Many dentists make the mistake of promoting their practices using discounts and dental marketing strategies that have not been tested. For example, offering reduced-rate services such as holiday coupons, monthly specials, and similar ideas are often not as effective as you think they are. You could actually be losing profit than gaining revenue. A patient who plans to go for a teeth-whitening service next month may go now since you’re offering it at a reduced rate. You basically lost profit from someone who meant to pay for the full service anyway.
That’s why offering general discounts should not be an option for dental clinics. Personalized offers are still the best way to market a dental practice. This allows you to calculate the return on investment and maximize the potentials of your practice.
In-house Plans for the Uninsured
The reason why many patients cannot go to the dentist is because they do not have dental insurance. The costs of dental services often astound people. You can offer in-house financing plans for your patients. This is a great idea to attract new patients, as well as generate revenue without the hassle of claiming insurance. These programs attract patients who need basic dental care. Specialized dental procedures often need insurance.
Referral Programs
This is a great dental marketing strategy. It allows you to ask patients to recommend your practice in exchange for a small discount. A past and satisfied patient is the best word-of-mouth marketing for any practice. By giving them a discount, you’re showing them that their goodwill is appreciated.
New Patient Discount
This is a tricky marketing strategy for dental clinics. Unless the patients become long-term patients, this would have a very low ROI. The key here is not to offer the consultation for free. Offer it at a reduced rate with the promise of a free consultation of the patient comes back to you for another dental service. Some dentists make the mistake of offering too much for a new patient. This isn’t the right way to turn them into loyal customers. What you need to do is impress them with your service.
Limited-time Offers
You can give away discounts during a particular low-peak season in your dental practice. This dental marketing strategy will push patients to go to your clinic and avail of these promotions. However, be careful not to offer the same discounts and coupons again and again. You should build your reputation through these promotions, too. If you keep on offering whitening services, patients might think you’re a cosmetic dentist or that none want to avail of the service because you’re not good at it.
Once you have decided on a strategy, make sure to inform your team how to implement it. The worst thing for patients to experience is to ask a team member about a particular promotion and have that team member look blankly at them.