Low Cost Ways to Increase Patient Engagement Before You Sell Your Dental Practice in NC
Preparing to sell your dental practice in North Carolina requires some forethought and planning. So, as we approach the advent of the New Year, take some time to consider low cost means of increasing your patient engagement. By doing so, you make your practice more marketable to an incoming dentist. You also enjoy an easier patient transition from your ownership to the new practitioner.
Why market a dental practice you want to sell?
Marketing helps you show your current patients and prospective ones that you possess the dental skills they need. You position yourself as a dental care expert, build trust in the community and demonstrate your commitment for serving your patients well.
After you sell your dental practice, this established trust and commitment play a major role in instilling patient confidence in the incoming dentist. When patients buy into your practice transition, that transition proves easier for everyone involved.
In addition, building up business before you list your practice for sale makes the deal more attractive to buyers. Today’s dentists want to step into a thriving environment, one with engaged patients. Cost-effective marketing helps you position your practice in its best light.
Of course, you do not want to spend a fortune in advertising or marketing before listing the practice for sale. So below are several specific methods that prove effective, yet cost little to no money at all. Most also provide excellent venues for communicating with patients about the upcoming transition after you sell.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is among the cheapest, most effective and quickest means of promoting a business, particularly to your existing patient base. Consider emails a form of enticing personalized communication, rather than a blatant sales piece, to maintain a professional appearance.
According to Marketing Sherpa research, 60 percent of survey respondents prefer receiving email promotions over other marketing methods. This works well for your North Carolina practice, as you can expect a return on investment of 400 percent or more than your spend. The Direct Marketing Association reports email marketing returns $44 for every dollar spent.
Besides using email for patient reminders and follow-up care notes, also offer discounts and staff updates. Ask patients for referrals and take surveys, too.
Social Media Marketing
Ensure your website includes social media icons on each page. Offer patient incentives for liking your pages or sharing content, too. Your practice profiles on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter should maintain a rhythm of engaging, fresh content posted at least three to five times per week. To further engage patients in your website, offer blog posts linked on social media to increase click-throughs to the website and improve search engine ranking.
Responsive Website
Your website should suit browsers of all sizes and types. A responsive website adjusts for easy viewing and reading on mobile devices, laptops, desktops and HDTV screens. If you do not have a fully responsive and vibrant practice website, invest in a new one. After all, your dot com is an extension of your brick-and-mortar office, as well as reflective of the care and consideration patients receive. Having a responsive and quality website in place also makes your offerings more attractive, when you seek to sell your dental practice.
Patient Referral Program
When patients approve of the care they receive in your practice, they welcome telling friends and family members about their experience. Entice patients to make these referrals by offering an incentive. People are three to four times more likely to set an appointment with a dentist when their friends or family refer them to that practice.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) sounds like a long-term strategy. But with today’s Google platform and algorithms, you can notice a real difference in practice growth in only weeks or a few months. SEO is the foundation of all online marketing. It helps new patients find you when they search for a local dentist.
Part of your SEO strategy must include blogging or ongoing content updates on your website. Posting fresh patient content on a regular basis puts you at the top of Google’s search engine results pages. When you frequently inform, educate and update your patients, Google considers you a more lucrative resource than one that does not provide this fresh content on an ongoing basis.
Improving Patient Experience
One of your best strategies for engaging your patients in your practice is providing a quality patient experience. Take a good look at your practice, as well as the patient experience provided by other dentists. Are there areas you can improve the care and attention your patients receive? According to Accenture Consulting, improving patient experience can increase your net margins by 50 percent, regardless of practice size.
Engaging the Right Transition Team to Sell Your Dental Practice in North Carolina
When you decide it is time to sell your dental practice in North Carolina, you need a team of support to help you achieve your goals. This transition team should include:
- Dental practice attorney
- Practice transition consultant
- Dental practice accountant
- Experienced dental practice broker
Talk to the experts in dental practice transitions at Encompass IHC in Raleigh, North Carolina. Our experienced dental practice consultants help you position your practice in the most attractive light, for optimum interest of buying dentists.
