Attracting & Retention: The Invitation to Treat

Patients know what they hear, see and experience. The value of your practice to them is based on their experience with you and your team.

There are many ways to “attract” prospective patients to your practice. The focus in today’s dental marketplace tends to focus on the external options – display ads in community newspapers; visibility through physical placement of the clinic or signage, and convenience factors. Ads which offer specials or bonuses to new patients exclusively are known as “an invitation to treat.”

It has become fashionable and popular to employ advertising in community newspapers, magazines and on the Internet in order to “attract” patients. This method of “promotion” is very expensive and generally ineffective. If you have a general announcement to the community such as a relocation of your clinic – which is short term (+/- six months) placing a display or print ad can serve your purpose. Websites can be useful in patient education and communication especially for the internet-savvy patient, but I caution my clients not to expect it to be more than an internal communication tool.

We have all seen examples of “invitation to treat” ads in our local papers. They offer “free” whitening kits, or discounts on cleaning with a “new patient exam”. In my opinion the “invitation to treat” ads are the most damageing to dental practice because the are a net loss to the practice – you are working on that patient for nothing. Worst of all they can contribute to loss of patient retention in a practice – you are working on that patient for nothing. Worst of all they can contribute to loss of patient retention in a practice because they demonstrate utter disregard for a patient’s loyalty. If you are going to make a special offer, make the offer to those patients who have “earned” it – give a whitening kit to a patient as a “thank you” for referring a friend or co-worker to your practice, or an electric toothbrush to a patient who has just completed a major restorative procedure, for example. If the patient has been loyal for several years and is celebrating a milestone in their life, why not recognize that with something special from you? They will appreciate your recognition and your simple gesture tangibly expresses the value you place on your relationship. Visibility and convenience by physical positioning of the clinic or through signage to a broad spectrum of people (traffic) presumes that “if you build it, they will come”.

This full length article also explains the 5 benefits of patient recalls versus the "transient patients" and can be found in the article series Attraction & Retention on www.edu-dent.com. More articles on career and practice management and transition written by Nadean are posted to the website. Also check out www.dentalbusiness.ca for updates on possible listings and purchase opportunities across Canada.