When you have a guest over who is visiting your home for the first time, do you give them a tour of the house? It's sort of a traditional thing for a host to do, and for a good reason. People are more likely to be comfortable and feel at home if you do what you can to make the surroundings more familiar for them. And if you're proud of your home, it's also an opportunity to share that sense of pride with your visitors.
The same reasoning applies when it comes to giving a tour of the practice to new patients. People can feel anxious about a dental visit at the best of times – especially if it's a practice they've never been to before. Taking the time to give them a tour of the premises before you seat them in the chair can go a long way to making them feel more at home.
So really think about what it means to create that sense of being at home. If it's done right, the patient will feel it quickly. They will trust the doctor and the team to be advocates in their best interests. They will feel relaxed, comfortable and open to discussing anything about their dental care.
Another great reason to conduct a new patient tour is that it's a fantastic opportunity to create value for the practice. Face it, even your most committed patients aren't really qualified to judge the clinical quality of your care – a lot of their evaluation is based on how the practice makes them feel. A new patient really has no context for judging your quality of care. You may be the best clinician in the world, but how would they know?
That's where the value tour comes in. This is where patients pick up on the “signs” they're looking for; this is where you can really promote your philosophy and your approach to treating patients right.
So what goes into a good value tour? You naturally want to provide the basic orientation they need and point out patient comforts and conveniences. You also want to highlight special technologies – if you've invested in something like CEREC or Cone Beam this is a great time to show it off and talk about it.
And there is one more thing that elevates a simple practice tour into a value tour, something that should be a centerpiece of your walk-through with a new patient.
I'll give you the details on that tomorrow.