Online booking services are becoming increasingly popular across all areas of public provision. Cinema tickets and food shopping can be booked online, as well as hotels and air travel. So why wouldn’t you offer your patients the opportunity to do the same when making dental appointments with your practice?
The benefits of using internet booking software seem endless. Alongside decreasing no-shows and the ability to fill last minute cancellations, comes enhanced patient perception as your practice is seen to enter the modern age. The technological advancements also allow for easier advertising methods that will reach a wider audience.
Ava Farvahari Practice Manager at Putney Dental Surgery in London reveals how working with Zesty to increase booking options enhanced her working practice.
“Last year the team from Zesty came in to begin a three month trial of their services.
At the time the booking process we followed was always over the phone; we didn’t have any facility for patients to book though our website or online at all. We were thinking about exploring more booking options, but were not aware that such service as Zesty even existed. That people could go onto the internet, find a website and book an appointment and then get connected to us seemed incredible.
“Installing the system was very smooth: the representative was able to do everything himself. I gave him the list of patient names and he provided me with a link and my login details and then everything was set up. So now when I have a free slot in the booking schedule, all I have to do is put it onto the website and wait for it to be filled. We’ve never had any problems with the system. I’ve only had three instances where patients failed to attend, and even then they have re-booked their appointments straight away.
“Putney Dental Surgery has been open for more than 25 years and the use of Zesty has thoroughly modernised the practice, helping us to appeal to the younger generation. A lot of young people want to book everything online and not to call a practice; this is therefore the perfect portal for them to do this. It is so easy to find a local dentist and book an appointment straight away and Zesty has helped to bring in a whole new generation of patients to our practice.
“Getting new patients is what, as practice manager, I endeavour to do all the time, through networking and enhancing our online presence. Thankfully the new online booking system now makes my job much easier by streamlining the whole appointment process. But attracting new young patients is not the only advantage we have seen; current patients can also use the online booking system. I’ve had a couple of patients that booked appointments out of practice hours and it was only when I tried to add them to the system that I realised that they were already existing patients here. Zesty brought surprising benefits for advertising for our business as well.
Previously I was spending my time organising leaflets and exploring search engine key words and internet ranking to improve our website hits, which was very time consuming. But Zesty already does this and through using it, we are linked to their website to further improve our online presence.
“In fact before Zesty approached us we were looking to produce more leaflets to start the New Year, which we no longer need to do. This has obviously saved us money, which we can invest in enhancing other areas of the practice. We still plan on producing some leaflets to encourage other new patients but there is not the urgency for this as there once was, as we are now getting more and more patients all the time.
“I would recommend Zesty to any practice manager; the principal dentist here now always has a full surgery and is very impressed. The influx of new patients in the practice has been really noticeable. Whenever a booking is made online I make a note of it and all the practitioners here can see the improvement in patient numbers.”
To find out how your practice ban benefit from the introduction of an online booking system, contact Zesty today
Simply email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.zesty.co.uk or call 0203 287 5416 for more details of our Free Trial