Top 5 Ideas for Keeping Patients Engaged

It's a drum we keep beating, but there's really no way around it: you have to build and keep a good relationship with your patients. Even without people leaving due to issues with your practice, attrition happens anyway (insurance changes, moving, etc.). 

Once you get them in the door, you need to do everything you can to keep them! One of the big ways to do that is to keep patients engaged with your practice, even when they aren't in the office. We have a few ideas that can be implemented by any size practice to get the most out of your current patient list.

Here are the top 5 ideas for keeping patients engaged:

1. Leverage social media. Does your practice have and maintain a Facebook page? Even if it's not super active, you can keep it updated with holiday hours, reminders for brushing, sharing photos of office staff, and more. It's not hard to keep people in the loop with the comings and goings of your practice. It helps them feel involved and a part of your office on the day-to-day, even when they aren't visiting you! 

2. Remember their birthday/other holidays and events. Your patients love to hear from you—especially about things that aren't related to coming back for their next appointment. Birthday messages, holiday cards, and even random hellos will make a huge difference. Get creative about the different times and ways you touch base with your patients. Again, this fosters goodwill and a feeling of belonging in your practice family.

3. Remind them to schedule their recall appointments. Okay, this is nuts and bolts, and kind of boring, but it's important! People have busy lives and will likely not remember to call and schedule their recall. Many offices schedule these appointments at the initial cleaning, but sometimes patients don't want to schedule six months out. This is when you can reach out to remind them! We recommend using some personality and making it fun. Hardly anyone wants to come to the dentist, but those cleanings feel so good! 

4. Reconnect over unfinished treatment plans. How many unfinished treatment plans do you have on your books? How much revenue is just sitting there, untapped? Finding those patients and engaging with them over their unfinished treatments shows them that you care about their dental health. It also gives a great reason to reach out to them and bring them back into the office. 

5. Use different channels to communicate. Text, email, social media, snail mail, even banners at the local pool are all great ways to get in front of your patients and potential patients. The more channels you utilize, the more impact you'll have. This doesn't mean you have to use every channel all the time! Rather, mix things up and surprise the patients. Birthday texts, holiday postcards, and a sponsorship of the local swim team show you care not only about your patients but about their community.

At tab32, we know this patient engagement is key to your practice success. Our software is built with this in mind—you don't have to have a separate system to communicate with patients. Everything works together in one software ecosystem to help you build a successful, thriving practice.