Nowadays, healthcare business owners generally accept that having a website is a requirement to bring in patients. In fact, a significant portion of millenials reported on a recent survey that they wouldn’t even consider a healthcare practice that didn’t have a website. Since they’re now in their prime spending years, they also represent a valuable pool of patients your practice may need to survive.
However, what many healthcare business owners don’t realize is that a well-built digital presence is not only a crucial way for new patients to find you, it can actually improve how many patients accept the treatment plans you recommend. This applies equally to new and existing patients.
In this article, we’ll explore the things that modern patients need in order to feel confident in their care decisions and how to get the most out of your website, blog and social media profiles to boost case acceptance rates and help your practice thrive.
Understanding the changing dynamics of patient trust
You’re probably already keenly aware of the fact that building trust with your patients is key to treatment acceptance and you’re likely well-accustomed to educating patients in the chair. But today’s patient journey starts long before a patient walks through the door and many of today’s patients prefer to self-educate about symptoms, conditions, treatments and provider reputation and credentials well before they end up interacting with an office in-person. In fact, 69% of millenial patients perform their own research before seeking care from a provider and 83% of millenial patients validate a provider’s recommendations with their own research afterwards.
At first glance, statistics like that might sound frustrating or bleak and maybe even make you feel powerless to connect with today’s often skeptical patients. How can you inform and build trust with someone before you’ve even met them?
Don’t get discouraged– today’s patients might seem more skeptical, but they’re actually just more engaged. As a Google study puts it, “In today’s digital world, prospective patients are now active partners in their medical journeys.” Once you gain their trust, these active partners are more likely to be exactly the sort of patients that healthcare practices most need– those who buy into a treatment plan and want to see it through, rather than those who might show up for an initial consultation, never to return. In that sense, these dynamics actually form exciting opportunities for practices who value this sort of partnership.
Embracing digital marketing to empower your patients
The best healthcare businesses have found that a practice’s digital presence can take advantage of these dynamics in a way that mutually benefits the patient and the provider. They do this by publishing content on their website and social profiles that informs, builds trust and addresses common concerns or objections.
This sort of approach benefits the patient by allowing them to acquire the information they need in order to feel comfortable accepting care. It also benefits the practice by building trust before the first visit and giving patients the information they need in order to feel informed and confident in their care decisions.
Conveniently, publishing this sort of information online also can also go a long way to boosting the practice’s online visibility, increasing the likelihood more patients will find them in the first place. All of this catalyzes a virtuous cycle by aligning the patient’s needs with the provider or business’ needs, exactly the sort of win-win relationship all good providers want.
What makes a patient more likely to accept a treatment plan?
Patients are more likely to complete a treatment recommendation when they understand why it’s necessary and how it will benefit them. Even then, feeling connected to your team–and trusting that you have their wellbeing at heart–is what truly makes the difference in many cases.
So what does that have to do with your website or social media accounts?
An effective digital strategy can improve three key areas that make the difference between patients who complete treatment and those who don’t.
1. The patient’s dental IQ
Your website and marketing strategy should help educate patients about their dental health and the value of the treatments you offer. When patients understand their needs better, they’ll be more likely to follow through with the treatment plans you recommend.
Most modern dental offices have digital x-rays and intraoral cameras or scanners. These images, along with high-resolution photos of a patient’s teeth, can make your case presentation much more compelling than simply telling a patient what they need.
Blog posts, service pages, and even social media posts can help improve your patients’ dental IQ in the same way. By presenting your patients with information about symptoms, conditions and the treatments which address them, you increase the likelihood they’ll consume this information prior to an appointment so they’re not hearing the information for the first time when presented with it in a care setting. This eliminates a potential source of push-back, when patients need additional time to think it over, and frequently never return to complete their plan.
Similarly, when you do bring treatment needs to their attention that they weren’t aware of, sending them home with content that matches the guidance they’ll find in other reputable sources during their information validation period can help build trust. When patients truly understand the problem and–more importantly–how dental treatments will improve their quality of life, it’s much easier to motivate them to invest the time, money, and effort into completing your treatment plan.
2. How they feel about you.
Information alone isn’t enough. Patients need to trust you and the recommendations you’ll provide, and today’s patients turn to online reviews to build trust. Nearly all patients (94%) report using reviews to evaluate providers. 84% of patients trust online reviews just as much as a personal recommendation and nearly half of patients would even be willing to go outside of their insurance network to seek care from a highly-reviewed provider.
To take advantage of these dynamics, healthcare businesses need to take reviews extremely seriously. They do this by asking each patient to leave their feedback and cultivating their online reputation by thanking patients who leave positive reviews and professionally addressing any negative reviews that crop up.
Beyond reviews, the content you produce itself can build trust. The tone of every piece of written content should convey compassion as well as authority to paint you as someone they can trust.
You probably already know how important “soft skills” can be as a dentist. Many patients already feel anxious in the dental office. Others may come to you feeling suspicious because of bad experiences in another practice.
How you talk to your patients, the words you choose, and even your mannerisms can make patients feel more comfortable trusting you. Your website works the same way!
From the branding on your website and socials to the word choices that convey your message, every piece of your digital platform puzzle should reinforce that feeling of trust and connection.
3. Whether you have what they need and want.
Your website should make it easy to find information that addresses common needs, questions and objections or barriers to treatment acceptance like:
- What types of services do you offer? If they’re not sure you can give them what they’re looking for, they’ll move on to the next practice.
- What is the treatment process like? This is especially important for patients with dental anxiety, one of the leading reasons patients avoid dental visits.
- How much will it cost and how does your practice make dentistry affordable? Finances are another major reason people don’t complete treatment, so transparency is key here.
- Why should they choose your office over others? Don’t be shy! Brag about your practice, training, experience, track record, and especially your team.
Easy-to-navigate formatting, engaging visuals, and comprehensive content, can go a long way in connecting prospective patients with the information they’re looking for. This is also where effective SEO strategies really come into play. After all, if your services don’t show up on search engines, patients may not get a chance to get to know you or what you have to offer.
Putting It All Together
Ultimately, a patient’s decision to accept and then complete your treatment recommendations hinges on the in-person experience your team provides. However, an effective digital marketing strategy can do a lot to create the trust and motivation it takes for patients to complete dental treatments. At the end of the day, it’s all about helping them feel confident in making informed decisions about their oral healthcare.
As you can see, there are a lot of moving pieces in creating a website and social media strategy that works. It can feel a little overwhelming, but our team is here to help.
Hopefully these insights will help you see the potential for how much your website can do for your practice. Most importantly, we hope it will help your patients enjoy a better quality of life through better dental health!
