Contact Us
Let’s say someone fills in a form on your website.
You’d think that since they’re on their mobile device, which is technically a phone—that they’d use it to call you.
But that’s often not the case.
This has a lot to do with how generational usage of phones has shifted.
We call it a phone, but it’s really a computer we hold in our hands.
It’s a handheld mobile device.
Here’s an amazing stat: 25% of 18 to 34-year-olds say they have never answered the phone.
That’s what a survey from 2024 says.
Even if they’ve technically answered once, say, their mom called, they are not in the habit of answering.
They don’t believe people should call and expect them to pick up.
“Send me a text.” That’s the mindset.
If you have teenage or young adult kids, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Text them: “Hey, call me when you get a chance.”
They call back flustered:
“What happened? What could you possibly want that couldn’t be a text?”
Texting is their world.
They’d be happy to get a voice note and send one back.
But a back-and-forth conversation? That’s a problem.
We live in that world now, so knowing this helps us make better choices about how to reach out to potential patients.
So if a lead comes to us and we want to speak to them, we try to call them.
The front desk usually reaches out by phone.
They want a voice interaction.
But that’s not preferred by many people today.
Some patients don’t want to talk, and some can’t.
They may be:
There’s a lot of pressure in a live conversation.
It’s a high-level dialogue. Patients know you’re going to sell them something.
And honestly, we do train front desks to push for appointments.
That’s the goal, right? Book the appointment.
But patients know that.
They’ve interacted with dental and medical offices before.
They know what you're after.
Sometimes, they’re just not in a space to talk.
They might be in public or at home with family.
They don’t want to say out loud what they’re doing.
But on SMS, they can communicate privately.
It’s not really “talking”—you’re just writing to each other.
And guess what? It works.
We’ve had cases where someone was on public transport, booked the appointment via SMS, and came in 20 minutes later.
They just got off a stop early and showed up.
Let’s talk about speed to lead.
You should still call and text them. But your speed of contact is the most important thing.
They came to your site. It loaded fast. They filled out a form.
Now what?
Order of Follow-Up Effectiveness:
Email? Forget it.
You don’t know if your email even makes it to their inbox.
Even if it does, it gets buried under 50 others within a few hours.
Let’s get into their mindset.
You think they just called you.
But in reality? They’re calling six dental offices.
And you are number three.
Your Problems:
Your goal? Be the one who books them first.
This has happened to you. Definitely to your front desk.
A lead comes in. You call five minutes later.
They say:
“I’m all set. I booked somewhere else.”
In those five minutes, they called two or three offices.
Someone picked up.
Someone said:
“Yeah, we can take you this afternoon.”
Boom. They’re done.
Very hard to get them to:
Be First. Respond First. Book First.
If they call you? Pick up right away.
If they text? Text them back instantly.
This is where AI comes in.
The only way to do this 100% consistently is with AI.
That’s what we use with several of our clients.
AI doesn’t just send a text.
If the patient responds, it can carry on a conversation.
A short conversation, sure—but one that’s focused on booking.
That’s the point:
Get them to an appointment.
With SMS, patients don’t usually ask many questions. It’s short-form communication.
They just want to get to the end—
“Okay, I’ll come in at 10:30.”
And with AI:
Compare that to a front desk agent:
But AI? Always ready.
As long as you train the AI:
…it can reduce your risk of losing leads and close faster than a live person.
Let’s say you’re the third office they reached out to.
If you book them, offices 4, 5, and 6 never even hear from them.
You win.
Another reason to respond fast and use AI automation to handle those crucial first minutes.
