As orthodontic business owners, we are faced with hundreds of clinical decisions every day; we accept this as part of our clinical responsibilities. What about the actual business decisions we are faced with on a daily basis? With the ever-changing market, fickle consumer demands, evolving referring dentist expectations, increasing team training requirements, and increasing regulatory requirements … it never ends. Regardless, it is our job to grow and innovate to differentiate the practice.
The reality is, the type of practice that might have been very successful twenty years ago perhaps may not even survive in today’s market.
You constantly see your expenses increase month after month as team wages, aligner bills, rent, and marketing costs continue to increase, and the best way to combat increasing costs is to increase revenue. That stated, on a month-to-month basis are you also tracking lost revenue opportunities from missed phone calls, neglected pending lists, emails left with no timely response and maybe worst of all unconfirmed appointments resulting in no-shows.
You may not think this is happening in your practice, but I assure you this with 100% confidence that there is opportunity for improvement in your business. You need to understand what is not happening within your four walls that is resulting in patients seeking a second opinion or going elsewhere for their orthodontic treatment which has a direct impact on your bottom line.
Five quick tips to increase production within 30 days;
1. Pending Lists. Contact all patients that did not book with in the past ninety days to schedule their start. Use all communication mediums available including phone, email direct messaging and text messages
2. Book all new patients with an appointment within 72 hours at the latest, even if a virtual consult fora meet and greet. Booking orthodontic treatment is an emotional decision for your probable patients, and consumers want an immediate response. Do not think the success Amazon drives from their next day delivery is anything less than a very deliberate strategy? Amazon has set the precedent with their customers, which are your probable patients, and they value immediate responses and instant solutions.
3. Whenever possible, take a digital scan at every single appointment and reveal their before and after smile.
4. Create scripts that deliberately leads probable patients towards same day starts when booking. They will appreciate you offer this convenience, so they do not need to take more time out of their schedule to come back to start. You also eliminate the risk of people changing their mind.
5. Conversion Rate. You need your Treatment Coordinators to track all their performance statistics and verbally report their successes to you nothing less than weekly. This will give you a mechanism to hold them accountable and open up the dialogue to discuss opportunities for adjustment and improvement.
It’s important to stay current and to have your finger on the pulse of your business. Our orthodontic team specializes in these specific metrix and provides hands on training and support to spin the needle generating quick results. Call today at 403.703.9250
Strategix is a team of expert consultants that support the dental industry through their customized programs and events. You put a lot of work into building your practice—Strategix helps you optimize your results.
