Latest / The Local Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Small Business, Google Maps, and Local SEO / How a Local Dentist Uses Google Posts to Fill Cancellations
Transcript
- Lucas: A dental practice in Portland filled fifteen same-day cancellations in a single morning. Not with email blasts, not with text reminders — they used Google Posts. Luna: Fifteen chairs filled from a morning's worth of drop-ins? That's a whole day's schedule for a lot of single-dentist offices. Lucas: Exactly. And the interesting part is the practice didn't do anything fancy. They posted three times over five hours, each post slightly different, and the last one — posted at 10 a.m. — got the most traction. Lucas: If these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used — a post format, a review strategy, anything we've covered that made a difference — the way this stays ad-free is listener support. Buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to keep the conversation going without ads interrupting. Appreciate anyone who does. Lucas: So back to that 10 a.m. post. It was the most effective because it included a specific time window: 'We have openings at 11, 1, and 3 today. Call us to grab one.' That urgency was real and immediate. Luna: It's not 'call to schedule' — it's 'call to claim a slot.' That's a different psychological trigger. Lucas: Right. The practice's owner told me they had five cancellations trickle in overnight. By 8 a.m. they had a gap in the schedule. Instead of just hoping walk-ins would call, they opened Google Business Profile — the old Google My Business — and created a post. Lucas: The first post went up at 7:30 a.m. It said: 'We have availability this morning for cleanings and exams. Call now.' Two appointments booked from that. Luna: Two is decent for a first post. But what changed with the second one? Lucas: Second post went up at 8:45 a.m. They added a photo — a shot of the waiting room with a coffee station visible. The text read: 'Morning cancellations opened up. Coffee's on us. Call for a same-day appointment.' That one pulled in four bookings. Luna: The photo humanized it. It's not just a dental office, it's a place with free coffee and a welcoming vibe. Lucas: Exactly. And the third post at 10 a.m. was the winner. They used a before and after smile photo — patient-approved, obviously — with the caption: 'We have three openings today. Your smile could be next. Call us.' That post alone drove nine calls. Luna: Nine calls from one Google Post. That's an insane conversion rate. What was the cost? Zero dollars. Lucas: Zero. That's the whole point. Google Posts are free, they live on your business profile, and they show up when someone searches for a dentist in Portland. But most businesses either don't use them or post generic content nobody acts on. Luna: Let's break down what made these work. First was the timing — they posted before lunch, when people are actively planning their day. Lucas: Right. The first post at 7:30 catches early birds. The second at 8:45 catches parents after school drop-off. The third at 10 a.m. hits people during a mid-morning break. Each time window targets a different mindset. Luna: Second was the specificity. 'We have availability' is weak. 'We have openings at 11, 1, and 3' is concrete. You can picture your day slotting into it. Lucas: Third was the visual variety. First post no photo. Second post a lifestyle shot. Third post a result shot. Each tested a different emotional hook. Luna: And they didn't overthink it. They posted, waited, posted again. No A/B testing tool, no analytics dashboard — just watching the phone ring. Lucas: That's the small-business advantage. You can iterate in real time. If the first post gets two calls, you try a different angle for the second. By the third you've found the message that works. Luna: What about the patients who booked? Did they convert to regulars? Lucas: The owner said roughly half were existing patients who saw the post and moved up an appointment. The other half were new patients. Of the new ones, three scheduled a follow-up. So the post didn't just fill cancellations — it acquired new patients too. Luna: That's the hidden ROI. A single Google Post can serve as both a retention tool and an acquisition channel. And it takes maybe five minutes to create. Lucas: Exactly. Now, there's a catch. Google Posts expire after seven days. So this isn't a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. You have to be active, especially on days when cancellations spike. Luna: But for a service business, cancellations are predictable. You know Monday mornings are heavy. You know the day after a holiday. You can build a habit of checking your schedule and posting before 9 a.m. Lucas: The dentist in Portland now does this every morning. She spends sixty seconds creating a post if she sees gaps. Over four weeks, she filled forty-seven appointments that would have otherwise been empty. Luna: Forty-seven appointments. At, say, a hundred fifty dollars per cleaning average, that's over seven thousand dollars in recovered revenue. All from free posts. Lucas: And that's conservative because many of those appointments led to treatments — fillings, crowns, whitening. So the actual impact is higher. Luna: Let's talk about the mechanics. How do you actually create a Google Post? Walk someone through it who's never done it. Lucas: Sure. Open Google Business Profile — either on mobile app or desktop. Click 'Create post.' Choose the offer type, but honestly the 'What's new' format works best for cancellations. Add a photo — ideally something that grabs attention. Write three to four sentences with a clear call to action. Include a phone number or a booking link. Then publish. Luna: And you can add a button — like 'Call now' or 'Book online' — which makes it one-tap for mobile users. Lucas: Exactly. That button is huge because most searches happen on phone. If someone sees your post at 10:15 a.m. and can tap to call immediately, you've reduced friction to zero. Luna: What about the photo? The smile photo worked best. Is that replicable for other service businesses? Lucas: Yes, with a twist. A plumber could show a before and after of a fixed pipe. A hair salon could show a styled haircut. A mechanic could show a clean engine bay. The principle is the same: show a transformation. Luna: Any tools to schedule these posts in advance? Or is it better to do them live? Lucas: For cancellation filling, live is better because you're reacting to real-time gaps. But for recurring promotions — like a weekly special — you can use tools like Semrush or Postcron to schedule. Google's own API allows scheduling but it's clunky. Luna: One more thing: the practice had good reviews already. Would this have worked as well if their profile had only ten reviews? Lucas: Probably not. A Google Post shows up on your profile, and if your profile doesn't inspire trust — low star rating, few reviews — people won't act. The dentist had over a hundred reviews averaging 4.8 stars. That social proof made the post credible. Luna: So the strategy works best when layered on a solid foundation. You need the reviews, the accurate hours, the photos. Then Google Posts become a multiplier. Lucas: Right. If you're a new business with ten reviews, focus on building that base first. But once you have fifty-plus reviews and a 4.5-plus average, posts like these can become a daily revenue tool. Luna: Let's wrap with one actionable takeaway. What should a listener do tomorrow morning? Lucas: Check your appointment book at 8 a.m. If you have any gaps, open Google Business Profile, pick a photo that shows your best work or your space, and write: 'We have openings today at. Call to claim yours.' Publish it. Then check your phone. I bet it rings. Luna: Simple, free, repeatable. That's the kind of marketing that actually works for local businesses. Lucas: And if you try it, let us know how it went. We might feature your story in a future episode.