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Client Feedback

Client Feedback

All businesses are keen to get client feedback. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. After completing an online survey I recently I continued to be canvassed for my feedback. I told the company who serviced my car.  That the amount of contact I was getting to review their services was now turning me off to them.

At Lily Head Dental Practice Sales we canvass feedback from our clients in order to understand what we are good at and what we can be better at. Just as importantly we have built a library of written and video client testimonials on our website.  We can then share these with prospective clients to help build trust with them.

If we didn’t use the information we are asking for, then we are wasting our clients and our own time. We would just have responses to look through and none of them will make a difference.

Our clients do the same thing. I read a blog recently from Chris Barrow, the Extreme Business Coach advising Dentists to have a minimum of 100 Google Reviews.  As well as patient video testimonials on the practice website.

I would recommend that client / patient feedback is reviewed in detail. There is a wealth of information in there.  You can draw on this and use it to motivate your teams, make positive changes to your business or simply help you understand yourself and your own business better.

We run our business on the Principles of the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS).  This provides a complete set of simple concepts and practical tools to help us get what we want from our business.

As part of our review process, we looked to understand just three things which combined make us stand apart from our competition.

One of the things that came to light was ‘our support, involvement and forensic attention to detail’ during the transaction. This was shared with us by Nick Allday, the ex Principal of Manor Dental Health and we thank him for that insight.

This got us really thinking about why this particular strength is so important to our clients and how we could build on that.

At the outset we spend time getting to know prospective clients. Our role is not just to sell dental practices. It is more than that, it is to deliver and outcome, or combination of outcomes which the client wants. We can only know what that is by investing time in discovery meetings.  Then we can agree a workable plan to achieve those objectives. Sometimes the objectives have to change.

Completing a valuation is so much more than a detailed analysis of the numbers (£). To truly represent the value of a dental business we must analyse and consult on the broader market factors.  This will include the clinical profile of the practice, buyer appetite, buyer demand and local comparable values.

A Forensic Attention to Detail

Having a forensic understanding of the value of a practice enables our team to negotiate effectively on behalf of our clients. It is our job to be able to articulate the value of a practice. Without having a forensic understanding of a practice that is just not possible.

Many of our clients have not been through the buy / sell process before. We educate clients on how we achieve a go to market valuation and how we believe the market will respond to their business. This may involve working with the Principal on the business for a few years whilst readying the Principal and the business for sale.

Knowing our clients’ objectives and all the details on a practice is essential for our team when it comes to engaging with prospective purchasers. Purchasers and their advisors are often simultaneously considering multiple opportunities.  They want accurate and complete information they can rely on. The importance of managing buyer expectations should not be overlooked.

Transactions are not just about having a buyer who wants to buy, and a vendor who wants to sell. Getting a deal to completion will involve solicitors, accountants, lenders and often a landlord. Our forensic understanding of all the moving parts helps build trust between all the parties.

You can see from this example how honest client feedback can be leveraged to help other clients and the business as a whole. And all you have to do is ask.

Just make sure you ask the right questions to the right person. It is also worth asking about parts of the patient experience rather than the whole.

So, when you get those requests for feedback from organisations, try and find a bit of time to share your thoughts. It may well pay you dividends next time you work with them.

This article was written by Abi Greenhough, Managing Director of Lily Head Dental Practice Sales . It was first published in the February 2024 edition of The Dentist Magazine.

If you would like to talk about anything to do with buying, selling or financing a dental practice anywhere in the UK then Contact Us today.