Have you ever really stopped and thought, with a clear head, what exactly patients want from you?

Do they want the best dentistry? Sure.

Do they want a clean office? Sure.

Do they want a conveniently located office? Sure.

Do they want to feel like they are being taken care of? You bet.

Do they want to get the best value for their money? Uh huh.

But you know, more than anything, the average, everyday patient just wants to feel like they have value to you and your team. Their hope is they are actually ADDING something to your practice.

Let me give you a few quick and easy ways to let your patients know they add value:

1.)   Communicate with them like you really mean it. If you have an insincere perma-grin FOP dealing with your patients, that is fake and it’s transparent – it’s almost as bad as if you have a grumpy old curmudgeon, however, I’d rather err on the fake-nice than the ugly attitude side.

2.)   ASK questions. This is the easiest thing in the world to do to get people to LIKE you, yet, I’ve not met a lot of people that were just as happy hearing someone else talk as themselves. Here’s the hint: Ask a question, then, shut up. LET them talk to you about themselves. Then, ask more questions. More often than not, you’ll find a common thread between the two of you which will help you build rapport.

3.)   Let your patients know that the practice wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for folks like them. TELL them. Yes, doc, you, too. It’s really easy, “Fran, I gotta tell ya, without patients like you, I wouldn’t even come to work – you mean a lot to us all.” Easy? Yes. This is one of those things that gets easier the more you do it – just like exercise.

4.)   Have you ever just given every patient that came in that day something nice? Check this out: ALL DAY Monday, once a month, we are going to be having a Starbucks® Day. EVERY single patient that walks in the door is going to get a $5 Gift Card. Why? Why not?

So that’s only a few – 4 things – you can do right away to make an impact on your patients’ day, with minimal expense and the returns, I guarantee, will be awesome.