Have you thought about what you want to accomplish for your practice in 2024? Having clear goals for your dental practice is essential for business planning in general and from a marketing point of view as well. Your business goals will determine your marketing strategy for the year.
Regardless of how you approached marketing your practice last year, it is important to stop and think about what you hope to accomplish by the end of this year and what actions you need to take to be successful. Only through organized planning and strategizing can you have a good chance of getting what you want out of your practice. We suggest taking a moment to think about what you want your practice to look like on December 31. That may seem far away, but planning ahead will help focus your intentions and solidify your goals. Here are some question to help:
- Do you want to attract more premium patients? If so, you will need a multifaceted strategy centered around high patient satisfaction and finding the types of patients who are ready to invest in their oral health.
- Do you want to retain more of your existing patients? You will need to work on patient satisfaction and education and increasing treatment acceptance.
- Do you want to work fewer hours and make more money? Create a plan that focuses on quality over quantity and map out the types of cases you would like to see more of.
- Do you want to grow your patient base? In this case, then targeting new patients will need to be a key component of your marketing strategy for 2024.
Once you have your goals in writing, you should also think about what is currently happening at your practice that contributes to achieving those goals. In other words, make a list of the current actions your team is taking daily that will help you reach your goals. Then, make another list of the actions your team needs to implement to drive in the business you want to see.
- Do you know the number of people who call the practice and end up scheduling an appointment? Naturally, you want a high number of patients to convert from just inquiring about your practice to scheduling an appointment. Are you tracking this number? Is your team actively trying to convert people who call in? This may be an area that needs attention in your practice. Additional staff training and internal marketing may be needed to raise the number.
- Do you know the ratio of patients who complete a consult to those who accept treatment? Again, the goal is to have a high number of the right type of patients accept their recommended treatment plan. This is another area where tracking is essential. Extra training and internal marketing could make a difference here as well.
- Do you know how many existing patients you are losing? For many dental practices, the main focus is on new patients, while existing patients don’t get the attention they deserve. Even with a high number of new patients coming in every month, a practice will not grow to its full potential if existing patients are constantly leaving. Marketing efforts designed to reach the existing patient base will help keep them loyal to your practice.
It is natural to reset goals and make new plans at the beginning of the year. When it comes to your practice, having established goals is essential to your marketing strategy. To start, we recommend asking questions about what you want to accomplish by the end of the year. These goals will guide you in determining where to focus your marketing efforts and what steps you need to take internally to achieve your objectives.
