Back to work?
Adin in collaboration with Mr. Gabriel Asulin brings you a series of tips to make your return to routine as smooth and successful as possible.
Mr. Asulin is an expert and international business consultant for the management and marketing dental clinics and author of "turn Your Dental Practice into a Successful Business”
In the recent years, Gabriel has been considered a "guru" in the field of marketing and promotion of dental clinics around the world.
While returning to routine will be challenging, there’s a lot to be optimistic about.
Many patients won’t have had access to dental care for months, so we can expect high demand as soon as we return to business as usual.
(We’ve seen this happening in Israel, as patients flock back to clinics.)
Now’s the time to ensure your clinic is well prepared for the return to routine in terms of clinic staff, equipment and materials.
Being well prepared will make going back to work way smoother and allow you to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
On your return to routine, you’ll need to schedule appointments for all the patients who postponed treatments because of #COVID19.
Oops…but what about new customers? How do you fit them into your already packed schedule? You don’t want to keep them waiting, because they could go elsewhere.
In order to ensure future income from new patients, schedule hours devoted exclusively to examinations and emergency treatments, so you’re able to schedule appointments with these patients too.
Crises create opportunities, and the main opportunity for #dental_clinics in the near future is that some clinics will close down, while others will be fully booked and unable to deal with the demand (see Tip 2).
As a result, there will be many clients who will become "butterflies" and look for a new dental clinic to provide treatment.
Get out your advertising net and “catch the butterflies!”
There’s never been a better time to strengthen your relationship with your existing patients, especially those who have not visited the clinic for more than six months.
It’s something you should do on an ongoing basis, but it’s especially important now.
Keep in mind that the cost of getting a new customer is 3x more than the cost of retaining and providing services to a longtime customer.
Ask your secretary or use the services of a telemarketer to call your patients and encourage them to set up an appointment for an examination, to ensure their teeth remain in optimal condition!
As we discussed in Tip 1, the need for #dental_care didn’t disappear during the crisis.
On the contrary, people did not care for their teeth during this time, which should result in a rise in the demand for treatment during the return to routine.
But you shouldn’t rely on this. While you’re busy with treatments, you should also make sure that you’re making time for sales.
Make your clinic staff has been fully trained and knows how to sell your services, from presenting the treatment plan to following up with clients who "are thinking" about the offer they received.
Make use of the good promotional tool that’s been created by the "#coronavirus crisis," which gives you the opportunity to offer a special discount, thereby increasing the amount of sales (especially of large treatment plans) and refilling the clinic funds that were emptied during the crisis. Make sure you’ve calculated the profitability of the discounts you’re planning to offer.
Your team is also going through a difficult time, especially when it comes to job security.
It’s important to strengthen your relationship with your team and reassure them if they have any uncertainty about their jobs and future income.
To succeed, you need a confident and motivated team.
Always remember — your team is even more important than your customers. Why? Because if your team isn’t happy, then your customers won’t be happy either.
Take the time to hold team meetings, talk to your staff, listen to their concerns, share decisions with them, and make them feel an integral and important part of the clinic.