Niki Keyhani explains how small dental practices can optimise their marketing to effectively attract new patients without overstretching their budget.
Running a dental practice is demanding. You have staff management, patient management and, of course, after telling the exempt patient for the 10th time that they can’t have an implant on the NHS, management of your stress levels.
But ultimately, your business success is riding on whether you are able to attract and maintain new patients. Even the best clinic will inevitably lose patients each year due to reasons such as moving area, health changes or financial constraints. A practice needs five to 10% new patients per year just to stay the same size. In addition to that, new patients typically seek larger, more comprehensive treatment plans. They are where the revenue is, which pays for your nice light-cured Fuji II, keeps the books busy and the associates happy.
So, to determine whether your dental practice business is working and thriving, perhaps the most important question is: how do you attract new patients?
Traditionally, this is via referrals and has been the basis of my own business growth over the last five years. Nowadays, with more patients browsing online, a dental practice’s digital presence is more critical than ever before. Patients are choosing their new dental practice from home. The process starts with an online search, they research your reviews, your website and your ‘before and after’ posts. This is your marketing.
Marketing is what controls the narrative instead of leaving it to chance.
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