The two biggest problems Dentists face right now are not surprisingly, the biggest problems they always face: attracting new patients and keeping their existing patients “active.”
Regardless of what’s going on nationally, there are many micro-economies all over the U.S. that are growing like crazy. Still other areas are shrinking.
It’s easy to get caught up in the popular message the media is sending at any given time, so if prosperity is what you are looking for, keeping the evening news and Drudge Report® turned off are your best bets to stay focused on your goals. They do little to “help.” Instead, focus on positive news. And, make your own positive news.
If you buy into the negativity, I can tell you that will translate to your patients’ decision on whether they hand you money or not. Money does not flow where it is not welcome. It’s actually repelled by those who are scared of it, or, have a fear of there being a “limited” amount.
I wrote this back in 2009 in an article not too dissimilar from this, and today, it holds as true: If you as a dentist and business person want to continue to forge ahead, you will no doubt have to make some changes to your business model in doing so…maybe more insurance patients, maybe working more varied hours, maybe, just maybe, being more aggressive in your marketing efforts, which I think (yes, probably selfishly so) is your best bet.
Right now, at my dental office here in Salem, Wellness Springs Dental®, we are mailing about 5,000 postcards each month. Plus, we’re in the newspaper regularly with free standing inserts (40k to 45k per month). We’re active in keeping our existing patients as well by keeping a newsletter full of useful, mostly non-dental information in front of our best patients, so we are also staying relevant in their lives. And, we do monthly patient-only offers to them as well.
The postcards we mail are centered around patient “feelings” or emotions. Recipients are also incentivized to make an appointment as soon as possible with impending deadlines and “take-away” offers. Our best offer the last 2 years running is a $29 exam with an option to add a cleaning for an additional $69. (Don’t make the mistake thinking that it’s all about the money… It isn’t. And, never will be. We use a full sheet of paper, 8.5x11, to make our case for why patients should visit us first…it’s very copy intense with few (and small) illustrations or photos.)
Look, if you want to consistently close cases of all sizes, irrespective of what the economy is doing, you have to market your practice to new and existing patients. You must have consistently-used systems to reactivate patients that are inactive (those without a “next” appointment) and you have to get involved in the community in whatever fashion possible.
Here’s a great example. I just invested about 4 hours of my time to create a new relationship with a local private school; we’re sponsoring sports, providing mouthguards, and even giving their uninsured faculty and staff and their immediate families, basic dental care for six months.
If we just get a dozen patients a year from this source, it’s very well worth my time. In fact, it’s well worth your time.
Finally, and this will be brief: Do not over-complicate the buying/sales process in your office. If you truly have something of value to offer patients, you’ll need to work hard at showing them YOU deserve to exchange your service for their cash.
Working hard doesn’t mean you make the case presentation/sales pitch more elaborate than it needs to be. Go back to good old fashioned direct approach if you need to: “Mary, your tooth is cracked and it’s about to split right down to the root which means in all likelihood, this tooth will fall out and could, at virtually any point in time – and most likely, the most inconvenient time. There’s one thing that will fix it: a crown. Do you want us to get started on that today?”
We all know and have heard it countless times: There’s more undone treatment sitting secured in your patient files than you could complete in two years of full-time work. So, have your team get on the phone. Have them send out undone treatment letters. Whatever it takes to get movement.
?
Much of this can be accomplished with an easy-to-implement system I have developed called the Unfair Advantage Patient Reactivation System. You can learn more at http://www.PatientReactivation.com
Good luck with growing your practice; I think amazing opportunity abounds for the aggressive, take-no-prisoners dentist!