If I receive a text message regarding an appointment that I need to make then why can’t I send a text message reply to make the appointment?

We send a text message because it is convenience for our Dental Office. Text messages are set up to be automated on our Dental Software. I press a button and boom; mass text messages are sent to our patients, yet we don’t allow our patients to reply via text message?

It doesn’t make sense.

Why don’t we do this? Why don’t we send the text message and offer our patient a couple of appointments to choose from?

Offer actual appointments not just the idea of an appointment.

We add at the end of the text message that they have to call the office to make an appointment rather than just reply to the text message.

As it stands now we presume when we send the text message that our patient will then want to make an appointment, but then we make it hard for them.

Give your patient a choice of appointments not the choice to either make an appointment or not.

If your patient can choose not to make an appointment, then guess what they will do?

They will usually choose not to make an appointment.

You want your message to have an immediate response.

Once the patient has to reply to the text message by having to now call your office, there is a time delay that inevitably will cause a delay, or stop them completely from calling to make an appointment.

The key to any message you send to your patients is to make it easy so they can easily make an appointment.

Making something easy will always increased the desired outcome.

So next time you send a follow up text message, let your patient reply to it.

Set it up so the text message can be replied to straight away.

Try it and watch what a difference it will make to the number of appointments you do make the next time you send a text message.

 

*****
On Friday August 19 and Saturday August 20 I will be co-presenting Dental Phone Excellence in London England at Dr. David Moffet’s Ultimate Patient Experience Workshop.
Click here for details and Early Bird Registration.
*****
This blog will feature simple practical ideas that are easy to implement tomorrow in your Dental Office, impacting immediately on your Patients’ Dental  Phone Experiences, and ultimately, improving your practice profitability.

At present I have availability for four new private clients. For more information on how I can improve your Dental Office’s Phone Numbers contact me, Jayne Bandy at  jayne@theDPE.com