Now that May is here and the flowers and trees are starting to blossom, I’m going to change the topic to something more appropriate. Since Spring is the season of renewal and rebirth, this post is going to focus on how to attract new patients to your dental practice. Existing patients are the main source of income, but it’s also important to consider the potential benefits that come with obtaining new patients. Below are six online and in-office suggestions you can use to attract new patients to your growing practice and convince them to stay.
In-Office
1 Educate new patients
- All new patients come into an office with built-in expectations of what they want from their dentist. Be prepared to be honest and to educate those patients by offering tips and ideas they can benefit from. Let them know how to best care for their teeth and what type of toothbrush would be the most effective. By doing this, you are letting the patient know that you genuinely care about their health and well-being.
- Your waiting room is where all of your patients spend a lot of their time, so why not utilize the space to make a statement about your dental practice? You want your waiting room to speak volumes before you do so, in addition to a clean and colorful room, you can put framed “after-photos” on the walls with patient testimonials beneath. You can also have brochures visible and available for everyone to take.
3 Exceed expectations
- Instead of just meeting the expectations of your new patients, exceed them by going above and beyond. Communicate with your patients by email to check on their recovery and do whatever you can to best accommodate them with a smile and a professional demeanor they will respect and respond to.
Online
4 Focus on potential patients
- Online ads should focus on what the patient is looking for when choosing a dentist. Focus on your genuine interest in patient care and how you can effectively address their fears, frustrations, annoyances and confusion.
5 Increase communication & your online presence
- Use email to communicate with patients by encouraging them to set up appointments. You can also do your part by reminding those patients about existing appointments, and guiding them gently to your website. Developing a rapport with new patients takes effort, and your website should reflect that effort. Create a newsletter, create an instagram account, write a blog, offer essential dental tips, and links to other social media accounts.
6 Utilize Patient Reviews
- All patients have something to say, so take all reviews seriously and use them as testimonials to better advertise your dental practice and draw in prospective patients.
However, not all reviews are going to be positive, but every review holds merit. No, you can’t please everyone, but most negative reviews have a lesson you can learn from. Take these negative reviews and employ them the way you would the positive reviews. You don’t need to add them to your list of testimonials (I wouldn’t recommend it), but you can turn them around to benefit your dental practice by respecting the patient’s point of view.
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