To remain profitable, dental practices need to keep attracting new patients. In an ever more competitive market, what are the best ways of going about this? Practice Plan Regional Support Manager, Selina Alexander, makes some suggestions.
The best ways to attract new patients will depend on your practice’s individual circumstances. Different practices will have varying needs. However, there are some fundamental things it’s important to get right to give you the best chance of increasing your patient numbers.
Here are a few to consider:
Your signage
If you want more people to come to your practice, then you need to make it easy for them to find you. So, getting your signage right is fundamental. Evaluate your current signage by taking a step back and putting yourself in the position of someone approaching your practice for the first time. Is your signage visible and noticeable to anyone passing by? Not only that, does it convey the type of practice you are? If you are a family dentist offering mainly general dentistry, then having a sign and logo that implies a high end cosmetic dental practice is misleading and could put off your preferred type of patient.
Story telling
These days, social media is an important way to let people know the sort of practice you are and the services you provide. Post a mixture of content regularly. Too many ‘fun’ posts and you run the risk of not looking serious. However, if all you’re posting is oral education-related reels then you may risk putting off potential patients.
We are inherently curious about others, so use your social channels to let people know more about the sort of team you are and what you stand for. As well as showcasing how you’ve helped your patients achieve the smile they’ve always wanted, tell stories about your charity work, staff achievements and milestones so people get to see who they’ll be interacting with.
Your website
When people are looking for a new dentist, it’s likely the first place they’ll look is Google. Your website is your shop window so make sure it’s attractive and informative to help you stand out. Make sure you include basic information about your practice such as your phone number, what type of practice you are (general dentist, cosmetic, plan only etc) and your exact location. Testimonials and reviews from patients are also important as people will be keen to know about the experiences of others who have been treated at the practice.
It’s always a good idea to include a ‘meet the team’ section. This gives you a chance to show off your team and highlight any specialist skills or areas of interest they may have. Before and after images of treatments and testimonial videos also work extremely well. Your website may be the only chance you have to let people know how brilliant you are as a practice, so it’s worth taking the time to make sure it’s the best it can be.
Networking
Promote your practice by making the most of your contacts and local networks. Many areas have local business networks or clubs of various sorts, so it’s worth getting involved with them. Chambers of Commerce are also good ways to expand your network. You may like to consider volunteering to give a talk on the health benefits of good dentistry which could also get you in front of a few other and different audiences.
Open days
Holding an open day offers a great opportunity to get some potential new patients into your practice in a short space of time. Let people know about it by posting on your social media channels, adding it to your website and getting the word out through your networks.
Plan your format for the day well in advance and make sure your team is well briefed and enthusiastic. It’s important to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve by holding the event (sign up new plan members, promote cosmetic treatments etc) as this will help inform the format. Clearly defined goals and a structure will help ensure the day is a success.
Incentives
We all like a bargain! Offering low-cost, well thought out incentives may be enough to draw in new patients. As a practitioner, you are probably able to buy electric toothbrushes or flossers for a fraction of the retail cost of these items. Offering something such as this, which can be perceived as being high value, to new patients who have an oral health examination, or who sign up to your dental membership plan, could be enough to entice patients to join your practice. To minimise the cost of this promotion it’s best to run it for a short time only. Placing a time limit on the offer also adds a sense of urgency as patients may fear they could miss out.
These are some great ways to help you start growing your patient numbers. The beauty of most of them is, they are relatively low cost. However, as with any marketing activity, it’s always a good idea to evaluate things. That way you can assess whether things are achieving their aim or not.
