5 Patient retention ideas for dentists and doctors

As a dentist or doctor you know better than anyone else that patient retention is very important to overall success of your practice. After all, your client base isn’t permanent, though it’s tempting to imagine that it is. If you’re worried about losing customers, try using these five tips to better your chances of retaining patients and lowering your attrition rates.

1. Caring is Key.
In the business world, it’s known that 70% of customers take their business elsewhere because of perceived indifference. Approaching the customer with a caring attitude is especially important in health and dental care. Instill in your staff the importance of treating each patient with respect, and truly listening to their needs and concerns.

Keeping patients waiting is a big part of this. Few things are so annoying as going to a doctor’s office on time, then enduring a long waiting period to see them. One way to avoid making your patients wait is to stay on schedule. No office is perfect, but sticking as closely to your patient schedule as possible can help things run smoothly.

Work on building a repertoire with patients to put them at ease. Leave no room for patients to feel like they’re intruding on a busy office environment. Instead, make them feel like you’re there because of them.

2. Give the Right Welcome.
The way a patient is greeted when they arrive for their appointment can also make them feel like they’re intruding. Planning ahead is key in making sure your patient sees a doctor as soon as possible. The receptionist should also greet each patient with an open-ended questions such as “Hello, how can I help you today?” Avoid leading with directives like “sign in and have a seat.” Allow the patient to answer before giving them directions. Be sure to listen and answer their questions fully so that they don’t need to keep returning to the reception desk.

3. Telephone Matters
When a patient calls your office, do they reach a real live person who sounds welcoming and ready to listen? This could make all the difference in a patient’s perception of your practice. Consider replacing your automated call service with an actual person who is trained to handle each call with attentiveness and care. Other good telephone practices to increase retention are:

• Calling patients the day before and appoint to confirm and make sure they’ll be there.
• Following up with patients to make sure they’re taken care of (more on that below)
• Reaching out to patients when they are overdue for an appointment. For example, for a yearly mammogram or a missed follow-up appointment.

As you may have noticed, a few of the improvements are sales-related. You can educate yourself by reading articles like this online about best sales and retention practices but you can also hire professional dental and medical marketing companies such as Solution21 to help you for training your staff as well as other areas of sales and marketing.

4. Survey Your Patients
If your attrition rate is high, you have to get to the root of the problem. The only way to do that is to ask your patients. Perhaps they feel that the staff isn’t friendly enough, or that the doctors don’t spend enough time with the patients. You can collect feedback by leaving feedback cards in the waiting room, or issuing a telephone or email survey. Offering incentives like discounts and gift cards will encourage people to take the survey. This is a small price to pay when you can possibly avoid losing several thousands of dollars each year.

5. Following Up
This step is key. A follow-up call about three days after the visit let’s you:

• Check in with your patient and see how they’re feeling.
• Make sure they understood the instructions given by the doctor or staff.
• Make sure they had any necessary medications filled.

This is also a good time to ask if they’ll participate in a short phone survey, or to let them know that you’ll follow up with an email survey to see how the office did overall.

Retaining patients comes down to seeing each of them as people who have options when it comes to healthcare, and they chose you. Make their choice worth their while by showing them that you see them and care about them. Make several points of contact with your patients, both before and after their visits. Take time to make them feel welcomed, and listen to their needs. If something seems wrong, ask your patients what you could be doing better. Taking this approach in your dental or medical practice, and making it reflect in your operations, can make all the difference in your retention rates.

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Spec Success: Tips for Spec-ing Your Truck

If you’re thinking about becoming an owner-operator and are looking for a truck to call your own, choosing that truck’s specifications is extremely important. The following tips will help ensure you “spec” for success.

Match the Specs to the Work You’ll Be Doing

You could buy the fanciest, most tricked-out rig on the lot but if it isn’t right for the types of loads you’ll be hauling or routes you’ll be driving, it’ll simply be a waste of money. Make sure the specs you choose are the best for the types of jobs you’ll be taking.

Consider Both Versatility and Resale Value

While you do want your rig to handle your loads, whenever possible spec with an eye toward versatility and resale value. Not only will you be able to take a wider variety of loads and as a result, make more money, you’ll also increase your rig’s resale value if at some point you decide to sell.

Sleep on Your Decision, Then Move Forward With the Purchase

When you’re making a big decision like buying a rig, it shouldn’t be done in a short amount of time. When making an investment in something, you should always sleep on it for a night and then move forward. This prevents even the most rational person from making a knee-jerk decision, and should be a move in your strategy when spec-ing your truck.

With these tips, getting the specs on your truck that you need when becoming an owner-operator will help your trucking career move in the right direction.

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The Importance of Virtual Services for Your Office

It is important to have a company that offers professional customer service at all times. As a business owner, you have a lot of busy tasks and cannot always be there to answer the phone or aid your customers. Instead of hiring a full time staff that you are going to have to pay to train, you can hire a service that will supply you with professionals who can provide assistance to your customers whenever they need it. There are many virtual office services available. You want to make sure that your company takes full advantage of this type of service so that your customers will be well taken care of. Satisfied customers are much more likely to do repeat business with you.

Order Tracking
One service that your customers might require is order tracking. You can have a virtual office assistant available for customers when they want to check the status of their orders. No one should have to wonder about their order delivery schedule, and sometimes speaking with a real person to get a quick answer about the location of their package is all that customers want. Having experts answer the phone can make a big difference in the quality of service a customer receives.

Checking Voice Messages
If your customers leave a message, it is important for someone to get back with them as soon as possible. A virtual assistant can quickly get back in touch with your customers for you so that they get fast answers when they need them.

Take Care of Credit Card Issues
If one of your customers has a credit card that did not go through, it is important to alert him or her as quickly as possible to resolve the situation. A virtual assistant can call the customer and let him or her know that the credit card was declined so that new card information can be given. This will help to speed up the sale process so that you get your money fast and to make certain your customer receives his or her package on time.

Handles Email Services
Emails are a reliable way for customers to get in touch with your business. A virtual assistant can read and answer your emails in a professional and dependable way. This will allow your customers to get answers quicker. A quick reply can help to make your customers feel valued, and it will increase their confidence in your company.

You can enjoy having a virtual office assistant who will be able to handle day-to-day tasks for you with ease. This type of service can help you provide reliable services to your customer without having to focus all of your time on answering the phone and replying to emails.

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Led High Bay Light Fixtures in Life

Only work can make people strong in life, whoever you are, ultimately, you have to respect those who use their both hand to create life. It’s the fundamental, primary, and essential lesson for us. The greatest people are among those who do the basic, hard, even more risking their life. It’s the people who usually color themselves into black. Black is charming, originally, it’s as scarlet as blood, containing endless vigor and power, together with blazing light. The coal is black, whereas the worker’s blood is red.

The coal is colored by workers’ blood. Nevertheless, work makes them priceless, they are glad to do it. They are all common but not ordinary. We should respect all these people who struggle for themselves but serves to us. When they are working, Led high bay light fixtures can’t be avoided in the process, what is essential in their heart is led light, from which they get light, through which they see hope, and with which they raise their family. Led High Bay Light Fixtures can not only apply to construction site but also to storehouse, factory shops, gymnasium, sports places and parking lot. The colorful and vivid light makes night glorious. Aviation aluminum lamp body keeps the characteristic of water proof, anti-rust, anti-oxidation, and anti-corrosion. External electrostatic thermoplastic paint makes it shock resistance. What’s more? it carries a good reflective performance. Integrated die casting aluminum back cover make true heat radiation.

Work makes worker great but it’s Led High Bay Light Fixtures which makes them glorious. Do you want to be the brightest star among people in the construction site, storehouse, factory shops, gymnasium, sports places and parking lot? Buy Led High Bay Light Fixtures! Once you have it, the night will as light as day. Hurry up! Your world won’t be dark any more.

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Life Tested Tips in Building a Bond with Your Parents

Parental bond is a strong emotional connection that lasts through our lifetime, however, as we get older, many of us either drift apart become or closer with our moms and dads. Getting close with your parents will make you appreciate them in a whole new light.

Of course, this takes time, especially if your current relationship with them isn’t the best to start with but with a little patience and some tips below, you can become friends with your parents.

How to work past through negativity. Many of us have experienced issues with our parents when we’re still young, it tends to scar us, but it’s still possible to put it past behind so we can be free and forgive our parents.

Forgiveness is a crucial factor here, because without it your issues will manifest itself in the present day as anger hurts. If your parents have changed and the problems of the past become history, put your trust in the fact that your past is a different time, and the issues are now behind you.

Sometimes the problem is so severe that some parents will even unjustly disinherit their children, in which case you need to know your options and the process of contesting a will. It always pays to be prepared for any possibility.

Discuss the issue with your parents so they can explain their circumstances and apologize for the hurt it caused you. Be gentle as you bring up your feelings, and seek out counseling to help you deal better, especially if things do not go well.

Find shared interests with your parents. So you already have a good relationship with your folks, congratulations! Sometimes children and parents naturally become friends as children get older and begin to mature and experience the same life choices like marriage and children.

On the other hand, some parents and their children haven’t had a change to bond as adults. This could be due to different interests and hobbies or they just never approach their relationship from the standpoint of friendship.

How to find common interests that work best for you:

  • Concentrate on hobbies that both of you enjoy. Find a middle ground. If you love running, while the other is an avid couch potato, you could go for walks together on park or watch movie in a nearby cinema instead.
  • As much as possible, avoid giving too much attention to the differences between you. Turn the focus off of discussions on religion, politics, and other life choices if both of you have differing opinions. There will be things where both of you will disagree on, and that’s fine.
  • Never try to change each other. The point of being friends is accepting the other person’s personality, not changing it to fit yours.

Maintain a positive friendship with your parents. Remember, becoming friends with your parents should not be a forced venture. Begin with positive thinking. If you’re uncertain how to being, start by expressing your interest in a friendship with them. Trust me, it will make them feel good.

Personally, being friends with my mom and dad is one of the most wonderful decisions I made. It helped me appreciate them more as well as channel the respect I had for them to other people in my life.

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Simple Strategies That Can Make Your Blog More Successful

If you’ve recently begun a blog and want to ensure that it becomes successful, now is the time to access resources and techniques which will ensure that your online site becomes a big hit. To get the show on the road, consider implementing the following simple strategies:

1. Utilize Top Notch Software Solutions.

These days, there are a wide range of software solutions that you can utilize to expedite and optimize your computer’s functioning. Gaining access to this software is immensely important when you decide to run a blog given that doing so will necessitate ongoing use of a computer. There are several companies that offer software solutions, including Infinite Corporation. You can check this out by visiting their website at http://infinitecorporation.com/.

2. Invest In Cutting Edge, Customized Digital Services.

No matter the good or service you’re selling through your blog, your ability to attain substantive conversion rates will almost always increase when you attain professional digital marketing assistance. This is the case for several reasons, including the fact that online advertising mavens are skilled in appropriating diverse marketing methodologies to improve a brand’s visibility in the Internet sphere. This means that working with a professional digital team will oftentimes result in your blog attaining page 1 ranking in the search engines. Some of the services online advertising professionals offer to improve a blog’s visibility and conversion include web design and development, social media optimization, search engine optimization, online reputation management, and content marketing.

3. Advertise Offline.

In many cases, bloggers become so immersed in the online world that they forget the importance of advertising offline. Don’t make this mistake. There are likely many people who do not use the Internet regularly yet would be quite interested in purchasing your goods or services. Since this is so, it’s important for you to connect with these individuals in the offline domain. There are numerous strategies you can deploy to realize this objective, including radio ads, billboard signs, and attending networking events.

Conclusion

If you want your blog to be the most dynamic, successful entity that ever hit the Internet scene, now is the time to start realizing the goal. To ensure that your blog audience grows so that you can attain the substantive bottom line you need and deserve, be sure to implement the business-building blog tips listed above!

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Planning For Website Security Certificates On Your Ecommerce Site

While website security is the most important feature for many potential shoppers that visit your site, the number and type of options that are available can often be confusing for companies that are setting up their shopping cart.

Here are some ways to shop for SSL certificates so that your site will end up meeting the standards that search engines are now requiring:

Use a certified vendor

There are ways that you can generate your own certificates and use them with your website. The downside of this is that over time, there are potential conflicts with people that visit your site after being referred by a search engine. In some cases, the search engine will claim that your site security is not what it should be in order for them to send your client directly to you. Because you obviously want to avoid this type of label, finding a hosting company like register.com that works with only certified ssl vendors is a good idea. A certified vendor may charge a little bit more, but their product is normally easy to install and will pass any security tests that are thrown at it.

Shop for price through your hosting vendor

Just like big box retailers can offer specials that many smaller retailers cannot beat in terms of price, hosting vendors that have long-established relationships with SSL vendors are likely to be able to offer you a lower price to buy a certificate from them. A quick look at SSL certificate vendors sites should confirm this. Another plus to using your hosting vendor to purchase a certificate is that they have completely tested all certificates with their site for a significant period of time, so that there will not be any chance of a failed implementation.

Cover everything

Once you get your SSL certificate, the next question for many site developers is how much of your site should be made secure or https? The answer in today’s market is that you should secure everything possible. You should also ask any potential hosting vendor if there are parts of their shopping cart or software that will not allow you to encrypt them like you can the rest of the site. In most cases, you will likely find that a good vendor will allow you to encrypt the entire site or almost all of it without it being a task that takes more than a few minutes. Again, however, it is a good idea to cover as much as you can so that you meet the more and more stringent requirements that companies like Google are making standard.

Finding a hosting vendor that has a decently-priced and standard SSL certificate option is one of the more important parts of putting your ecommerce website together. By also ensuring that they have automated the implementation process so that it does not take very long to apply your certificate once you get it, you will end up saving time and money.

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