When Practice Manager Karen Stringfellow made the move to Smile Bright Dental in early 2018, it was already a busy and well-established practice (over 22 years), with a steady trickle of word-of-mouth referrals. But Karen and the practice owner, Dr Dennis Chang, were keen to get more new patients and grow the practice.
They’d tried Facebook with little success. They’d got a good organic dental SEO strategy, but they were missing out on online bookings from all that web traffic. Smile Bright Dental changed that overnight with HealthEngine.
“Our practice wasn’t offering online bookings when I arrived. And after doing a little more research on HealthEngine, I soon discovered that no other local practice was either. Here was a hole in the market, and I wanted to fill it with us!” said Karen.
It’s predominantly an Asian community surrounding the practice, and Karen identified an opportunity to tap into the local online market of young mums and young professionals.
“They’re the kind of people who want to be able to book appointments online, after hours, at their convenience. And there are quite a few who are also booking on behalf of their aging parents, who struggle with the language barrier and don’t want to call the practice.”
”“HealthEngine has taken our dental marketing to a whole new level. We’re seeing an average of 55 patient bookings a month and an ROI of 144%. And just to give you a comparison, our SEO is delivering an average of about 30 patient bookings a month and an ROI of about 98%. Seriously, nothing has been as good as HealthEngine.”
Karen StringfellowPractice Manager - Smile Bright Dental
Top position in the HealthEngine search results
Signing up for a paid featured listing instantly put Smile Bright Dental at the top of the HealthEngine search results for dental practices in Sunnybank Hills, giving them an advantage as the only featured local practice.
“New patients immediately started coming in via HealthEngine. And these aren’t people who book once and disappear,” says Karen. “They might initially just be looking for the first available appointment that’s closest to them, at the time they need it. But we always make sure they get the best patient experience while they’re here, so they come back.”
HealthEngine has played an integral part in helping the practice enhance the patient experience too. By calming the phones down on the front desk, it’s freed up time for the staff to give patients the best experience when they walk through the door.
Karen and her team have also been very strategic with their dental marketing strategy. They’re regularly sharing the link to book via HealthEngine with their existing patients, making sure everyone knows they have the added convenience of booking online at any time.
HealthEngine the top performer for ROI
“HealthEngine has taken our dental marketing to a whole new level. We’re seeing an average of 55 patient bookings a month and an ROI of 144%. And just to give you a comparison, our SEO is delivering an average of about 30 patient bookings a month and an ROI of about 98%. Seriously, nothing has been as good as HealthEngine”.
But success isn’t just about the numbers for the Smile Bright Dental team. It’s about the positive words in their online reviews too.
Improved patient experience and glowing online reviews
“It’s extremely competitive out there. Patients are very savvy these days and online reviews really matter,” said Karen.
“Since we’ve been concentrating on our patient care, our online reviews have gone through the roof! And some of the patient reviews we get on HealthEngine are so lovely, heartfelt, and beautiful, we’ve started putting them in the dental files so our dentists get to see them. It’s good for them to know what people like and really value them and their service.”
Practice growth continues
The practice has got so busy now, they’ve hired a new dentist and two more staff members.
“This is our new dentist’s third day with us and she’s already fully booked,” said Karen.
Now the team is looking for ways to create some space in their books, so they can keep bookings available on HealthEngine.
“It’s amazing how rapidly dental marketing has changed. I first started using HealthEngine about four or five years ago, when I was managing other practices,” said Karen. “Back then, most patients were still choosing to ring the practice to book an appointment. But there’s been a big shift to online in the last couple of years, and I’ve seen HealthEngine gain a huge amount of traction.
“As more and more patients are now expecting to be able to book their appointments online, you’ve got to be there in that space, or you’ll get left behind.”
Ready to grow your practice?
Open your practice to 3.5million+ Australians who visit HealthEngine every single month.
