Being an independent dental practitioner may make it difficult for a dentist to look at himself/herself as a business instead of a dental practice. As much as it is essential that the main concern should be the patients’ well-being, it is also important to give the office management attention too. In the end, for maximum patient satisfaction, it is crucial that all the procedures, as well as services in the dental practice, have been completely optimized.
1. Creating an office culture
Figuring out what makes your practice stand out will be of great help. For instance, incorporating office decorations and creating a friendly physical environment play a big part in the office culture. Office culture can be developed from your personality, the way you lead, your ethical and moral values, the way your employees connect with patients, and how the system runs amongst other things. When all these factors work together in harmony, they set apart your dental practice in addition to boosting productivity, attracting competent staff plus creating loyalty among clients.
2. Capitalizing on working hours
It is important for a practitioner to think about the number of patients they are targeting. For example, it is important to look at factors such as their working hours; if they coincide with your working hours, you can try adjusting your working hours to accommodate such patients. Nonetheless, this does not mean you have to work overtime as the chances of getting fatigued will be very high, reducing productivity. Therefore, the structure of working hours should be planned wisely.
3. Patient referrals
It is essential that a dentist tries to market their practice as much as they can, and one of the ways to do that is through referrals. Individuals are usually scared of dentists and thus it is rare for them to visit an unknown dentist; they prefer being referred by their family and friends. You can try capitalizing on such opportunities by giving current patients offers such as discounts after referring other patients. You can create referral cards, a referral bonus program or offer incentives to employees who bring in new patients.
4. Marketing yourself
It is unfortunate that dentistry is one of the least-liked professions, which makes it harder for dental practice managers to market themselves. You can start by asking your patients about their past experiences as well as why they are scared of such procedures. After discovering the core of the problem, you can use targeted marketing to assure them that you have a different approach that will help in avoiding the “horror stories” that have previously been associated with dental procedures.
Conclusion
There are a lot of ways that you can enhance the management of your dental practice to increase profits while at the same time offering the best services to patients. Try thinking outside the box and implementing policies that will work well for your practice.
