Building a loyal patient base can mean distinguishing between a run-of-the-mill and successful dental clinic practice. Unfortunately, patient retention is not a natural occurrence—you need methodical strategies.
Before racking your brains on how to improve your bottom line, first look at your biggest asset: returning patients. One study even alluded that retention rates are responsible for a 25% to 95% increase in revenue based on industry.
Why is this so? Repeated patients already have a relationship with you, fostered on a foundation of trust. So, logically, it would be more effective and cost less to sell treatments to these patients than to new leads.
Here are four patient retention strategies to help you nurture existing relationships.
Firstly, it’s essential to treat your patients as respected and valued people, not as potential sales. The best way to do this is by personalising their experience and showing them you care.
Try sending out ‘thank you’ messages to them post-visit with an immediate review request, offering follow-up support or information. That way, you convey your practice’s investment and effort in their outcomes.
Clinic staff can also reach out for patient feedback and insight to tailor the patient experience further. When patients feel like their business is valued, it increases the chance of them coming back.
Keeping in touch with patients between visits through conventional methods can be a hassle. With patients going about their lives and your staff taking so many calls daily, it’s likely to miss each other.
Well, improving the ease of communication is made possible with a cloud-based system like kumoDent, which keeps patients informed of their visit details and subsequent appointments. Online systems are one of the best patient retention strategies and are especially convenient if your clinic comprises a small staff team.
As we’ve touched on, it’s better to introduce new treatments to existing patients who you know would benefit from them. Consider offering vouchers or discounts to your current patient base for their following appointments.
For instance, you can tempt them with a free consultation for patient education on how the treatment might be suitable. Or perhaps offer a 10% discount for two treatments with upfront payment.
These deals and updates on the latest industry innovations will make your existing patients feel rewarded for their loyalty.
Special offers aside, sharing packages may also entice patients to sign on with your clinic long-term. This is one of the most effective patient retention strategies to bring in multiple repeating patients.
Not to mention, families are critical customers for dental practices to appeal to different demographics. Gaining the loyalty of families could increase the lifetime value of your patients, their satisfaction, and ultimately, your clinic’s profits.
At the end of the day, we live in a modern age where patients are well-informed and empowered. There’s more to patient retention than providing good service, so don’t hesitate to test these strategies!
The first step you can take is converting to kumoDent, a all-in-one Dental Practice Management System, and the rest is sure to come easy.
B. Malaysia