Established or New Dental Patients – Which is more important for practice growth?

Established or New Dental Patients – Which is more important for practice growth?

Hello Friends,

So which is more important to your practice growth – obtaining new patients or retaining established patients?

The short answer, both are very important to successfully grow your dental practice.

Yes, new patients are very important, in fact, we should have a monthly new patient goal that we are working toward each month. Offices love new patients. I hear doctors and teams all the time saying “We need more new patients!” They believe that is the answer to all of their scheduling, production, and collection woes. But is that good enough to grow your practice, just ensuring that you’re getting fresh new patients each month?

Well, if you want to spend lots of money and ultimately work harder instead of smarter, then yes. But, I think it’s safe to say, that isn’t your intention or end goal.

And yet, that is exactly what I am seeing many doctors doing in their practice. They are investing time and money to bring in new patients but are not giving the same attention to retaining those new patients. Like they are just spinning their wheels and will eventually just burn out.

Oftentimes, I will see healthy new patient numbers each month, and yet, the office isn’t growing at all and their production is weak. Why is that? When I examine the data, I learn that far too many of their new patients are one-timers. They left the office without scheduling a future appointment. Why is this a bummer situation? Calling, emailing, texting, and snail-mailing our patients to get them to reappoint can be a drag. It’s tough to reach patients once they leave. It’s possible of course, but it takes money, time, and energy that could be better spent elsewhere. Unfortunately, we don’t always see those attempts being made to reach out to those unscheduled new patients. No one really knows what happens to the patient after their first visit. Or they make minimal attempts to reach out to the patients before giving up after a couple of months.

What does your new patient experience look like from the initial call, and first visit, to how you stay in touch with them after they leave?

Do you know what your new patient retention numbers look like?

So if the most expensive patients to acquire are your new patients, the easiest and best patients to fill your schedules are those who have come to you before.  But, you may be thinking… that takes time and money to reappoint established patients too. That’s true but you have a huge advantage when reaching out to established patients of record; It’s the power of pre-existing relationships.  (Oh, by the way, on average, it can cost up to six times more to gain a new patient than it does to retain an existing patient.)

What does retaining, reactivating, and reappointing established patients mean for you and the patient?

  • We are creatures of habit.  It’s easier to do something we are already doing than to do something different.
  • Established relationship. (They already know, like, and trust you. You just need to focus on strengthening that relationship)
  • No marketing costs – you’ve already paid the initial investment in getting the patient.

What are you doing to keep track of your established patients? What are you doing to ensure your established patients don’t slip through the cracks?

What are you doing to keep your new and established patients loyal to your practice?

Loyal patients, isn’t that what we want? Patients that return year after year, accept your treatment recommendations and refer their friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. They are loyal to your dental practice because they like and trust you. You’ve earned the privilege to serve them not just for a moment but for life.

Is it really a privilege to serve them? Absolutely! Any office that struggles with getting and keeping new patients, struggles with getting patients to accept their treatment recommendations, struggles with the hygiene department’s continuing care reports and Swiss cheese-like appointment schedules, struggles to keep up with all the record transfer requests from patients for their new dental office, will learn (hopefully quickly) that having loyal patients in your practice is an earned privilege. The best part with loyal patients is the aforementioned struggles are greatly reduced or eliminated altogether.

Of course, this takes some work – implementing and following closely, effective office systems/protocols are critical to you successfully retaining your patients and reaching/exceeding your practice goals.

Practice Owners, if you would like to grow and improve your dental practice and have wondered what it might be like to work with me and what coaching is all about… please feel free to reach out to me to schedule a complimentary, no-obligation coaching call at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com.

Have you signed up to receive my complimentary dental marketing and practice management ideas that are sent right to your email inbox each month? If not, take a second and sign up. Or send me your email address (bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com) and I will send you an invite to follow. This way, you won’t miss a single idea

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty (Dental Coach)

P.S. If you enjoy the complimentary ideas that I share or if they’ve been of help to you and your practice –  I would truly appreciate it if you would please take a second and leave a review/recommendation for me on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you!!

Dental Marketing and Practice Growth Ideas for February 2023

Dental Marketing and Practice Growth Ideas for February 2023

Hello Friends –

Hope you all are having a wonderful & healthy start to 2023!

Are your plans set to exceed your established patients’ expectations, welcome more new patients, and strengthen your relationship with local businesses within the community? If not, hopefully, the ideas that I am sharing here will help you make plans to enjoy a happy and productive February!

February 2023 Dental Office Marketing & Practice Growth Ideas

Educational Ideas:

Through With The Chew: 19-25th / The Great American Spit Out: 23rd

February is American Heart Month –

Heart Health Talking Points: Dental Health and Heart Disease Are Related

Dental health and heart disease are intricately linked and the cost of avoiding advanced periodontal disease or even something as mild as gingivitis may very well prove to be the cause of serious medical problems in the future. Be good to your heart beginning with good oral health.

Tip: If you’re not currently taking your patients’ blood pressure at their appointments… make it a goal to start during the month of February. Many people see their dentist more regularly than a physician and could get an early warning about high blood pressure when getting their teeth cleaned or having other dental treatments done.

For Children’s Dental Health Month Tips and Ideas Visit Here: Dental Health Month Ideas

Pet Dental Health Month – Share pet dental health tips on your social media sites, ask people to share pictures of their pets on social media, and hand out dog treats packaged with your office information. Even if the patient doesn’t have a dog surely, they know someone who does… a great way to get your office name out there!

Grammy Awards: 5th – In-office and Social Media contest to match up the celebrity singers’ smiles to the names. Or a contest to vote on who will take home the best Album of the year.

February is International Boost Self-Esteem Month – A beautiful & healthy smile can boost one’s self-esteem and confidence.

Don’t miss out on any of the ideas that I share each month! Are you receiving my complimentary Practice Management and Marketing Ideas in your email inbox each month? If not, please start following us today. If you prefer, send me your email address at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com and I will send you an invitation to follow my blog.

Social Media Post Content Ideas to Improve Engagement during the month of February

Bubble Gum Day: 3rd

Toothache Day: 9

Super Bowl LVII (57): 12th

National Hippo Day: 15th  

World Pistachio Day: 26 

It would be great to hear from you! If you enjoy the ideas that I share or if they’ve been of help to you and your practice –  I would love and truly appreciate it if you would please take a second and leave a review/recommendation for me on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you!!!

Yours for Greater Success,
~Betty

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on  FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedIn, and Pinterest

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Dental Office Ideas to Celebrate Baseball Season

Dental Office Ideas to Celebrate Baseball Season

Hello Friends,

Whether or not you’re a fan of baseball, celebrating Opening Day and the Baseball season with your team and patients is a great way to have more fun and exceed expectations.

Here are a few ideas that you can use any time during the baseball season…

  • Wear your favorite baseball team gear.
  • Encourage your patients to dress up too.
  • Decorate the office.
  • Take lots of pictures to share on your social media pages.
  • Special Offer on Sport Mouthguards for the Month of April
  • Share sports-related dental health tips on your social media pages.
  • Sponsor a local baseball team.
  • Have a Raffle to win baseball tickets or a baseball themed Gift Basket in exchange for Facebook likes, check-ins, and Reviews/Recommendations on Google and Facebook
  • Hand out some patient appreciation gifts such as imprinted lip balm, popcorn, peanuts, or for additional gift ideas check out my Pinterest board HERE.

Remember that it is important to find and create more ways to have fun at work!

Doctors, if you’re struggling to reach your practice goals and not enjoying dentistry like you used to – feel free to contact me for a complimentary, no-obligation 30-minute telephone consultation at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com to see if a coaching relationship is right for you.

If you enjoy the tips and ideas that I share each month – I would love and truly appreciate for you to please leave a review/recommendation for me here on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK. Thank you!!

Are you receiving my free dental marketing and practice management ideas every month to your inbox? If not, PLEASE take a second and follow today or send me your email address and I will send you an invitation to follow. This way, you won’t miss a single idea. ~ Thank you!

Yours for Greater Success!

~Betty

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on  FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedIn, and Pinterest

April 2022 Dental Marketing and Practice Growth Tips and Ideas

April 2022 Dental Marketing and Practice Growth Tips and Ideas

Hello Friends,

Yay! It is starting to feel like Spring!

What are your plans to start the second quarter of the year strong and healthy?

I am sharing with you some marketing and practice growth tips and ideas for April 2022 to help you grow your dental practice, exceed your current and potential patients’ expectations, and have more fun as a team.

April is National Garden Month – 

Theme: Spring Flowers

Focus: Spring into a Healthy & Beautiful Smile

your referrals help grow our dental practice

Educational Opportunities:

National Youth Sports Safety Month – Product Feature: Mouthguards

Dental Office Tips and Ideas Sports Safety

Share dental health sport safety tips on your social media platforms.

Offer special pricing on sport mouthguards.

Stress Awareness Month – Share with your patients in-office and via your social media platforms how stress can negatively impact their dental health. Provide tips for reducing and dealing with stress. As well as how a bite-guard may be helpful

Community Spirit Days (April 1-30) What a great opportunity to get your name out there in the community. Here are some ideas for you…

  • Neighborhood Spring Perennial Plant Exchange from the office parking lot.
  • Feature a local restaurant each week on your social media page encouraging people to visit their FB page and leave a review.  Do a gift card raffle for each of the restaurants.
  • Find a local charity that you can support.
  • Make your office a donation drop off site for items of need in the community (ie: non-perishable food items, books, etc.)

Doctors, I would love the opportunity to work along with you and your team to help you set and exceed your practice goals. If you would like to schedule a no-obligation, complimentary consultation to learn how our coaching program works, please email me at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com.

Social Media Post Ideas to Improve Engagement during the month of April

National Fun at Work Day: 1

Take Down Tobacco Day: 1

Vitamin C Day: 4

National Siblings Day: 10

National Pet Day: 11

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day: 12

National Pecan Day: 14

Bat Appreciation Day: 17

National Garlic Day: 19

Banana Day: 20

Earth Day: 22

National Baseball Day: 22

Take Your Daughters & Sons to Work Day: 28th

National Sense of Smell Day: 30th

I hope you enjoyed these practice growth tips and ideas for April!

Before you leave – I would love and truly appreciate hearing from you – would you please, kindly leave a review/recommendation for me on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK ? Thank you!

Are you receiving my complimentary Practice Management, Leadership, and Marketing Ideas in your email inbox each month? If not, please start following today – you’ll be glad you did.  If you prefer, send me your email address at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com and I will send you an invitation to follow my blog.

Wishing you a happy & healthy Spring!

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty – Dental Coach

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedIn, and Pinterest