How to Attract New Patients to Your Dental Office
As a dentist, you have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of your patients. Whether they seek you out for routine check-ups, cosmetic procedures, or more serious dental issues, you have the power to improve their oral health and boost their overall well-being.
But how do you ensure that your practice is top of mind when people are looking for a dentist? The answer lies in your strategy for acquiring and retaining new patients. In this article we will take you through how to attract new patients to your dental office this year.
Beyond this you should be actively thinking about how to increase patient volume in a dental office so that you can be increasing your revenue and setting goals.
Standing-out in a crowded space
Standing out in a crowded dental market can be a challenge, especially during uncertain times like the 2020 pandemic. But even when the market appears to be saturated, one thing remains true: competition for new patients is fierce. Learning how to run a successful dental practice is paramount to your growth.
In this environment, it’s not enough to simply provide outstanding dental care. You need to have a strategic approach to acquiring and retaining new patients that sets you apart from the pack.
Whether it’s leveraging the latest marketing tactics, offering innovative services, or cultivating a loyal patient base through exceptional customer service, a stand-out dental practice or organization must constantly evolve and stay ahead of the curve. Technology like dental practice management can help here.
By focusing on your patient acquisition and retention strategies, you can ensure that your dental practice not only survives but thrives in even the most challenging of times.
4 strategies for acquiring and keeping new patients
1. Understand how patient communication works
Effective patient communication is not just about talking, but about truly listening and being heard. It requires two key elements: communicating something of value to rise above the noise, and listening strategically to understand what the patient needs to hear.
Communication involves both words and engagement, and it’s crucial to make patients feel heard in order to attract them to your practice. Take a critical look at your language and narrative across every department to ensure that you’re communicating with patients, not at them, whether on the phone, in person, or online.
When it comes to appointments, case presentations, and financial discussions, be open to pushback and make sure your patients know you’re not just trying to sell dentistry. Encourage feedback through online reviews, surveys, and social media comments to show that you value their input and are committed to improving their experience. Dental scheduling software can also improve their impression of your practice.
By focusing on effective communication, you can build trust with your patients and differentiate yourself in a crowded dental market.
Jon Fider, Founder of Fidler and Associates shared his insights on relationship building when he joined as a guest of the Dental Economist Show. Watch the full episode here.
2. Start building the relationship on your first encounter
Managing the impression you make on new patients is about ongoing engagement.
Keep in mind that today’s first encounters with your practice is most likely online. Digital first impressions are key to attracting new patients and building a long-term relationship with them.
- Review your dental website from the perspective a new patient. Is it up to date? Is it easy to navigate? Is it responsive on mobile? Is it optimized for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?
- Train your team on their responsiveness to questions. These might seem reflexive but to make an outstanding first impression will require some additional training.
- Utilize patient-facing features of your dental practice management system. Allowing patients to complete forms and schedule appointments online is part of making their first impression with your practice as seamless and easy as possible.
3. Ask for patient feedback
Part of your strategic communication loop is asking for, processing, and using feedback to your advantage. Every interaction with a potential new patient provides you and your team the opportunity to evaluate any feedback they provide.
- Use online forms, text, email, and even a phone call to launch a feedback loop with new patients.
- Let patients know that you’re interested in their opinion, input, and feedback however they’re prepared to serve it up. This communicates that you’re responsive and respectful of them individually.
- Align your team around your feedback questions to acquire accurate information from each new patient.
- Process negative feedback with patients first and subsequently among your team. Seek a solution rather than being defensive.
4. Be present, consistent, and useful on social media
Just because you have social media buttons on your website is no guarantee you’re engaging with new patients. A large percentage of new patients are likely to find you on a social media platform and start a dialogue there. Use these tactics to help you connect online:
- Create and share content that presents your practice as an authority in dentistry
- Balance promotional or dental paid search with informative content that answers questions and solves problems new patients have about their oral health
- Curate and share content in tandem with your own original blog content, etc.
Engage with new patients and create a long-term patient experience
Acquiring new patients involves specific strategies. But retaining them requires a well-equipped dental practice management platform.
Consider a cloud-based solution and improve your practice efficiency and new patient engagement
When it comes to managing your dental practice, a cloud-based solution can offer significant advantages over traditional legacy systems. With built-in dental patient communication software, predictable monthly subscription rates, and remote, secure access to your data, Denticon can save you up to 40% compared to legacy systems, all while providing a more seamless and low-maintenance platform.
But the benefits of upgrading to a cloud-based practice management solution go beyond cost savings. By leveraging the power of the cloud, you can streamline your operations and improve patient care, while staying ahead of the curve as dentistry continues to evolve.
With Denticon, you’ll have access to the latest features and updates, without the need for costly hardware upgrades or IT support. This means you can focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional care to your patients and growing your practice.
Thinking about or ready to update your dental practice management software? Contact us or request a demo today!
