7 Characteristics of Top Dental Clinics
I’ve spoken with THOUSANDS of dentists all over North America. It didn’t take me too long to figure out why some clinics are amazingly successful and others are not. In this post I will discuss 7 traits top clinics possess.
How can you implement or improve upon these traits to grow your business?
Be the best, objectively…
Every dentist I talk to thinks they are the best – clearly that is not possible. Put yourself in the patients shoes and try to think about what criteria they might use to determine if you are the best. Are you well reviewed? Do you invest new technology? Does your website and office space represent the quality of your care? Do you have the best staff in the city? Do your patients refer their friends? Have you won awards for being better?
Understand you are in the SERVICE industry and people are paying for the EXPERIENCE
People choose you for the experience you provide. Think like a consumer – why should they pick you over the dentist across the street? Think of your office like an airline, and your customers are all first class customers. How can you pamper them so that they become ambassadors for your business?
Have a BONUS structure in place
I can’t stress the importance of keeping your employees happy. Invest in their growth, set collective goals, and grow together. I guarantee you will see a significant spike in customer service and patient referrals when everyone benefits from an increase in revenue.
Focus on Internal Marketing with the 4 R’s
Internal marketing is hands down the most cost effective way of growing your business. Focus on the 4 R’s (Re-bookings, Referrals, Reviews, and Re-activations) before investing money in other activities.
Do you have systems and technology in place to maximize your internal marketing efforts?
Invest in your growth
You have to stop thinking of yourself as a dental OFFICE and start thinking of yourself as a dental BUSINESS. If you are not actively investing in growing your business it’s time to start – competition is only getting harder and harder. I suggest 5% of annual revenue to be your yearly marketing budget. Start with implementing a bonus system, training your team, and having excellent internal marketing. Once that is done, invest money in a great dental website and a highly focused digital marketing strategy.
Understand the Value of a new patient:
Most dental consultants suggest that the average lifetime value of a new patient is over $10,000. This is true when you factor in cosmetic / restorative work, referrals, and hygiene visits over the course of a lifetime. For arguments sake let’s say that a patient is on average only worth $5000 – you should be willing to invest $250-$500 to get that person through the door.
Optimize Your Sales Funnel
Whether you like it or not you are in sales. The best practices spend money on optimizing their funnel to make sure they are maximizing their efforts. Focus on this order:
- Make sure you offer an amazing dental experience (quality work, friendly team, enjoyable environment) so that people re-book, refer, and review you
- Make sure your front end team is trained to convert calls into appointments
- Make sure your website is optimized to turn clicks into calls
- Make sure your marketing campaigns are optimized to target the right people at the right in the most cost effective way possible.
What are you waiting for?
I love action takers. Click on the button below to schedule a call with me. Let’s chat about your goals and come up with a plan to grow!
