Patient retention strategies are important in running a successful dental business (or any business). The goal is simple: keep your existing customers happy, so they continue making repeats in the future. This article will cover seven ways to increase customer retention rates.
Create a patient retention program
Patient retention is the process of keeping patients coming back to your practice. It’s a crucial part of your business and can help keep you in the black or even turn a profit!
Reward your patients
These incentives can be as simple as a discount on their next visit or an offer of free services, or they can be more complex, such as gift cards and coupons you give out every year.
Make your patients feel special.
The best thing you can do for your patients is to make them feel special. You must let them know you care about them and are there for them when they need you.
Make sure your employees are trained to balance work and personal life.
It’s important to keep your employees aware of the importance of taking time off, even if it’s just for a couple of days. When you’re on call and have to be available 24/7, it can be hard to take care of yourself mentally and physically.
Listen to your patients. When a patient brings up an issue, address it immediately and take action.
Be proactive.
Let’s say you notice a patient is missing appointments or not coming back for the second consultation. Reach out to the patient and address the concern they might have. This can prevent bigger problems from occurring down the line.
Find out why some of your patients have yet to return.
If you can’t figure out why some of your patients aren’t returning, it’s time to get serious. You need to find out what they’re dissatisfied with and how you can improve on those aspects. If they’ve been disappointed with their experience, you’ll be able to use this as a learning tool to improve your services and save potential customers from leaving in the future.
Keep up with changing technology and trends.
In this digital age, people rely on the internet for just about everything, including finding a new doctor. If a patient has never heard of you before but comes across your website, you want to make sure it looks professional and appealing!
Conclusion
Suppose you’ve made it this far; congratulations! We hope you get a better idea of keeping your patients returning. Remembering retention isn’t just about getting new patients in the door; it’s also about keeping them happy once they’re there.
