How can you get your practice profitable in the current dental industry? If you're wondering about this, then keep reading into the following paragraphs to learn just how you can do this.

When talking about being successful in the dental industry, it's crucial that you understand the basics before you can explore the specific tactics and techniques that might help you grow your dental practice.

As those who are already successful in the dental industry can tell you, you need to know the cost of acquiring a new patient, the lifetime value that a patient provides, how existing patients versus new patients can matter, your marketing leverage, and your practice equity.

Once you get through all five of these, you should have a good handle on how to start your dental industry marketing. Things will come together for you, and you'll have a genuine comprehension of how all five of these factors can impact your practice, as well as your professional standing and financial status.

The initial thing you should consider as you think about your dental marketing is what the cost involved is in acquiring a new patient. That's just the amount you pay for every new patient that winds up coming into your practice. That cost can be easily calculated by dividing up how much you spend on your monthly dental marketing by how many new patients you get each month. For instance, if you spend $5,000 on marketing and advertising each month, and you get 50 new patients out of that investment, then your cost for each new patient is $5,000 / 50 = $100. That might sound like a lot, but maybe it isn't. Keep reading to find out why.

An average patient will have a lifetime value to you and your practice. That's basically, in dollars, what you'll get from a patient who stays with you. The average lifetime value of a typical patient is roughly $25,000 in some markets, and much more in others. Did you already know that? If not, you might be shocked right about now. So, now that you know the lifetime value of a typical patient, is that $100 you spent to get them in the door worth it? Yes. Absolutely. Every penny. You'd likely say $1,000 would still be worth it. It might be, but still, you want to strike a balance between spending enough on marketing to land patients who are so very valuable, but not overspending. This all makes new patients and the marketing that lures them an investment into your business rather than an expense.

A lot of dental marketing firms you consult might brag about how many brand-new patients they can deliver to your practice. You do need new patients, and getting a bunch of them is great. Ironically enough, this isn't where you're going to make your real money. Does this sound off to you? Consider what a new patient comes in for. They're likely responding to some advertisement that had a great offer. They won't spend much on their first visit since they're just getting a cleaning, exam, or X-ray. Maybe there's some minor treatment involved. You really do know that the good money you're going to make is from long-term patients that come back over and over, especially for treatment plan fulfillment.

This is what a lot of dentists (https://www.waldendentaltx.com/) wind up not understanding. Whenever a new patient comes into their office, it's just a first date. They want to look around, meet the staff, see how gentle everyone is in their mouth, and look for sterile equipment. Basically, they're just feeling out your practice. Even if they come in once, that doesn't automatically mean they're calling you for a second date, much less committing to that lifetime of profitable dental work. Even if they wind up liking you, they could still not ever come back. Don't fret it; it's just how people are. They might have the time, they could move, or they could get great offers from other dental facilities. Whatever happens, many of them just won't return to you, that is unless you have a retention and reactivation strategy, as well as one that works!

A patient will only be worth that $25,000 lifetime if they're with you over multiple years. They also need to accept some kind of long-term treatment plan. It's very helpful if they refer other patients on their own. If you keep a patient for a first year, you've got a good start, but you're still only getting about $1,000 out of them. That's why it's going to cost you a good deal of money to focus exclusively on getting new patients. you need to focus on both the acquisition and keeping of new patients in order to establish a solid practice. There are many dentists out there that have patients leaving just as fast as new ones are coming in. It's common, but it's also expensive. Dentists need to work towards establishing a profitable and productive practice that decreases their marketing budget by taking advantage of retaining their new patient flow over the course of time.

When you break down the flow of advertising and marketing dollars out so you can turn them into new patients that you then work to retain and keep long-term, the amounts you invest into such things can return you hundreds of times as many profits over the following decades.