How to Attract New Patients to Your Dental Office
As every dental professional knows, it's important to keep a healthy patient flow. Here are four guaranteed ways to attract new dental patients, courtesy of Putnam Orthodontics founder, Dr. Satish Pai.
4 Surefire Ways to Attract New Dental Patients
Every business aims to increase its customer base. As a dental professional, you need to make sure that your existing clients come back to you. At the same time, you need to come up with strategies to attract new patients to your practice. Whether it is by offering treatment options like Invisalign or providing valuable content, you can adopt various ways to attract new and retain old patients. Here are four dental marketing ideas to increase the volume of adult patients for your clinic.
1. Create a Strong Online Presence for Your Dental Office
If your practice doesn’t have an online presence and strong online reputation, you are missing out on hundreds of potential patients. Create an engaging and active website for your business. Make a company profile on the following popular social media platforms and search engines:
Add pictures, great dental patient reviews, and videos to your practice's Facebook page. Create content about what your clinic does, how different dental treatments like ceramic braces work, etc. Create Facebook ads for your dental practice to advertise your business to the right demographic.
Put up pictures and videos on Instagram frequently. Share your patients’ transformation pictures and talk about their orthodontic journey. This is a great way to showcase authenticity. However, be sure to get each patient's consent before posting any pictures. This way you'll be on the right side of HIPAA regulations as they apply to social media.
Google, Bing, and Yahoo
Pay Per Click (PPC) is a marketing channel that will allow you to pay for an ad in various search engines. You can choose PPC advertising for sites like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The beauty of PPC with a site like Google is that you are only charged when somebody clicks your ad.
2. Follow Up with Dental Patients
How many times have your patients forgotten to come for their follow-up appointments? You may have dozens of such patients. Create a system where you can consistently follow up with patients about their progress and upcoming appointments. Invest in a software like RevenueWell or implement an internal system where you can automatically follow up on all appointments and unscheduled treatments.
3. Use Email Marketing to Stay in Touch With Patients
Take the email addresses of existing patients and send them reminders about their appointments. Give them the option to sign up for your newsletter. Send emails and newsletters at least once a month. Mail them content that they would find helpful. Give them relevant healthcare information through blog posts and video content. If you provide valuable content, your patients will discuss your services to their friends and family. This word of mouth publicity will boost your business.
4. Educate Your Dental Patients
Your patients will have a ton of questions — be prepared to answer them. Take the initiative to educate them. Here are four key areas you can consider:
Financing Options
Tell the patients what their insurance would cover and discuss other flexible financing options that could work for them. Also, discuss the different financing options you offer. For example, you can offer them a large down payment with a small monthly fee or no down payment with a fixed monthly fee. Or maybe you partner with CareCredit, or have membership services that will help reduce costs.
Treatment Options
Tell adult patients about the different treatments you offer. For example, do you offer only metal braces or have modern treatment options like Invisalign and braces behind teeth? Never assume patients know everything you offer. Present all the options to them, and enable them to make an informed decision.
Success Stories
Tell new and potential patients about previous patients and their success stories. Show them the before and after pictures. Really showcase the wonderful results your office has created. This will give patients more confidence about going ahead with their treatment.
Benefits of the Treatments
Improved self-esteem, a better smile, and healthier teeth are some benefits of orthodontic treatment. Make sure to tell your patients how the treatment will benefit their health. Ask for feedback and request patients to post an online review if they had a good experience. Many prospective patients refer to the reviews before deciding on the orthodontist for the treatment. If you have a lot of good reviews, expect an influx of new patients.
In Conclusion: Better Dental Practice Marketing Attracts More New Patients—And Helps You Keep Them
You will attract new patients by marketing your services in a better way. Design a well-planned dental marketing strategy, with a variety of the methods described above. From there, optimize your internal strategies to increase the number of patients.
Save time in your day! Learn more about how RevenueWell improves case acceptance and creates more close-knit relationships between practices and your patients.
