Does a Dental Clinic Need an Official LINE Account? | Introduction to Opening a Dental Clinic Official LINE Account #01

This article is written for those working in dental clinics who are wondering, "Does our clinic really need an official LINE account?"

Introduction

Haven't you been seeing a lot of LINE advertisements lately?

"Triple your bookings with L-Step."
"Zero drop-off rate with an official LINE account."

Every time you see such phrases, many of you probably think the following:

"I feel like I might need it, but I'm not sure if it's really necessary."
"I've never even seen what the management screen looks like."
"Some clinics have introduced it, while others haven't."

That feeling is very natural.
It is common to feel unable to move forward without knowing if it is necessary.

1. To begin with, what is an official LINE account?

An official LINE account is a business account that companies and stores create on "LINE."
It is separate from the LINE used by individuals, and it is a system that allows you to send messages to patients and handle individual chats from a management screen.

LINE is a communication tool used daily regardless of age.
Many of the patients who visit your clinic open LINE as a matter of course every day.

Unlike email, LINE messages send notifications to smartphones and have the characteristic of being less likely to be left unread.
The fact that "I sent it but it wasn't read" is less likely to happen is a major difference from other means of communication.

However, just because "it reaches them on LINE" does not mean that "everyone should introduce it."
This is merely one piece of information to help you decide if it is "worth trying out."

2. What do dental clinics do with an official LINE account?

Let's roughly organize what dental clinics are actually doing with their official LINE accounts. There are three main uses that are commonly employed.

1. Communication with patients
Some clinics use LINE instead of phone or email to accept initial consultations, appointment changes, and questions about treatment details.

2. Sending reminders and notifications
Some clinics use it to send notifications via mass or individual messages, such as regular check-up reminders, appointment reminders for the day before, and notices about clinic closures.

3. Information dissemination
Some clinics use it like a "newsletter" to provide information on campaigns, new treatments, and seasonal messages.

Some clinics do all of these, while others only use it as an inquiry window. There is no single correct way to use it.

3. Rather than "Is it necessary?", ask "Is it a good fit?"

I often see the question, "Do dental clinics need an official LINE account?" To be honest, the answer depends on the clinic.

If your patient base is primarily elderly, a phone call may function better as a flow than LINE.
For clinics with many younger patients, such as pediatric or orthodontic dentistry, LINE often fits naturally.

In other words, rather than deciding "whether it is necessary" first, it is more realistic to "try it out and judge whether it suits your clinic."

The biggest problem for clinics that have not introduced an official LINE account is not whether it is "usable or unusable," but rather that they are making decisions without knowing anything about it.

4. Why I wrote this series

When you search for LINE-related articles for dental clinics, many articles on "how to use L-Step" or "how to increase reservations through LINE operation"—in other words, "post-launch operation theory"—come up.

However, there are surprisingly few articles that answer questions like these:

"What does the management screen look like?"
"Is it immediately visible to the public once I open it?"
"I have no idea what I should set up."

The purpose of this series is to help those who have not yet opened an official LINE account to actually open one, check the settings, and reach a state where they can use it themselves.

I will not talk about increasing sales.
I will also not cover how to use L-Step in this series.

First, try checking "what kind of system it is" with your own hands.
This is an introductory course for that purpose.

5. If you don't publish it, no one will see it

One of the anxieties I often hear is this:

"If I open it, will patients see it immediately?"

The answer is no.

Just opening an account means it is effectively invisible to everyone unless you tell them about it yourself.
Immediately after opening, it is in an "unverified account" state, so it will not appear even if you search for the account name within the LINE app.
Unless you share the QR code or URL with someone, patients will not find it.

During that time, you can check the settings and get used to the management screen. Even if you break something or set it up incorrectly, nothing will be sent to your patients.

Creating this "state where you feel comfortable using it" is the first step.

Conclusion

An official LINE account is neither "something you must have" nor "something unnecessary."
It is important to reach a state where you can try it out and judge for yourself whether it suits your clinic.

In this series, we will explain step-by-step, from opening an account and basic settings to creating rich menus, designing friend-addition flows, and deciding on operational rules.

In the next article, we will explain the procedure for opening an official LINE account.
There are no difficult operations. You can complete it in 15 minutes.