3 Ways Your Dental Office Can Capture More New Patients

Did you know that, on average, a typical office misses 42% of their potential New Patient calls?!

What’s even more alarming than that statistic is that 81% of those potential New Patient callers will not call back or leave a message if they happen to get voicemail.  Even if they get a busy signal or simply no answer, the odds are high that they will not try again but instead move on to the next office on the list.

The truth is, we are an immediate gratification society and if we make a call, we’re hot when we make it and don’t want to have to call back.  People want you to answer the phone and make the appointment when they call.

Phone coverage and New Patients go hand-in-hand.  In order to help you achieve your New Patient goals, you need to be sure you have the proper playing field set to capture the maximum amount of opportunity.  It is crucial that your office telephone is being answered during all “normal business hours” that a potential New Patient would expect you to be available (M-F, 8am to 6pm).  

Here are some solutions to help you achieve total coverage during those hours…

1. Staffing Patterns

• Monday-Friday, between the hours of 8am-6pm, someone should always be covering the phones 
• Stagger lunch breaks and shift start and end times 
• Staff your phones when you know any marketing or advertisements via TV or radio will air 

2. Cell Phone

• If team members cannot be in the office at any time during the normal business hours, implement the office cell phone
• Use the cell phone to over-deliver to patients before and after normal business hours too (before hours: 7am-8am and after hours: 6pm-7pm)

3. Additional Phone Lines

• If your phone lines are in use simultaneously 10% of the time or more, add another phone line 
• Have a separate line for fax machines and credit card lines

Remember, the key is to keep your phone lines staffed so that you can maximize your opportunities coming in as well as the ROI on your marketing dollars. If your marketing is underperforming — or your new patients decreasing or plateauing — get a diagnostic Mystery Call to find out once and for all where you are missing new patient opportunities! Simply complete the teal “Request More Info” box on the right side of this page.