With more and more people being concerned about the aesthetics of their smile, adult orthodontics (or braces) are becoming very popular. The issue for many orthodontic practices is that with over 5 million adults looking for various dental treatments right now, how do you the dentist get a larger slice of the action? Here are 4 easy and cost-effective ways that orthodontic practices can gain new patients.
Setting new patient goals
Ask yourself this…When was the last time you set patient goals with your team? If the answer is ‘never’ or ‘a long time ago’, then you might want to consider it. Remember getting new patients through your doors shouldn’t be your sole responsibility. That’s a lot of weight to carry on your already heavy shoulders. Instead spread the load by making it a team effort.
By setting realistic and achievable goals with your team, you can pull together to achieve greater results. After all, several heads are better than one right! Why not run a competition to see who comes up with the best ideas and pulls in the most new patients. You can also reward the people who deliver the best results. As well as creating a good team spirit, it also communicates an important message to your staff that you need a steady stream of customers to thrive.
Offering special treatment deals
As competition gets tougher orthodontists may need to think outside of the box to prevent patients from going elsewhere. This includes offering special treatment deals. Everyone likes to think that they’re getting a bargain and nothing shouts bargain more than a good old fashioned deal. How about offering free laser teeth whitening when a patient undergoes Invisalign treatment, or a 20% reduction in cost when a patient opts for lingual braces? You can be as creative as you like, in fact the more creative you are, the more likely you are to draw new patients in.
Hint – If you’re a bit stuck for ideas it’s worthwhile checking out other websites and seeing what your direct competition or other out-of-area orthodontists are offering, and then trying to better it.
Having a good website filled with informative, patient-friendly content
Nowadays it isn’t enough that you have a website. Instead it needs to be filled with targeted, informative, patient-friendly content. Did you know for instance that over 65% of all people looking for a dental practice will search the web first? As such it isn’t just your virtual shop front, it’s a powerful marketing tool too. Visitors to your site will go there to find out not only what orthodontic treatments you offer but in addition, they’ll also want to find out information about a particular treatment too.
For this reason an informative website should not only contain the usual welcome messages and photos of the team and your practice, but also detailed treatment pages telling patients everything they need to know about a specific treatment. Whether that’s Invisalign, lingual braces, fast orthodontic treatments, or the Inman Aligner, the information needs to be content rich and helpful.
You might also want to include before and after pictures to help patients visualise what their teeth will look like post treatment. The other factor is that as well as being helpful to anyone looking for orthodontic treatment, a detailed orthodontic website helps to position you as the ‘go to’ dentist in your area. As such, great website content can make the difference between one or two extra patients a month or twenty.
Hold an event or open day
Have you ever thought about holding an event or open day at your dental practice? If not then it’s a good way of getting new patients through your doors. Potential patients can come and meet the team, take a look at the orthodontic facilities at your practice, and get a better understanding of the treatments involved. You can even hold a quick question and answer session, giving patients the relevant information they need to make an informed dental decision. It doesn’t have to cost much aside from some tea and biscuits and a slice of your time.
Ultimately the most successful practices are the ones who tend not to stand still when it comes to marketing their services. So with this in mind, what are you going to do differently from now on to maintain your new customer growth?
