Long gone are the days when relying on your best practices as well as reputation was enough to garner the interest of new patients. Recently, the number of dental practices seem to be growing at an exponential pace resulting in increased competition between practices.
A high rise in the availability of substitutes and relatively lower switching costs, it is absolutely essential to stand out and obtain some sort of competitive edge that could allow your dental practice to essentially “lock-in” patients.
It’s clear that the same old rhetoric about dental hygiene and flossing can not be used to attract customers anymore. Instead, engaging promotion strategies need to be adopted. As social media channels have been gaining a great deal of traction lately, they will be vital in making the dental practice more modern and desirable. Apart from that, here are 5 strategies that can be adopted for gaining a competitive edge.
Building Strong Patient-Doctor Relationship
A primary and crucial rule to understand is that the dental practice will only be successful as long as the patients are satisfied with the services being provided.
Patients are not always looking for treatment options, rather, most patients seek compassion, warmth and care from the specialist so that they can go home with reassurance regarding their health. This is also vital in converting new customers into loyal, regular ones. Offering small gifts like cushions or notebooks to new patients is another great way of building stronger relations.
In addition to that, make sure to identify any strategic capabilities that the dental practice might possess, such as experienced and skilled staff, and not only preserve these but use them to your advantage.
Exclusive offers
Another tactic of setting your business apart from competitors will involve putting a spin on the ordinary.
This could include entertaining and effective ways to spice up regular days by assigning specific themes to them. For example “Meet The Doctor Monday” or “Veneers Wednesday”. Such exciting ideas can help keep patients engaged and even attract a great range of new ones.
This could also make it easier for both the customer and the dentist to manage activities as certain days can be assigned to specific activities.
Establish An Online Presence
This is indeed the digital age. And with the advent of digital technology and mobile dentistry, it has become a lot easier to attract not only local but international customers as well.
However, in order to do so, you will first need to create a website that is not only highly interactive but provides all the necessary information as well so that potential patients do not have to go through the trouble of calling.
A number of dental practices have been successful in making a name for themselves on social media by giving an edge to their practice’s voice. Larger and fancier practices that have a strong and active online presence are able to attract more attention and hence, stand out from the competition. A great example is https://dentatur.com/, a dental center in Turkey and Europe offering excellent deals that are all displayed clearly on the website.
Organizing Contests
Organizing contests are a great way to grab attention and set yourself apart. This could include asking questions on social media, picking lucky winners and offering them either a free package or a discounted one.
This is an effective way of grabbing the attention of potential patients. The reason is that people tend to love such contests and most importantly, it allows them the access to good quality dental services for free.
Have A Patient-Centric Schedule
If a great deal of your patients are either students or work a 9-5 job, you will need to adjust your practice’s typical hours to ensure that the clinic isn’t closed during peak times for it’s primary patients. This could include extending hours and even staying open on the weekends.
