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Most dental practices understand the importance of patient feedback. Now an option to automate the process promises to help them build the online reputation they deserve. By Tracey Porter
Authentic recommendations are the holy grail of any successful dental business. They can help monitor, maintain and strengthen public perception of your brand, assist to solidify and grow your patient list and help you stand out from competitors. Most importantly, they offer a tangible way to measure your return on investment.
But it is increasingly difficult to sort genuine experiences from biased accounts written by those with an axe to grind. Which is why sales and online expert John Pemberton and his friend, PR specialist Philip Molden, were motivated to co-found Working Feedback, a system the UK-based pair claims is set to transform how healthcare providers across Australia collect and leverage real-time patient reviews.
Patient feedback is a critical part of managing a successful practice for several reasons, but principally because all parties involved stand to benefit, Pemberton says.
Patient expectations run high, and practices that actively listen to their patients gain the competitive edge. Feedback isn’t just about measuring satisfaction, it’s also about driving continuous improvement and practice growth, he claims.
When handled and shared correctly, patient feedback means that the dental practice understands in real time how they are doing. It also means the management team can stimulate further improvements through training and ideas.
Meanwhile, patients feel they are valued and listened to when their feedback is taken seriously.
“Impartial patient feedback is all about transparency,” says Pemberton. “Dental practices often comment that the real gold dust comes from the constructive feedback because, in most cases, it helps them improve on what they’re doing.”
Established in the UK nearly two decades ago but only launched in Australasia in April, Working Feedback is a subscription-based software system that automates the patient feedback process.
Pemberton, who has extensive experience in sales and online training, came up with the idea after identifying the power of word-of-mouth recommendations and noting how frustrated many businesses were because they had no way of effectively communicating this personal feedback to a wider audience.
Having identified that businesses wanted a more credible way of showcasing their point of difference rather than through normal paid-for advertising, business reviews were the next logical step to help all businesses fully comprehend what their customers thought of their service.
Today, more than 850 dental practices run the unique software in the UK and Ireland, with a Canadian launch due later this year.
Impartial patient feedback is all about transparency. Dental practices often comment that the real gold dust comes from the constructive feedback because it helps them improve on what they’re doing.
John Pemberton, co-founder, Working Feedback
The UK arm of Working Feedback is integrated with the NHS Digital website. However, with no such system available in Australia, the company has signed Harry Schein One—the parent company of dental software and practice management groups EXACT and Dentally—as its integration partner here.
How it works
As with its UK version, the Australian software works by sending out a feedback request asking for patient feedback, including the option to leave a Google review. Responses are then handled by Working Feedback, which moderates and then showcases the verified patient review through the dental practice website, social media and Google, as appropriate.
Feedback and reviews, however, form just one part of the Working Feedback offering.
Pemberton says dental practices have a tangible way to measure their return on investment in addition to consistent reviews and a higher online presence.
By adding the ‘cross-sell’ feature to their question set, a practice can include a tick box section with their additional treatments, such as ‘teeth whitening’ or ‘Invisalign’. When the patient completes their feedback, they can then see other treatments available.
“The feature helps educate patients about the range of treatments available to them and, when they tick one of the options, it sends an immediate notification to the dental practice to follow up. Typically, one in five feedback responses include an additional treatment request. When converted, these cross-sell treatments can provide a considerable amount of additional income for dental practices.”
Pemberton says the system is fully customisable and there is also an option to ask for reviews across SMS and/or email.
To ensure all feedback is suitable, professional and relevant, all reviews undergo moderation. Users are then given a 10-day window to approve or reject feedback that is flagged.
The software is not only of use to dental practices. According to Pembleton, it is also used by 400 non-dental businesses, including medical practitioners, financial advisers, insurance brokers and aged care homes.
While the software is available to any type of business, Pemberton says he and Molden’s decision to target these industries first was strategic, due largely to the level of “detail, professionalism and compliance requirements” expected from the healthcare and financial sectors.
Dental practices here can access the system via a monthly subscription, with rates for a single dental practice site starting at around $120.
At the end of the day, while patient insights are a game changer in maintaining high standards of care, every practice just wants to know that it is providing the best service that it can to patients, insists Pemberton.
“Real-time patient feedback helps practices refine their services, boost their profile, and establish lasting credibility. When provided with a simple, time-saving and effective solution, dental practices can focus on what they do best, which is care and prevention.”
