Imagine, for a moment, that I am a prospective patient in your area looking for a new dental practice. Of course, I’m a modern consumer, so I’m not an easy catch. I’m looking around a bit – searching online, asking a few friends for referrals and checking out a few websites. Now imagine that, as I’m doing that, we managed …
The patient journey – part two
Les: Hi Nigel, so we’re here to pick up from our first blog on the patient journey. If you remember, last time, we talked about building your reputation as a dental practice, your marketing and your website, and referrals. All the types of things that get a patient into the practice. So to move along the journey some more it …
Big lessons learned from LEJOG
I have recently completed the challenge of cycling 1000 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats (LeJoG) with four great mates from the dental sector – Chris Barrow, Sheila Scott, Ashley Latter and Simon Tucker. We went under the banner of ‘FiveGoForth’. It was tough…really tough, but it was also exhilarating, enjoyable and hugely rewarding. Now I’m back, I’ve been …
Putting yourself in the picture
Les Jones makes the case for using real images and photos to bring your patient experience to life online… There’s a dentist, whose picture you might have seen, who holds the record for working at the most dental practices in the UK. The number is a little vague, but I reckon he’s either the principal or an associate at over …
Getting shirty!
A few weeks ago, I went into a fairly upmarket men’s clothing store in my local town centre – I was looking for a new dress shirt to go with my dinner suit. I found a selection of shirts and was in the process of checking them out when a (slightly elderly) sales assistant came over and offered his help. …
Exploring the beginning of the patient journey
In the first of two discussions on the patient journey, Les Jones and Nigel Jones look at the part that often gets overlooked – the time before the patient arrives at the practice.
The power of community to relieve dental pain
Bridge2Aid works in Tanzania – a country with a population of 56 million people and just 495 dental professionals, that’s just one to every 113,000 people. The UK ratio is one dentist to every 2,000 people. Statistics can sometimes be hard to grasp but these tell a straightforward story, one of very poor communities for whom the idea of being …
Could your practice signage be costing you patients?
A few days ago, I was visiting a dental practice in a big town centre with a colleague. As we approached the practice, we stopped at a set of traffic lights and my colleague said, ‘We’re really near to the practice now, can you see it?’ Despite a full minute scouring the scene in front of me, the answer was …
Preparing for Lejog
Last October I did a three hundred mile cycle ride across Wales with a group of mates. I did it to raise money for Bridge2Aid. I’m not going to lie…it was tough. Yes, I’d put the training in, but it didn’t fully prepare me for cycling across the top of Snowdonia in a gale-force wind and driving rain. And that …
The importance of listening to your customers
What can happen if pushing the objectives of the practice take priority over listening to what the patients want? Les Jones explains…. What you’ll hear: How your team are your brand as far as the customer is concerned. The dangers of not listening to and understanding your patients’ needs. The extended impact one instance of poor customer service can have.