Should You Text Pending Cases During Follow-Up?
Several months ago, I visited a favorite antique store, looking for furniture for my new home. Once of the sales people there, a woman named Julie, introduced herself and showed me around the place. I mentioned during the walk-around that I was looking for a specific piece of furniture, and she offered to let me know when that type of item was in the store. I agreed to that suggestion and, upon request, gave her my cell phone number for that purpose, and thought no more about it. At the end of the visit she also gave me a business card, which I lost almost immediately.
In the time since that introduction, I now periodically receive text messages from her – nothing too frequent, just every month or so – usually with a mention of new items that have arrived in the store, along with an invitation for a return visit. While I have not yet been back, I have to admire her creativity in doing this, and when I am ready to buy furniture, it is likely that I will visit that store again and work with her. I should also mention that I do business with a lot of different people, but this is the only time that I have seen this tactic utilized. Which makes it memorable, and therefore effective.
By now you know that I am not a fan of making follow-up phone calls to orthodontic practice visitors; Caller ID has made the telephone a message-leaving device, not a tool for conversation. While email is much more effective, there are some people who rarely check their email, or at least do not do so daily. However, if you have a cell phone number – usually obtained by asking “what is the best number to reach you?” – you have the ability to text visitors to the practice when following up. Which, in some situations, can be very useful.
Does that mean that you should text your practice visitors regularly? No – at least not at this point in time. However, as a last resort – meaning that you have tried both phone and email follow-up without success – texting makes good business sense. The follow-up value of texting is undeniable; if you send a text message to your practice visitor you are virtually guaranteed to have that message read, usually immediately. So if you are following up with someone who visited the practice and haven’t been able to reach them through phone or email, send them a text. If they fail to reply to your text you can safely assume that, for whatever reason, they are not going to start treatment with you. (Keep in mind that this would be after previous attempts at phone and email contact have failed). As I’ve said previously, a “no” is a lot better than a “maybe”, because “maybe” is the scenario that continually wastes your time. So if all else fails, try sending a text.
