Dentists, do you ask how I should provide a dental office experience?

Remember that feelings are emotions.

The truly happy patient feels an emotional connection with the office and with the doctor and staff personally. This means the staff has a strong role to play in practice profitability.

People naturally gravitate toward those who make them feel welcome and special.

Patients have many choices of which office to visit. The team must make them feel special by greeting them with a big smile, shaking their hands, remembering their name or recognizing their voice on the phone, recalling something from a conversation they had in the past, and asking how they’ve been since they were last in. One office in rural Minnesota always receives more referrals than any other. Patient surveys show that the patients say, “THEY ARE ALWAYS HAPPY TO SEE ME!” <.p>

Surprises can be good.

Unexpected gifts and extras have a very positive influence on patients. Everyone, no matter who they are or how much money they have, loves getting a little something extra, especially when they do not expect it. These little “gifts” do super duty when properly executed. They delight the patient and make them feel special and appreciated. They reinforce the patient’s belief that this is the perfect dentist. When chosen carefully, the right gift subliminally supports the image of the office that it is trying to project. The perfect gift is one that says that you understand more about your patient than just their teeth.