This article discusses how to get more patients into your dental practice!
Let’s talk about the big elephant in the dental room: patients. You need more of them. Not just any patients, though—great patients. The kind that pay on time, don’t ghost you after their first cleaning, and actually floss (or at least lie about it convincingly). But how do you fill your chairs with these rockstars?
Buckle up, because I’m about to give you the secret sauce for making your dental practice the hottest ticket in town.
First Things First: Get Your Patient Experience in Check
Before you go throwing money at ads or spamming your community with flyers, take a good, hard look at your patient experience. Is your practice welcoming? Does your team make patients feel like royalty? Do you offer conveniences like online scheduling, payment plans, or a membership program?
If your patient experience is lacking, you’re essentially pouring water into a leaky bucket. Fix the leaks first.
1. Launch and Scale a Patient Membership Program
how to get more patients into your dental practice – Want a foolproof way to keep patients loyal and attract new ones? Membership programs are where it’s at.
With a program like BoomCloud™, you can create a subscription model that makes patients feel like VIPs. Membership patients pay a predictable monthly fee for access to cleanings, discounts, and premium services. This creates recurring revenue for you and makes them more likely to say yes to treatment plans.
Pro Tip: Membership patients spend 2.5x more than your average PPO patient. Why? No insurance middleman means they’re free to focus on what they need instead of what their policy covers.
Case Study:
- Active Members: 933
- Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): $32,655
- Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR): $391,860
- Patient Spend: Membership patients outspend PPO patients by a mile—think $2,100/year compared to a measly $500.
2. Double Down on SEO
If your practice doesn’t show up on Google’s first page, does it even exist? SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is how you make sure your practice pops up when someone searches “dentist near me” or “best dental membership plan.”
Quick SEO Tips:
- Use local keywords (e.g., “family dentist in Austin, TX”).
- Get your Google My Business profile set up and optimized.
- Collect patient reviews like your practice depends on it—because it does.
The better your SEO, the more likely new patients will find you.
3. Run PPC Ads Like a Pro
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are like the fast lane to new patients. Google Ads let you target specific audiences based on location, search terms, and even income brackets.
Imagine this: You run a PPC ad targeting families within five miles of your practice, and every click leads them straight to a landing page for your new membership plan. Boom—instant growth.
4. Leverage Social Media (The Right Way)
If you’re not on social media, your practice is basically invisible to millennials and Gen Z. But this isn’t about posting blurry pictures of teeth and calling it a day. Be engaging, be fun, and—above all—be human.
Social Media Hacks:
- Share patient success stories (with their permission).
- Post quirky behind-the-scenes videos of your team.
- Run social-only promotions (e.g., “Get $50 off your first cleaning if you book this week!”).
Remember, social media is about building relationships, not just selling services.
5. Go Old School With Direct Mail
Yes, direct mail is still a thing—and it works. Target specific neighborhoods or demographics with postcard campaigns that promote your membership plan or a new-patient special.
Pro tip: Partner with a service like MVP Mailhouse to get a better ROI on your mailers. Pair it with BoomCloud™ to make joining your membership program a seamless experience for recipients.
Why Membership Patients Are Your Secret Weapon
PPO patients are fine and all, but they’re also high-maintenance. Between the write-offs, administrative headaches, and insurance drama, they cost more than you realize.
Membership patients, on the other hand, are like the unicorns of the dental world:
- Predictable Revenue: They pay monthly or annually, creating a steady cash flow.
- Higher Spending: They say yes to treatment plans because they’re not tied down by insurance limits.
- Loyalty for Days: Once they join, they’re less likely to leave—because you’re their dentist, not their insurance company’s dentist.
Case Study: 7 to 7 Dental
7 to 7 Dental decided to scale their patient membership program with BoomCloud™. Here’s what happened:
- Active Members: 2,200
- MRR: $99,000
- ARR: $1,188,000
- Average Revenue Per Member: $2,150/year
By focusing on membership patients and cutting back on PPO dependence, they not only increased revenue but also improved their patients’ experience.
Final Thoughts: How to Get More Patients Into Your Dental Practice
Attracting new patients isn’t about working harder—it’s about working smarter. Focus on the strategies that bring in high-value, loyal patients (hint: membership plans) and ditch the tactics that drain your resources (looking at you, PPOs).
By optimizing your marketing, enhancing your patient experience, and scaling your membership program with BoomCloud™, you’ll not only get more patients—you’ll get better patients.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s fill those chairs and grow that revenue!
