Dental checkups require a visual and physical check, which made dental care difficult to provide during lockdowns. Fortunately, the industry is now in recovery, as findings from Fortune Business Insights estimate the global dental market size will be worth $63.93 billion by 2029. Patients are increasingly aware of conditions such as malocclusion and tooth decay, and there is likewise a growing demand for aesthetic dentistry.

For dental businesses to keep up with market growth, investing in effective strategies to provide patients with better and more convenient dental services (or products) will help. In this post, we'll discuss the four strategies that can help you with that.

Automation

Everyone is automating processes nowadays and for good reason. Automation offers speed, accuracy, and convenience that business owners and stakeholders can mutually enjoy. This TechTarget feature highlights the importance of automation in simplifying mundane tasks, so employees can focus their time and energy elsewhere.

For dental businesses, this may include automated text, e-mail, or app reminders for patients to schedule follow-up checkups and future appointments.

This allows you to anticipate waiting times and reduce them, and even set up notification messages for queueing times. Many people avoid going to the dentist because of the wait, so eliminating this hurdle will make sure patients show up to their appointments at the right time.

Websites or software for online scheduling can also be put to use to avoid clerical errors in setting up patient appointments, making sure patients always get the dental care they're paying for, and promptly.

Consumer analytics

Capturing and analyzing patient data can help you make better business decisions to further boost growth. This is where consumer analytics come in. A guide to consumer analytics by Maryville University notes that the consumer analytics market is projected to grow from $5.24 billion in 2020 to $20.82 billion by 2028 — and for good reason. Consumer analytics through big data can provide detailed, in-depth insights on potential customers, allowing you to market your brand well.

For dental businesses specifically, consumer analytics is especially useful for providing valuable insights on patient data. You can assess cancellations and schedules to see which customers are returning when, and which ones don't. From there, you can reach out to old customers and remind them about your services, or even get feedback as to why they're not returning.

Referral incentive programs

While referrals are a traditional approach to business growth, we're suggesting it because it simply works. Establishing referral incentive programs gives dental businesses a chance to reward loyal patients, as well as get new potential clients. Insights from Arizona State University's psychology professor Robert Cialdini indicate that social proof is a tried and tested marketing strategy. People have an easier time following things followed by the majority.

Because of the medical and intimate nature of dental care, people are more willing to trust businesses that their trusted friends can vouch for. Ultimately, nobody wants a botched dental procedure, and they would more likely trust a provider who is already someone else's favorite dentist.

Outsourcing

Most dental business owners not only work on growth strategies for success, but also run business operations to ensure that everything goes well. Over time, these responsibilities may lead to fatigue or burnout, and dental business owners may end up compromising one aspect of the business over another. This is where outsourcing comes in.

We've discussed this in a SupportDDS blog post about outsourcing as a time solution. In business, time is money, and it makes sense to dedicate enough time in all aspects of your dental business so everything runs smoothly. Outsourcing talent — and training them to fit your dental business' vision — will give you more time to handle the behind-the-scenes work that goes into your business. This will allow you to focus on developing strategies to pursue further growth.

Written exclusively for Supportdds.com

by Amy Cross