Your Practice’s Most Valuable Asset
Welcome to the Practice Treatment Plan’s Weekly New Patient Marketing Tips! This week we will be talking about selling dental practices and the most important asset of your practice when you are looking to sell…your patient base!
Most Practice Transition Consultants will tell you that a dental practice’s most valuable asset is its roster of patients. After all, when you are buying a dental practice, you are buying future cash flows. And there is nothing that cash flow is more closely tied to than active patients.
So how do you keep your patient base strong and growing?
- You need to ATTRACT new patients. What you need: A strong, ROI driven marketing plan, a referral program, the right brand messaging, a online reputation strategy and advanced dental technology.
- You need to ENGAGE your new and existing patients. What you need: A well thought out patient experience plan, a modern and patient-friendly office, and a friendly, patient-focused team.
- You need to RETAIN existing patients. What you need: Patient recall systems, make-goods for bad service, and an internal marketing plan.
- You need to MAINTAIN an active preventive medicine / hygiene program. We have worked with doctors over the years who have tried to focus too much on attracting patients who need higher fee services (think implants), instead of focusing on preventive / hygiene patients. But a buyer is not interested in the big case work you did last year. They will be interested in those patients that will provide them big case work in the future.
Without securing a steady income stream through new patients (and converting them to loyal patients) your practice can be the most beautiful in town but it won’t be worth much on the market when it’s time to sell. So if you are thinking about selling in the future, then your focus right now should be on NEW PATIENTS!
Practice Success,
Benjamin Suggs
New Patient Marketing Strategist
Practice Treatment Plan, Inc.
