don’t have to ask people to fill out an appointment request form or play phone tag to schedule or reschedule appointments. Your AI agent acts as a virtual assistant to your dental clinic by handling all appointments and answering common questions. TrueLark also integrates with your dental practice management software or booking platform in real-time, so everything syncs.
Software Compatibility
Integrating patient communication and dental marketing software with your dental practice management system simplifies operations. TrueLark is compatible with major practice management software like Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental, and SoftDent, ensuring seamless integration and continuous updates.
Improve Communication and Grow Your Dental Practice
TrueLark handles more than five million calls and books more than $2 million worth of new appointments every month. Keep your appointment calendar full, reduce no-shows, and never miss a patient call or contact again.
Dental practices that use our software see an average ROI of 20:1. Book a demo to learn how we can help you grow your dental practice.
Originally published July 18, 2022. Updated July 28, 2023.
