practice management
RETENTION
Your Best Practice Defense Against Coronavirus
by Cathy Jameson , PhD
C oronavirus has impacted and challenged the entire world – individuals , families , schools , businesses , countries , and dental practices . However , most successful people and organizations have had their greatest advancement during and after difficult times . You can , as well . You and your practice can thrive now – and into the future .
Most practices can double from within by nurturing that which they already have – their existing patient family . Think retention ! Bain and Co . and Earl Sasser of Harvard Business School found that a 5 % increase in retention of customers / patients resulted in an increase in profitability of between 25-95 %. Forbes found that businesses that invested in retention processes had a 200 % higher chance of growing their market share .
Know your numbers . Take a clear look at your practice . Guessing isn ’ t an effective way to develop a strategic plan for growth . You can ' t measure growth if you don ’ t have an accurate assessment of where you are at the present time .
Once you have an accurate assessment of your numbers , here are several ways to nurture your practice from within .
Increase your hygiene retention . Aim for a minimum of 85-90 % of your active patient family . Using the ADA definition of an active patient : “ A patient who has been in the practice to receive treatment within the past two years ”, multiply that number for 85-90 %. That is your active
patient base . That ’ s how many people you want involved with hygiene .
Most practices think they have many more people actively involved with hygiene than they actually do . Be accurate .
Look at your procedure analysis report . See how many of your hygienic procedures are periodontal in nature and if you , truly , have a comprehensive nonsurgical periodontal program . Consider an in-depth study of non-surgical perio this year and integrate the latest and best practices for the betterment of your patients and your practice .
A significant portion of your productivity is related to hygiene procedures , but another source of productivity are the restorative and aesthetic procedures scheduled in the doctor ’ s area from the hygiene patients . ( We always tracked this in our practice .)
“ It ’ s the little things that make the biggest difference .”
– Malcolm Gladwell
Use patient financing to offset fear of cost . Make sure that all members of the family are coming in — financing can help .
Determine your present level of case acceptance . Consider how many people are agreeing to and scheduling recommended treatment . Use photography more than you are at the present time to show people what is going on in their mouths . Educators teach us that approx-
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