By Carey Kidd, Marketing Director, Fortune Management
If you're a dentist, you know how competitive the industry is. People are more concerned about how they look than ever before, and that's great news for people in your field. However, it also means that dentists have to work harder than ever before to maintain their practice and keep up with the competition. Let’s take a look at 12 of the top ways dentists can make their practice successful.
Introduce New Technology
With the advent of new technology in the dental industry, it is more important than ever to keep up with technology and introduce new products that will benefit patients and make your practice more efficient.
New technologies include the following:
- CT scan machines
- 3D printing
- Digital X-rays
It's important to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to dental equipment, so learning about these trends will help you see how they can improve your practice for patients and staff.
Survey Your Patients
To get a good idea of how your patients feel about their experience, ask them to fill out a survey. You can use an online survey service or create one yourself if you have the time and resources.
Ask them to rate their experience on a scale from 1-10 (1 being extremely unsatisfied and ten being very satisfied). Ask them for any feedback they may have about their dental care so that you can improve upon it in the future. This will also give your insight into what sort of changes you might want to make going forward if there are things that need improvement in your practice, such as:
- The waiting room
- The way staff interacts with patients
- What times are best for appointments
All of this feedback can be used to improve your quality of services, which will make sure that patients return whenever they need dental care.
Change Working Hours
To improve productivity, you should schedule and stick to a consistent work schedule. A common practice is to start working earlier in the morning and end later in the evening. You could also take a lunch break; many people find that eating midday helps they stay focused throughout their day.
This is also great for employees who have to work around the clock. If possible, give employees a day or two from rest. On days when traffic in the office is manageable, you can give a break to your employees and work on your patients yourself.
Ask Patients to Leave Reviews
Asking for reviews is the best way to get them. It's important to note that you can't simply ask for a review and expect it to happen. You need to be strategic about how and when you ask patients to leave one, so they will not hesitate and will not feel that you are forcing this on them. Think about this and then tailor your approach accordingly.
Focus on making sure that everyone who comes into contact with your practice leaves feeling satisfied enough with their service experience that they would leave an honest review online if asked directly by someone else considering using your services.
Use Social Media to Get New Patients
Social media is a great tool to get new patients and promote your office, services, team, and pricing.
Use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to engage with existing patients and potential ones in your local community.
Post photos of your team members working on their dental skills to show people how committed you are to providing the best quality care for them. Post about what procedures you offer at the clinic so that people know exactly what they're getting when they come in for an appointment with you or your staff—and avoid being scammed by dentists who aren't as honest as you are!
Engage With Your Employees
The best way to run a successful dental practice is by engaging your employees and getting them on board with your vision for the future of your dental practice. As the owner, it's important that you make sure that everyone who works for you is happy and motivated, as they will be responsible for providing great customer service, which is essential in any industry.
If one of your employees isn't engaged or happy at work, then their productivity levels are likely to drop off significantly—and this can have a negative impact on their colleagues' performance as well. In order to prevent this happening at all costs, it's vital that you find ways to ensure everyone working under your leadership feels valued by management; this will help boost morale within the dental office and encourage better teamwork between staff members as well as give patients confidence in their choice of the dental clinic.
Divide Work Equally
Dividing work equally is an essential part of running a successful practice. It allows you to ensure that all patients are being treated with the same standard of care and attention, and it’s also important to understand their state of mind—if your employees are too busy or overworked, they may be tempted to provide subpar care in order to get through the day.
To divide dental work equally among your staff members, you should:
- Create clear expectations for each employee so they can understand their responsibilities. This includes setting goals for each patient.
- Make sure all employees have access to the same training tools as well as opportunities for advancement within their current positions (e.g., becoming a team lead).
Train Your Team Constantly
Training your team on the latest technologies, procedures, and marketing strategies is crucial for the success of your practice. But so are training them on new customer service skills, management skills, and leadership skills. Training should be ongoing with a focus on helping staff achieve their full potential in all areas of your dental practice.
Expand Your Team
This is the single most important thing you can do to ensure your success. As a solo practitioner, you are responsible for everything under the sun. You are the patient coordinator, marketing guru, and dental hygienist; all rolled into one person. You have no one else to rely on but yourself—and that's not ideal if you want to grow your practice!
To give you some breathing room and allow yourself more time with patients, hire an office manager (or two). They will handle all incoming calls while keeping track of patient appointments and insurance forms in their own system, so nothing falls through the cracks. They will also be able to free up some of your time by hiring dental assistants who can help with setting up procedures or cleaning instruments between patients.
Offer More Services
You should also consider offering more services to your patients. Dental insurance companies pay for more than just cleanings and x-rays. They also cover services such as root canals, crowns, bridges, extractions, and gum disease prevention and treatment. So, expand your offering list, so customers can know to call you whenever they have a dental issue.
Invest In Automatic Billing Software
Automating your billing software, payments system, and scheduling will make your life much easier. You can also automate reminders to patients, insurance verification, and patient check-in/out.
Automation is particularly helpful when it comes to scheduling. With an automated system, you can set up appointment reminders, manage cancellations and rescheduling requests, and send automatic follow-up emails. This will help you stay organized and save time.
Ad Targeting
Targeting is the process of identifying and reaching customers who are likely to be interested in your services. It can be done by demographics, location, behavior (such as searching for "dentist"), interests, keywords, device type (mobile vs. desktop), time of day, and more.
Targeting customers with a relevant message is an effective way to increase engagement and conversions. For example, if you have a dental practice that offers professional whitening services, you would want to target people who are looking for this service in their area because they may not know about you. This will help them be aware. Offer them good services, and they will definitely come back to you in the future.
Conclusion
The dental industry is ever evolving, with new technology and advancements coming in at a fast pace. But with any business, there are some tried-and-true practices that have worked for years, some of which have been talked about above. Implementing these tactics into your practice can help ensure you and your businesses are poised for success.