Client Communication Lessons from my Dentist

Like most people, I hate going to the dentist. Hate it. I'm sure that most dentists are lovely people outside of their offices and away from their torture tools. Unfortunately, that does little to change the fact that inside their offices they are evil people who like to poke your mouth with pointy metal sticks all for the benefit of "your health."

When my wife and I moved to San Antonio, I was a little freaked out when I realized I needed to see a dentist for a toothache I was having. A friend recommended her dentist, exclaiming that she loved his office. I looked at her the way a confused dog would look at someone, but made an appointment anyway.

I have to say I was a bit impressed after leaving the dentist office, and here's why:

• When I got there, instead of filing out forms on a clipboard, they handed me an iPad to fill out my information. From the first minute I walked in my file with them would be 100% digital. That's impressive.

• Shortly after being tortured by the dentist and leaving as quickly as possible, I was notified of a new email on my phone. It was a survey from the dentist, wanting to know how my first visit was. As a consumer, I love getting surveys. Whether I got great or terrible service, I always fill out surveys. Especially for services or business that I frequently use. I get to give feedback that will enhance and/or improve the service that I receive? Sign me up.

• Another thing my dentist does is send appointment confirmations via email or text. I'm the type of person that if my phone isn't reminding me of an event I won't be there. From those messages I can add the reminder directly to my calendar and forget about it and avoid the stress until the day of the appointment.

This level of service can be applied to any business, from small businesses like my dentist, all the way to large corporations like Apple, who does the exact same things as my dentist with their Genius Bar appointments.

Here at LyntonWeb we build apps that integrate BigCommerce and Shopify with HubSpot to help you connect and communicate with your clients better. You can send them follow up emails or put them into lead nurturing campaigns. These apps also allow you to track your customer's behavior on your store in their contact record in HubSpot. This gives you the power to try and upsell them on other products or services, or see how you can improve your site and store.

You can also use HubSpot's list and workflow tools to put followup communications in place, and like Ron Popeil you can "Set it and forget it!" Until those survey results come rolling in that is!

Need help getting started with your consumer communications? Drop our inbound marketing specialists a line, we're ready to help!

P.S. I still really hate the dentist, though.