Welcome to Marketing Monday. We know how important new, paying patients are to the success of a practice so here at MyPracticeEngine, we try to dedicate Monday to strategies for attracting those patients. We'll hit on topics like advertising ideas, operational changes and other methods to increase the flow of new patients.
Today, I'd like to discuss 3 simple, changes to your office schedule to attract more new patients to your orthodontic business and increase the signup rate for those who do come in:
1. Adjust available appointment times to fit your patients - So many practices out there adhere to the standard 8 am - 5 pm office schedule. For people who work and/or have children in school, that isn't the most convenient time for them to visit the office. So, consider making at least one day per week a day that runs 10 am - 7 pm or 11 am - 8 pm. This allows the after work crowd to not miss time at the office and get to their appointment without having to rush across town at breakneck speed to make a 4 or 4:30 appointment. If your practice is like most, you see how fast your 3-5 spots fill up. Now imagine offering more than double that afternoon time to an audience that might not even consider visiting the doctor without convenient hours. Along those lines, consider adding a Saturday morning for new patients one day per month. The mood is lighter on those days and sign up rates improved because potential patients are excited about the ease of getting an appointment at a time that is good for THEM.
2. Allow potential new patients to be seen for a consultation on the day they call - Studies consistently show that the longer the interval between a patient call and the date of the consultation appointment, the less likely a patient is to show. In fact, the probability of a patient showing up for a consultation falls precipitously if he or she has to wait more than 14 days from initial call to consultation appointment. The sooner you can see the patient, the better your chance to have that patient show up for the consultation appointment. Why not take that to the extreme and let the patient know that they can come in at the end of the work day to be seen. Yes, it can be an uncertainty and inconvenience for the staff, but for an extra 45 minutes to an hour in a day, you may be able to add a contract while making the patient feel special because you reorganized your schedule to accommodate him/her. Of course, many practices have a volume that make opening up daily slots nearly impossible. That leads us to #3.
3. Cluster your regular new patient days on Tuesdays through Thursdays - Data show that patients are least likely to show up for a new patient appointment on Monday and Friday. On Mondays, schedules get jammed up with the obligations that have developed over the weekend. On Friday, people are easing into the weekend and usually prefer not to be burdened with appointment obligations.
In the end, it is all about convenience for your patients. Those that offer it tend to succeed while the others that make patients conform to their schedule may experience additional challenges in trying to attract a suitable volume of quality patients.
Want to discuss scheduling further? Want us to research and post on another topic near and dear to your practice? Contact us.
Bart, one way I've seen doctor's overcome the "staff inconvenience" that can result from immediate scheduling of new patients is by aligning staff motivation to new patient visits and starts - perhaps through financial incentives. Is this something that you'll address or will address?
ReplyDeleteYes, we are working on a presentation, or an opus more accurately, regarding employee incentives. It should be on the site in the near future and we'll make sure to address that specific issue.
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