How to find patients that are right for your practice
In this post, we’ll talk about why finding patients ideally suited for your practice is important and cover a few of the tactics you can use to help make it happen.
The problem with too many new patients
It might sound illogical for a dental practice to worry about having too many new patients coming through the door but the reality is that new patients take time out of your schedule and don’t always pan out. If you fill too much of your day with new patient consultations, you won’t have time left for doing dentistry and driving production. Instead of marketing for any and all new patients, shift gears and market specifically for patients that are right for your practice.
Who is right for my practice?
Go through your patient list and make a list of all the patients you love working with. Think about what they have in common, and why you find it easy to build a relationship with them. There’s more to it than these happening to be nice people. Some patients are a good fit for certain doctors and vice-versa. Now, develop an action plan to specifically target these patients for referrals. While it’s not an exact science, patients who like your style of care are more likely to refer other patients with a similar way of thinking.
Cross market with like-minded specialists
Build a network of specialists who share more with you than geography. Develop a community of endodontists, oral surgeons, periodontists and orthodontists who are aligned with your philosophies. By working with specialists who share a similar practice culture, you are more likely to receive reciprocal referrals who are a good fit for your practice. Partnering with like-minded professionals will lead to a positive patient flow in both directions–and not just any patients, patients you’ll enjoy working with.
Grow your practice one patient at a time
Attracting new patients is a constant need for any practice, but this doesn’t mean your marketing strategy should be to target as many new faces as possible. A slow but steady plan to onboard the right patients and build strong relationships with them will yield greater results over the long run.
