It’s Halloween Month. Let’s have some fun!
As you probably noticed, everywhere is orange and black, creepy and crawly, costumes and candy. It would be great for you to be incorporating something fun like this into your practice. It’s what people like to talk about. And it’s not just kids. They say Halloween is the biggest Adult Holiday of the year with parties, costumes, haunted houses, scary movies and so much more.
There is a big lesson if you walk around the mall (the old fashion brick and mortar with real walls and stuff you can try on) and see what’s going on in retail because it’s what’s going on in the daily lives of the people (i.e. Your Patients).
Often, we forget that they are one of us and we are one of them. If we do more to engage the patients as people in a fun way and make about more than dentistry, you will be amazed at the increase in your referrals and case acceptance – the things you want more of from your patients.
If you were to do something fun like a vote for your favorite pumpkin contest; or take a picture with a team member in a costume; or if you had a box of props and a camera station in your lobby where patients could dress up and take a picture all month long – guess what they will do: Facebook it, Instagram it, and whatever else they are into. That’s what gets them talking and gets others interested.
I always remind you, if they really cared that much about dentistry they would be working with your team as part of your practice. You like dentistry – patients see it as a necessary evil and a last resort.
Maybe you have, but I haven’t yet, found a patient that says, “You know, I just always look forward to my cleaning. If I could I would get it done once a month, maybe once a week. It’s just a freaking blast.”
Patients see it as something they have to do. It’s not high up on their ‘just for fun’ activity list.
This mentality that you are faced with every single day ought to be very frightening. It ought to scare you to think about just how patients see dentistry.
Pain. Time. Money. Uncertainty. Emergency.
I have no doubt your patients love you and you are damn good at what you do; but we have to look at dentistry through the eyes of the patient in order to really understand how to help them make better decisions.
If you try to force someone into your way of thinking without seeing it from their point of view, it will come across as condescending and negative.
On the other hand, if you can have empathy for them and then influence through your process, experience, communication and education in order to help them change their own minds (instead of you having to force it to happen), then you can develop long lasting relationships, positive change in how they view dentistry and increase the value what you can do for them.
So, what I am challenging you with today is to make it more about them and less about dentistry. Done sincerely, this will mean something to your patients because it’s completely authentic. If you can be more empathetic, you can humanize the entire experience.
There are so many ways to take the patient (who has some opposing objectives than we do), and change them around to being on your team and helping you help them move forward with what they deserve.
That ought to give you a whole lot of food (or should I say Halloween Candy) for thought.
