Doctor Direct

The biggest marketing mistake practices make is to spend money to produce new patient phone calls and then have Grumpy Gabby or Hum-Drum Hannah answer the phone. You may as well as open up the window and throw your money into the wind.

Have you ever really listened to how your phone is answered? Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?

“Dr. Smith’s office, hold please…” and then silence for a minute or two. Potential patient is gone by the time the staff member returns to the line. Where’s the welcoming and inviting voice to greet someone new into your practice? If placing someone on hold is absolutely necessary, music or a message-on-hold program is preferable to silence.

“Dr. Smith’s office, can I help you? [pause] I’m not sure how much breast augmentation costs. Anything else? No, okay, bye.” Where’s the willingness to get an answer or transfer your potential new patient to a coordinator who has all the answers? Even if it’s practice policy not to quote fees over the phone, there is a better way to handle the question.

This one is the best.

“This is Dr. Smith’s office and we are currently closed for lunch. Please call back after 1:30. Thank you.” While it’s fun for everyone to take lunch together to build office camaraderie, it’s a death wish for your marketing plan. Many potential patients work too and the lunch hour is a convenient time for them to make phone calls.

You may be thinking that these examples are over the top and they would never happen in your practice. Unfortunately, these are real-life examples and they happen every day. If you doubt what’s happening in your front office, have a friend or spouse secret shop your practice several different times over the course of a week and see what the results are. You have exactly one chance to make a good first impression on a new patient and that’s with the person you have answering the phone. That person needs to be pleasant, upbeat, happy to serve and help and someone who sees getting new people through the front door as her most important role.

If you have Grumpy Gabby or Hum-Drum Hannah as your front line and practice ambassador, perhaps it’s time to find a place for her in the billing office and put Upbeat Ursula in her place.

For more information on call intake or other valuable marketing tips, call Abby at 877.721.2525 or e-mail to abbyb@doctordirectonline.com.