Only 40% of small businesses are profitable.* If your dental practice is a part of the 60% who are instead losing money, here are four possible reasons why.
1. Relying only on postcards for appointment and recall reminders
Before digital solutions, this was just the best dental practices could do. Although they haven’t completely lost their value, they aren’t very timely when you consider the patient is receiving the reminder weeks before their actual appointment. That means the possibility of no-shows is still pretty high.
When you use postcards for recall reminders, if there is no promotional offer included, the piece may be thrown away. If you factor in creation, printing and postage costs – you’re at quite the loss.
2. Investing most of your marketing budget in online advertising
The world of digital advertising is oversaturated and expensive. Patients have gotten used to ignoring banners and popups because it’s not what they are looking for at that moment. To have your ads show up on less visited sites it is fairly affordable, but if you’re aiming to be seen on highly visited sites you could be spending thousands of dollars a month.
On the contrary, sometimes patients may see your ad, and instead of clicking, go directly to your website from Google or typing it in. In this scenario the ad did pay off, but you can’t attribute the success to it – making it a very difficult marketing channel to measure.
3. Ignoring social media as a revenue producer
If you’ve been avoiding social media because you feel you don’t have much to post, it’s time to pivot. Your competitors are on social media, so it’s very important that your practice has an online presence as well. Patients love to see before and afters for services like orthodontia, and teeth whitening, so give the people what they want. You can also offer Tuesday Tips for Teeth every week, as you and your staff are full of tidbits your patients may not know.
If you have social media pages that you have not claimed yet, read our post, Implementing Your Online Reputation Strategy, and learn how and why you should make it a priority.
4. Forgetting to measure where your patients are coming from
Your marketing plan should always have a dash of inspiration from your data. Data can’t always tell you the true details of your patients’ likes and dislikes, but it can tell you where most of them are hearing about your practice. You may be thinking patients are coming from those pricey online ads, but maybe it’s actually word of mouth referrals? Tracking phone numbers and links from your campaigns could really open up your eyes to the best place to market to patients.
These are just four of many ways your practice could be losing money. The real question is, how can you stop losing money and start boosting your profits? Learn about our five profit blooming tips from our free download this spring: 5 ways to make your profits bloom with technology.
