15 Tips on How to Grow Your Dental Practice

Whether you’re a new practice owner or looking to grow an established patient base, attracting dental patients allows you to develop more relationships within your community and empower your business to succeed. A marketing plan can generate the new faces you want to see and help your office stay fresh with new ideas. Discover how to attract new dental patients now.

Develop a Strategy

Getting new patients in your dental office begins with a strategy. Defining your goals can help your team develop an actionable plan. Begin your marketing plan by deciding several factors, including:

• Target demographic: Decide whether you want to treat pediatric patients, young adults, families, older adults, the general population or another type of demographic. This will help gear your marketing messages to the right groups to grab their attention and interest.
• Patient frequency: Determine how many new patients you hope to attract each month. It’s a great idea to set a goal so you can adjust your efforts as needed and establish which strategies work for you. Somewhere between 10 and 25 new patients is an excellent place to start.
• Budget: Evaluate how much you can spend on marketing messages. This will help determine what strategies to attempt first and whether you can embark on lofty projects or need to scale your resources over time.
• Other resources: Consider factors like your staff size and social media presence. A marketer can help you create plans for social media and other communication platforms. A professional marketer or agency can help with your goals like updating your website, your posting frequency and creating content.

How to Attract New Patients to Your Dental Practice

Getting new dental patients takes time, but the right strategies can help your business become well-known and approachable. You’ll need to make efforts online and in person to make the biggest impact on your community. You may also need to readjust your strategies as you determine what works well and what needs more thought. Check out these tips to learn how to get more patients into your dental practice:

1. Create a Personalized Website

Many patients begin their dental search by checking online. Creating an attractive, user-friendly website will draw more people to your doors. Optimize your page by emphasizing your unique services, like implants, after-hours care or denture fittings, and ensure your site portrays your practice’s overall tone and style. Add an About Us page so visitors can see your experience and friendly staff’s faces.

2. Provide Online Appointment Making

You want to create an easy, seamless way of making appointments to get more patients in a dental office. Online appointments make it easy for people to choose the date and time they’re available without needing to call your establishment. Offering 24-hour convenience creates an accommodating option for busy patients.

3. Utilize Social Media for Networking

Create a social media presence for your business. Social media presents many benefits for businesses by letting you engage with potential customers, past visitors and community pages to showcase your office as friendly and involved. Answer online questions and respond to feedback. Post new content frequently so existing patients want to revisit your profile to see if anything is new.

4. Make Connections With Your Community

Community connections can significantly impact your ability to gain new patients. Consider sponsoring a local sports event or theater show. Volunteer to speak with parent groups at schools. Create and offer coffee cups, shirts and similar items with your brand to remind patients of your office every time they see it.

5. Consider Membership Plans

Annual membership could be an excellent way to get new dental patients. These plans help patients save money by paying an up-front cost for specific services throughout the year. Be detailed when explaining membership costs and what services they include.

6. Establish Accommodating Payment Plans

Some new patients may not have dental insurance, which could be stalling them from seeking out your business. Offering flexible payment plans can encourage people to choose your dental office above others. Consider partnering with a finance company that lets patients use a credit card to cover dental care.

7. Hire a Skilled Team

Your staff directly interacts with each patient. Your team sets the tone that your office is welcoming and friendly, encouraging people to return. Hire personable, skilled and experienced professionals who portray your business in the best way and improve the customer experience.

8. Offer Discounts for Repeat Customers

Existing customers will enjoy the opportunity to save money while using your services. Discounts are an excellent way to thank your customer base for choosing you and encourage them to come back for even more savings.

9. Ask Patients for Referrals

Word-of-mouth is one of the most effective ways to get your name out into your local community. Asking your patients to recommend you to their friends and family is a great strategy. You can also establish professional relationships with local physicians who can refer new patients to you.

10. Create Specials for New Patients

Many patients choose their dental provider by cost. New-patient specials are a great incentive to attract potential clients, especially when offering something different from your competitors.

11. Encourage Patients to Leave Reviews

Many people rely on reviews to determine whether an office will be a good fit for them. Ask your current base to review your business online, and place their reviews on your website, social media profiles and fliers so other community members can see them. You can also use feedback to improve processes and the patient’s overall experience, such as streamlining wait times or simplifying paperwork.

12. Create a Website Blog

A blog helps your community understand you and your team better. Frequent posts can highlight you as an expert. Your content should be readable and fresh and showcase your knowledge on a wide range of subjects related to your field and services.

13. Consider Ad Retargeting

Ad retargeting empowers you to connect with people who have already shown interest in your business and remain at the forefront of their minds. When you run a retargeting campaign, your business appears online for people who’ve already engaged with your services, such as signing up for your mailing list or visiting your website. Google and Facebook offer excellent opportunities for this strategy.

14. Rely on Directory Listings

Many prospective patients use online directories to choose their providers. Seek well-known sites like Angi, Vitals and Yelp, and ensure your office is on the list. Confirm that each of your listings is consistent with each other with up-to-date hours and contact information.

15. Distribute a Press Release

Issue a press release to highlight news in the dental industry. These elements could include advanced equipment, a new service, recent green initiatives or a product recommendation. Keep subjects interesting and impart your unique voice into each release.

Improve Your Dental Office With ProDentUSA

ProDentUSA works with dentists and specialists to create the tools you need to bring a healthy smile to every patient. We only use the highest-grade steel for our products. We know what it means to create an instrument to last, and we believe equipment shouldn’t cost more than necessary. Our Factory to Door initiative lets us control prices so you get the best products at low costs, whether you need everyday tools or have custom requirements.

We’re spreading smiles one instrument at a time and want to empower you to do the same. Browse our instruments to improve your office, or contact us for more information. We’d love to hear from you.