Every doctor wants to grow their dental practice, but there are many factors that prohibit great doctors from doing so. Many doctors find themselves stuck, without the ability to grow, because they have old protocols, processes, or scheduling issues that stop them from taking on new patients.
If you want to grow your dental practice (but aren’t sure how) then this article is for you.
There are a few things you can start doing TODAY to grow your dental practice this:
1. Give your practice an online makeover.
This means updating all the places that you and your practice appear online. Make sure your website is up to date and has all the information you need, like contact information on every single page, patient testimonials, videos, and a link to schedule right there online! Don’t forget to put customer smiles all over your website, and link to social media. Want to keep driving traffic to your website over and over? Write a blog. (Here is a guide to improving and optimizing your blog). Lastly, consider updating your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) so that people who are looking for a dentist can find you!
Before you are done, take a look at your marketing efforts. Does your marketing plan align with your goals for your practice?
There has never been more competition, so make sure that you have a plan, a strategy, and know how to execute. If you want some easy ways to start marketing, check out our blog Orthodontic Marketing: Best Practices for Your Business.
2. Keep time open in your schedule for new patients.
This may sound impossible when you have an already bursting calendar, but you can’t get a lifelong patient if you can’t even get them in the door.
Think about the patient experience: when a prospective patient is calling you, do they want an appointment 3 months down the road? Or are they looking to see a doctor as soon as possible?
Instead, think about the rule of “3 days”...what if when a new patient called, you could see them in 3 days? How much would new patients appreciate this?
And how far would that go to extend your social proof, build trust, and create great rapport and engagement with the patient? And how likely would they be to turn into lifelong patients?
But how do you do that?
It’s as simple as this: just like you keep appointments open for emergencies, keep appointments open for new patients. (Trust us, you will find ways to fill the time if you don’t need these).
How can you get the open time in your schedule in the first place?
Use a great teledentistry tool. When you have a HIPAA-compliant teledentistry tool, many of the “emergency” calls you get can be quickly taken care of virtually, with your patients messaging you through the app. By taking care of problems “in real time” you will save yourself and your office admin countless hours per week of callbacks, and save yourself from seeing patients whose issues may have been well-addressed over a messaging system.
3. Lastly: give your patients the experience they want
Happy patients give you referrals…but do you really know if your patients are happy or not?
Take the time to conduct patient satisfaction surveys, where you ask them specific questions about their experience, from how they originally found you, the ease in which they make appointments, their experience in the office with you and your staff, the check-out process, and making an appointment for the future.
Be specific with your questions, and let them know that their happiness is important to you! The best way to let them know that you care is that once you get their feedback: act on it! If you hear that something needs fixing in your office, don’t ignore it. Address it with your patients, and put steps into action to fix the issue.
In order to peak your patient’s interest and motivate them to answer the survey, create a contest where everyone who sends their completed survey is entered to win something–gift cards work great for this!
And the easiest and fastest way to conduct these surveys and the communication around them? You guessed it: use a teledentistry, lead generation tool like In Hand Dental.
In Hand Dental is here to help you make your practice profitable, and grow your dental practice with ease this year.
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