Dental Marketing and Practice Growth Ideas for May 2022

Dental Marketing and Practice Growth Ideas for May 2022

Hello & Happy Spring, Friends ~

Here are a few dental marketing and practice growth tips and ideas to help you, your team, your patients, and potential patients smile during the month of May…

Theme: National Family Wellness Month

Focus: Healthy & Beautiful Smiles (Preventive & Cosmetic Services)

Goal: Welcome More New Patients, Improve Your Patients’ Health, & Exceed Patients’ Expectations

Contest/Raffle – Family Fun & Wellness Gift Basket (Tote/Cooler) – Fill with Lawn games, BBQ supplies, Sunscreen, Citronella Candles, Toothbrushes, Paper products, Chalk, Gift Card, etc.

Patients earn entries for Facebook likes, check-ins, reviews, Google reviews, and for referring new patients.

Community Engagement and Appreciation Ideas – The month of May has National Police Officers Week, Nurses Week, and Teacher Appreciation Week.

Click this link for tips and ideas Dental Office Appreciation Ideas for Teachers, Nurses, and Police Officers during May 2022

Doctors, if you’re struggling to reach your practice goals or feel there is too much chaos in your practice– 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.

Dental Health Education In-Office and Social Media Educational Ideas for May 2022

National Root Canal Appreciation Week: 1-7 

National Piercing Day: 16th

World Hypertension Day: 17th  

dental office blood pressure betty hayden consulting

 World No-Tobacco Day: 31st

Would you please do something for me? If you appreciate and enjoy the complimentary ideas that I share each month  – I would LOVE for you to PLEASE leave me a review/recommendation on Google or Facebook. Simply click the following links…    GOOGLE   and/or  FACEBOOK Thank you so much!!

Dental Social Media Post Content Ideas for May 2022 to help you build and improve engagement.

dental social media content ideas from Betty Hayden Consulting

World Laughter Day: 1st

Herb Day: 7th  

National BBQ Day: 16th  

World Bee Day: 20th  

World Turtle Day: 23rd

Eat More Fruits & Vegetables Day: 26th  

National Smile Day: 31st  

Wishing you and your team a month full of smiles!

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. This way, you won’t miss a single idea! Or, if you have an area(s) in the practice that you’re struggling with, feel free to email me at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty – Dental Coach

Would you please do something for me? If you appreciate and enjoy the complimentary ideas that I share each month  – I would LOVE for you to PLEASE leave me a review/recommendation on Google or Facebook. Simply click the following links.    GOOGLE   and/or  FACEBOOK Thank you so much!!

Dental Office Management and Leadership Tips and Ideas for April 2022

Dental Office Management and Leadership Tips and Ideas for April 2022

Hello Friends,

Now is the time to welcome Spring and your second quarter for this year. Be sure to review your plans to make this second quarter your best one yet!  What are your plans to exceed your patients’ and potential patients’ expectations? Ensure that everyone on the team is on the same page.

Remember that it is most important to consistently exceed your employees’ expectations. We all need a work environment and culture that refreshes us instead of being a drag and a drain on us.

(Please stop by and say hello to me on FacebookInstagramLinkedIn, and Pinterest)

One of the most common issues that I hear from dental employees is that they don’t feel appreciated. Feeling a lack of gratitude is often the main reason why they leave their employer or suffer a decline in positivity and productivity.

National Fun at Work Day: 1st – Do something different, unexpected, and fun today. Have a silly theme for this day. (For example, Crazy hair, silly socks, decades day, etc. POST pictures on Facebook and Instagram)

National Mani-pedi Day: 25th – How about treating your employees to a mani-pedi spa day?

Doctors, if you’re struggling to reach your practice goals or want to improve the culture and spirit of your practice – 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.

Administrative Professionals Week: 24-30 – This is the week to go above and beyond with your appreciation for your amazing, hard-working business employee or team!

See Employee Appreciation Ideas Here: Employee Appreciation Gift Ideas Pinterest Board

Are you looking for Dental Marketing and Practice Growth Tips & Ideas for April? Check these out: April 2022 Dental Marketing Ideas / Oral Cancer Awareness Month Ideas / Baseball Season Tips & Ideas

Create Healthy Hygiene Schedules

Hygiene Continuing Care Reminders – Reach out to your unscheduled hygiene patients. Do you know how many of your active patients are also active in hygiene? How many have a scheduled appointment and how many are unscheduled? Here is an opportunity to make a special effort to reach out to your unscheduled hygiene patients…

Cleaning For a Reason Week: 18th -24th – Turn this into an “it’s time (past-time) for your spring dental health cleaning, examination, and oral cancer screening appointment” reminder.

Keep in mind, the best way to keep your patients active is to be sure to reappoint them for their next hygiene visit when they are there at the office. Also, help more of your patients say yes to your treatment recommendations and have them reserve their appointment at the time of treatment presentation.

I hope you enjoyed the ideas that I’ve shared here.

It always brightens my day to hear from you! If you appreciated these complimentary ideas I  would love for you to please take a minute to leave me a review/recommendation here on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK.  Thank you!!

Yours for Greater Success,
~Betty

Dental Office Employee Team Building Activities, Ideas, and Incentives

Dental Office Employee Team Building Activities, Ideas, and Incentives

Hello Friends,

“There is no way that the quality of patient care and experiences will exceed the quality of the people who provide it.”

It’s true if you want your patients to consistently have great experiences, accept your treatment recommendations, and refer their friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to you – it takes a quality, happy, and productive team. Of course, though, it starts with you!

Set the Example – Treat your employees how you would like them to treat your best patient! 

If you want to see a positive change in your practice, you must consistently lead by example… be the change. It starts at the top. You set the tone for the day, make certain that it’s a happy & productive one. This includes any employee in a management position – if you have employees complaining about your office manager, take it seriously. A toxic office manager will destroy your practice over time, at the very least, cause a staff turnover nightmare.  In fact, any employee that is toxic to your vision, to your team, and/or your patients…needs to go. It’s not easy to make the decision to terminate someone’s employment, yet absolutely necessary if you want to improve your practice.  It’s been said that “what you allow you encourage.” Once you make the decision to no longer tolerate or allow the poor behavior and attitudes in your practice, you’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Doctors, 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.

Communication – “The art of communication is the language of leadership.”

  • Job Expectations & Job Responsibilities – What are the performance expectations for your team? Does each employee clearly understand their role in the practice?
  • Quarterly Employee Check-ins (AKA Performance Evaluations)
  • Hello, Good Morning! – Make it a point to greet your fellow team members every morning. Let people know that you see them and acknowledge them with a hello.
  • Thank you – Express your appreciation.  Saying thank you improves your office, your health, and the patient’s experience.
  • Commendation – Commend your employees when you catch them doing something “right”. Commendation boosts morale. Applaud & reward the behavior and actions that you want to see more of. Simply thanking your team at the end of the day goes a long way in making them feel appreciated.

Creativity – Host “Brainstorm Sessions” with prizes for creative marketing ideas, solutions to improve office efficiency, welcome more new patients, patient retention, and how to have more fun as a team.

Accountability – “Great teammates hold each other accountable to the high standards and excellence their culture expects and demands.” – Jon Gordon

Work Space / Office Appearance – Clutter in your physical surroundings will clutter your mind and spirit.”

Clutter represents indecision. Decide to get rid of the office clutter!

Staff Lounge / Lunchroom – What does your breakroom/lounge look like? Is it a space that you can relax in and enjoy? Consider cleaning it up, organizing, re-decorating, and stocking with healthy snacks and beverages for the team.

Work Hard, Have Fun, Create Beautiful Smiles.

Have FUN! – You spend far too much time together at work to not have some fun too! Create a fun and stress-free environment with Team Building Activities and Events!

Here are some ideas to get you started…

In Office Fun: Potluck lunch, Send an Ice Cream or Coffee Truck to the office, Carry out lunch (team choice), Crafts, Games, & Puzzles. Turn the music up and dance. Make little appreciation gifts that you can give out to your patients at their appointments.

Healthier Teams – How about team exercise/yoga classes? Or Monday morning breakfast smoothies? Or walks outside during breaks.

Fun with Social Media – Utilize your social media pages and your Google My Business page to show your patients and potential patients what a fun office you have.

Videos – post fun team videos on your office social media pages.

Employee Work Anniversaries – Celebrate employee work anniversaries and post pictures to your social media pages.

Pictures – take fun/silly pictures with the team and your patients to share on social media, your website, and in newsletters.

Fun Dress Up/Theme Days –

What: Decorate the office, team dresses up, small prize giveaways and snacks.

Theme Ideas: Luau, Decades, Superhero, Disney, Western, Carnival, Sports teams, Pajama Day, Silly hats/hair/socks, Etc.

Book Club – Purchase team building/self-improvement books for your team. During your monthly team meetings or at your daily huddle discuss portions of the book. Consider purchasing electronic devices such as a Kindle Fire for each employee and download books that can be discussed during a “book club team meeting”.

Check out Dental Office Leadership, Management, Marketing, and Team Building Book Recommendations here from Betty’s Bookshelf

If you have some favorites that you think I should add to my list, feel free to shoot me a message at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com – Thank you.

Incentives/Rewards – Sometimes unexpected rewards work better than expected monthly bonuses for reaching goals. Every office is different, so if you have something that is working well for you and your team continue doing it. However, if you would like some reward/incentive ideas for reaching daily/weekly/monthly production, collection, new patient, service/product, social media, and other goals but want to keep the rewards unexpected or more spontaneous, here you go…

In addition to simple, yet appreciated, thank you cards; Spa Gift Card, Good Ol’ Cash, Lunch/Breakfast, Purse/Tote bag, Gift Baskets, Plants/Flowers, Jewelry, Movie/Theater Gift Cards, Tickets to Sporting Event/Concert, Amusement Park tickets, Restaurant gift card, Gas cards and Car Wash Gift Cards.

If you would like even more ideas, be sure to follow this Pinterest Board: Employee Appreciation Gifts & Meeting Activities / Team Building Activities

Outside the office Fun: (depending on your location and current pandemic restrictions/cautions) Bowling, Painting Party, Shopping, Dinner, Cooking Class, Wally Ball, Sporting Event, Spa, Escape Room, Field Day (Team up with other offices), Concert, Skating, Batting Cages, Mini Golf, Pottery Class, Theater,  Pool party, Skiing, Nature hike/walk, Etc.

Continuing Education – Continuing education, not just for the providers but for the entire team is a wonderful way to ensure practice growth. Not to mention, it’s a great team-building experience, one that will give you a happier and motivated team. You can do this with in-office training, webinars, lunch and learns, and seminars/classes outside of the office.

Consider incorporating a dental continuing education class with a fun event, for example, CPR Course and Pool Party.

Regular Team Training – Don’t hold back in this area! Invest in your team. Thoroughly train any new employees on your practice goals, systems, software, telephone skills, dental procedures, protocols, etc.  However, training isn’t just for your new employees, everyone in the office needs regular training.

Is there a chance you might have some new dental equipment or training manuals just sitting on the shelf, collecting dust?  It’s most likely because your team didn’t understand or appreciate the why and the how. Knowing why and how this new idea, technique, equipment, or procedure works, benefits the patient, the team, and the office is critical to enthused implementation.

Community Involvement – Visit the local farmers market, art/street fairs, Races/Run/Walk for-a-cause, Fundraisers, Parades, Etc. Be active in your community. Pass out freebies imprinted with your office information to the people attending these community events. Be sure to take pictures of you and your team out and about in the community and share to your social media pages and website.

“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” ~ Dale Carnegie

It is my wish that these ideas and tips will help you and your team experience greater happiness at work. If you have any other ideas or things that have worked well in your office, I would love to hear about them. If you have any questions or concerns about what you’ve read today, please contact me at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com.

Did you enjoy these tips and ideas?   I would love and truly appreciate for you to please leave a review/recommendation for me on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK – Thank you!!!

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 and I will send you an invite to follow. This way, you won’t miss a single idea!

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty

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

Betty’s Top Ten FREE Dental Practice Improvement Tips for 2021

Betty’s Top Ten FREE Dental Practice Improvement Tips for 2021

Hello Friends,

Here you will find my Top Ten FREE Dental Practice Improvement Tips for 2021. They’re not just free to read, they’re free to implement. How awesome is that?! Ideas that when implemented, WILL help you increase production, attract more new patients, build relationships within the community, have more fun as a team, as well as exceed your established patients’ expectations.

Betty’s Top Ten FREE Dental Practice Improvement Tips for 2021

#1 – Mission, Vision, Core ValuesKnowing why you show up every morning will help to create a culture of happiness and excellence.

Mission – A clear definition of the purpose and focus of the practice today.

Vision – It is about what you want your practice to be in the future. It is the outcome/result of your mission.

Core Values – Core Values represent the beliefs and principles that define your practice, your team, and the patient experience you aim for in your dental practice.

Involve the entire team in your vision, mission, and goals for the practice. Involving your team will help to keep everyone on the same page, working together for the greater good of the practice. Encourage and empower your team to not only come up with new ideas and solutions to problems but to implement these ideas and solutions.

#2 – Lead by Example –  “Treat your employees how you would like them to treat your best patient!

If you want to see a positive change in your practice, you must consistently lead by example… be the change. It starts at the top. You set the tone for the day, make certain that it’s a happy & productive one. This includes any employee in a management position – if you have employees complaining about your office manager, take it seriously. A toxic office manager will destroy your practice over time, at the very least, cause a staff turnover nightmare.  In fact, any employee that is toxic to your vision, to your team, and/or your patients…needs to go. It’s not easy to make the decision to terminate someone’s employment, yet absolutely necessary if you want to improve your practice.  It’s been said that “what you allow you encourage.” Once you make the decision to no longer tolerate or allow the poor behavior and attitudes in your practice, you’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief.

#3 – Communication – “The art of communication is the language of leadership.”

  • Job Expectations & Job Responsibilities – What are the performance expectations for your team? Does each employee clearly understand their role in the practice? Have every team member write down a detailed list of all their job responsibilities. This is VERY helpful in determining more effective ways of doing things as well as finding out what is NOT being done.
  •  Morning Huddles – See: https://bettyhaydenconsulting.com/2019/04/30/dental-office-morning-huddle-tips-and-ideas/
  • Monthly Team Meetings – See: https://bettyhaydenconsulting.com/2019/12/27/tips-and-ideas-for-successful-monthly-dental-team-meetings/
  • Quarterly Employee Check-ins (AKA Performance Evaluations)
  • Hello, Good Morning! – Make it a point to greet your fellow team members every morning. Let people know that you see them and acknowledge them with a hello.
  • Thank you – Express your appreciation.  Saying thank you improves your office, your health, and the patient’s experience.
  • Commendation – Commend your employees when you catch them doing something “right”. Commendation boosts morale. Applaud & reward the behavior and actions that you want to see more of. Simply thanking your team at the end of the day goes a long way in making them feel appreciated. Little surprise treats and gifts every now and then are also much appreciated.

#4 – Know your Numbers – “If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.” – Maya Angelou

Knowing your practice numbers and doing something with what you know about those numbers is key to growing and improving your practice. Numbers tell a story. Numbers tell you if your practice is healthy or unhealthy.  

Get a baseline of where you’re at in order to make a goal for where you want to go.  For example,

  • Overhead – Evaluate your true costs of doing business. What does it cost you per hour to keep the practice running?
  • Supplies – What is your supply budget vs what you are actually spending?
  • Payroll – What is your payroll percentage? Are you hygienists producing 3.3 times their salary?
  • Collections – Are you collecting what you produce and how long is it taking to collect your money?
  • Adjustments/Write-Offs – Are you closely monitoring your adjustments and write-offs?
  • Production – What are your hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly restorative and hygiene production goals?
  • New Patients – How many new patients do you want per month? What are you doing to welcome more new patients each month?
  • Attrition – How many patients are you losing each month and why?
  • Treatment Acceptance Vs Diagnosis – How many of your patients are saying yes to your best care? How are you keeping track of your unscheduled treatment plans?

If your numbers reveal unhealthiness be quick to act and get help to restore your practice to health and happiness.

Friends, do you know how many of your active patients have a future appointment and how many do not? Do you know how many new patients you are welcoming into the practice AND how many patients you’re losing each month?  To help you get that data quickly, like within minutes – if your PMS is either Dentrix, Eaglesoft, or Open Dental you can request a complimentary, no-obligation practice data snapshot here: Game-Changing Awareness from Dental Intelligence  – Within minutes we’ll identify your practice’s strengths and uncover hidden opportunities.  I am happy to assist you with this at no charge and with absolutely no obligation to do anything further with me. 

#5 – Declutter Clutter in your physical surroundings will clutter your mind and spirit.”

Clutter represents indecision. Decide to get rid of the clutter! That includes any sticky notes attached to computer monitors, coats/sweaters hanging on the backs of chairs, and fast-food drink containers sitting out on the counters. Along with unnecessary things sitting on treatment room counters. What about your sterilization area? Does it look clean and sterile? Or cluttered and unclean?

  • Make a cleaning schedule – including the who, what & when.  When will the parking lot, restrooms & reception room be checked & cleaned? This should be done several times throughout the day. Do not wait for the “cleaning person” to take care of those areas.  If the flooring needs to be vacuumed… vacuum it. If the glass on the windows/doors have fingerprints…clean them. If the restroom toilet and sink are dirty… clean them.  Make a promise as a team that if you see it (and you know you do) clean it.

SEE https://bettyhaydenconsulting.com/2019/12/03/are-you-past-due-for-your-office-cleaning/

#6 – Stay on Time – “Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.

If you’re often running behind schedule, investigate the reason(s) why. If you know the why… change whatever it is causing you to stray from the schedule. Running behind schedule sends a message to your patients and your team that you don’t respect their time. Respect your team by sticking to the scheduled work hours. Be sure that they are not habitually working through their lunch or having to work late. They need breaks to refresh and refuel. Give them that. They have a life outside of work and making them work past their scheduled end time is a real drag. I understand that sometimes unexpected events may occur so they might be asked to work late or into a lunch hour but this should be a rare occasion, not a daily or even occurrence. 

Arriving at the office with plenty of time before the first scheduled patient, expecting your patients to arrive on time, never wait on hygiene exams, calculate the actual amount of time it takes to do procedures, control the schedules, these things will help you stay on time.

#7 – Show you Care People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” – Theodore Roosevelt

  • Post-Op Calls – Doctors and Hygienists, call your patients at the end of the day to see how well they are doing. (Tip: Call all patients that received an extraction, perio treatment, difficult procedure, were fearful or new to the office.)
  • Pre-Op Calls – Doctors and Hygienists start building your relationship with a new patient before they step foot in the practice. Call and give a warm welcome, let them know you are looking forward to meeting them at their appointment. It’s unexpected, takes only a few minutes, and will really make your new patient feel special.
  • Say My Name – Everyone likes to hear his or her name. Greet your patient’s by name. Use their name during treatment. Thank them by name for coming in or calling.
  • Memorable Goodbyes – Make a great last impression with a friendly goodbye…be sure to use the patient’s name.  Give them something good to talk about.
  • Thank you’s – Send handwritten thank you cards to your new patients and to your new patient referral sources.

#8 – Reappointments & Reactivation – “Do what matters, now.”

  • Reappointment – The best way to keep your patients active is to be sure to reappoint them for their next hygiene visit when they are there at the office. Also, help more of your patients say yes to your treatment recommendations and have them reserve their appointment at the time of treatment presentation.
  • Reactivation – Stay in touch with your unscheduled and/or inactive patients.

#9 – Online Presence – “You never get a second chance to make a great first impression.”

How are you presenting your dental practice, your services, your care, yourself, and your team online? Are you attracting potential new patients or turning them away? Consider briefly these four important areas…

  • Website – Your website should reflect the culture and personality of the practice and the team. The content should be fresh and relevant. The photos should be attractive and current. Think about this, when people visit your website are you welcoming them with warm and helpful messaging or inadvertently turning them away with poor messaging and unattractive pages?
  • Social Media – Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Blogs, Online Community News Pages, YouTube, and more help to build your dental practice. Even if you’re not a fan of social media, please remember that most likely many of your patients and potential patients are using these platforms regularly. 
  • Google My Business – Are you consistently posting fresh content to your Google business page? If not, you should. It’s free, easy to do and people visiting your listing like to see fresh content.
  • Reviews & Recommendations – Ask your patients to please review your office on Google and recommend you on Facebook. Don’t simply rely on third party companies to do this for you. It’s so simple (& free) to invite your patients to do this for you.

#10 – Training –There is no way the quality of your patient care and experiences will exceed the quality of the people who provide it.”

Don’t hold back in this area! Invest in your team. Thoroughly train any new employees on your practice goals, systems, software, telephone skills, dental procedures, protocols, etc.  However, training isn’t just for your new employees, everyone in the office needs regular training.

Is there a chance you might have some new dental equipment or training manuals just sitting on the shelf, collecting dust?  It’s most likely because your team didn’t understand or appreciate the why and the how. Knowing why and how this new idea, technique, equipment, or procedure works, benefits the patient, the team, and the office is critical to enthused implementation.

Doctors, 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.

Wishing you all a healthy and happy start to 2021!

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!

Do you enjoy the dental leadership, management, and marketing tips and ideas that I share each month?   I would love and truly appreciate (seriously, it would make my day!) for you to please leave a review/recommendation for me here on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty (Dental Coach)

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