Your Patients Are Impatient Consumers

There is an important trend that is shaping our consumer society in a way that is significantly different from what previous generations experienced. It is the concept of shopping "in the now." It's hard to imagine today, but remember if you wanted to buy something, you had to go to a store? Which naturally meant that you had to go when the store was open and shop from among whatever they had in stock.

The Internet, of course, changed all that. Now smartphones have amped up the shopping experience even more by putting the world's biggest mall in our pockets. People are buying grocery items, clothes and even TVs while sitting in a coffee shop, or in your waiting area. People are making decisions – and acting on them – in the now. Just look at how retailers are responding to this new reality. In today's world, for anyone who serves people, agility is the watchword.

Online retail giant Amazon is looking at expanding the number of cities where it can offer same-day shipping. Zappos lets you return as many pairs of shoes as you like, hassle-free, so you can try on styles to your heart's content. Trips to the local video store have been replaced by instant downloads. Easier, faster and more responsive is what wins in today's marketplace.

This is the kind of thinking that should inspire you. Dentistry is a profession that has had the same basic operational model since the 1960s, so any dentist who really grasps the realities of today's consumer mindset is going to have a distinct advantage.

Let's face it, the patient who is now used to getting instant gratification at the tap of a touch screen is not likely to respond well to the idea of waiting weeks to get their treatment plan started. By then, they have moved on to other things that are competing for their attention – and dollars.

There are bold moves you can take, like investing in technologies such as CEREC that open up new possibilities for "same day delivery" of dental care. You can also take measures such as implementing creative block scheduling, which I have written about recently, to ensure they get going on their treatment while the energy is high. In the end it is never just one thing that creates success but a series of strategies and advancements that all add up.

Whatever you do, you should be focused on creating movement and commitment with each patient visit. You should be reinforcing a sense of urgency and capturing the spirit of that moment when they make the decision to go ahead. It's not the 1960s anymore. Patients don't follow predictable patterns and they don't like to wait. There is a time to connect with a patient, a time to move them forward, and a time to seize the "yes" and deliver on the promise of great dentistry. The time is now.