8 Tips to Make Your Dental Practice More Profitable

Let’s be honest, no one really likes going to the dentist.  Why would they? The appointment always comes at the wrong time, it’s an unfamiliar environment that potentially can cause pain, and potentially your insurance company (if there is any) doesn’t cover all the costs.  Part of being a successful business owner is recognizing obstacles by appealing to all your patients. Here are 8 tips to make your dental practice more profitable:

1. Be the Best at What You Do: Being known for a specialty can have many benefits. First, your profitability will increase when you identify your practice to a niche audience who are looking for a special service. specialty doesn’t have to always be a trained skill set. A specialty can be “The No Pain Doctor” or “The Happy Doctor”. With a little bit of creativity, everyone can have a specialty. Second, don’t be shy about your specialty and TELL EVERYONE about it. Make sure all your marketing materials highlight your specialty, as this will attract new patients by “word of mouth” advertising.
2. Be Organized and On Time: No one likes to wait, especially in a dentist office. In today’s society, everyone is busy, so respecting your patients’ schedules will go a long way. If your appointments start stacking up, then a simple courtesy phone call or text alerting your patients of a delay will display your office professionalism and your respect towards their schedules. Make sure your appointment time frame is realistic and your team is preforming within the allot timeframe. A typical hygienist appointment should run no longer than an hour, so scheduling appointments for the amount on staff and staggering appointments will ensure a smooth workflow and no empty chairs. This will help maximize your patient load and increase your revenue.
3. First Impressions are Lasting: A warm, welcoming smile and a courteous front-desk personal will alleviate any concerns patients might have about their visit. Make sure the front desk personnel are well trained on how to handle appointment scheduling and phone calls.  They need to be empathic towards all situations that occur in the waiting room and with your patients.
4. Maximize Your Team: Let’s face it, employees are an expense but you can’t do it without them. The hygienists are the ones who spend the most time with the patients, and they know the working of the practice and set the tone when dealing with the patients. Happy employees will go above and beyond the call of duty by ensuring the demands of the patients are met.
5. Don’t Let Them Get Away: Pre-scheduling appointments is good business practice. Having the front-desk personnel pre-schedule future appointments fills the books and overcomes the challenge of forgetting to schedule the next appointment.
6. May the Enforcer Be With You: When cancellations occur (and you know they will) you lose money; it’s that simple. Making sure your appointment books stay full is a tricky job at best. Make sure your front desk personnel knows your policies on cancellations and they are enforced.  Additionally, posting your cancellation policies in conspicuous places around your offices will alleviate any miscommunication between you and your patients.
7. Make it Fun with your “Refer A Friend” Program: Every practice should have a referral program in place. Word of mouth advertising is the most powerful form of advertising and the highest compliment your patients can give you. But don’t let the referral program get stale by just posting a sign at the front desk. Ask your patients what they would like as a referral program. By keeping this program fresh and fun, more patients will be engaged in the program to refer their friends and families. As a result, more chairs will be filled and your paractice will be more profitable.
8. Top of Mind Awareness: Top of mind awareness is a very powerful marketing concept. Ever notice that most restaurants love to provide doggie bags to all customers, and some even have their logo printed on the bag. This is a brilliant marketing concept that restaurants figured out a long time ago. They want their customers to think of them when they eat those leftovers from the doggie bag. Do the same in your practice and send your patients out the door with a little “goodie” bag. Your patients will think of you when they use their new toothbrush and toothpaste. Also, don’t forget to put a refrigerator magnet with your practice phone number and address in the bag. This is a great top-of-mind awareness trick that will ensure your patients return.

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