Joanne Bishop

You’re already a successful business owner, so you know that growing production requires a strategic approach blending prep, implementation, and follow through. Drawing on our 30+ years of helping dental practices increase production and looking at the proven processes that have helped our clients consistently grow production year over year, we’ve drilled it down to these essential elements: Identify current trends & benchmarks. Set realistic goals & expectations. Identify areas for improvement/focus. Utilize a comprehensive & competitive marketing plan. Execute with regular review of results for continuous improvement. If you’re a Practice ZEBRA® subscriber, you can immediately pull your Benchmark Report to capture your current trends and metrics, patient and new patient values, and net gain/loss results. You can also dig into the Predictive Analytics module to see which levers you can quickly focus on to increase production. Better yet, schedule a call with your Account Manager, who will pull this all together for you and ensure you are set for success as we hit the year-end! If you’re not a Practice ZEBRA user yet, find out more with an initial session to discuss your 2025 goals, and get access to our Reveal Report, a custom 24-page document that provides a clear visual on everything you want to know to strategically plan for growth in 2025. Schedule a session now Getting an honest assessment of current results helps us identify the wins, the not-quite-theres, and which areas of focus will deliver the results we want. My CEO always says we can’t continue doing the same thing and expect a different result. So, if you want a different or better result as we head into 2025, the question is, is your practice focusing on the right metrics? Are you onboarding a sufficient flow of new patients while controlling attrition? Do you know what might happen if you added more high-value new patients versus focusing on retaining active patients? Do you know how many new patients get scheduled for subsequent visits? Do you know how many of your active patients are actually lapsing? What is the magic mix that will increase your production to the level you want? Predictive Analytics is an excellent tool for determining this. The following graph is of a real, successful solo practice currently achieving $1.6M in annual production. When you utilize Predictive Analytics, it gives you a clear visual of where to find growth. In this case, you’ll see the practice doesn’t have to move mountains to have a substantial revenue increase. Using the calculator we just looked at, what would happen if they added 10 more new patients per month, increasing from 32 to 42 new patients? That’s 2-3 more new patients a week. Most offices have at least capacity to add this number. In fact, the last ADA HPI survey revealed that 93% of dental offices are accepting new patients. If the office in the graph hits this target, it adds up to $162,240 in additional production in the first year, and by year two, it adds over $500,000 to the topline! Just by prioritizing a couple more new patients each week.

Direct mail is the preferred channel of communication for adults of all ages, it’s more persuasive than digital marketing, more trustworthy, easier to understand, and more memorable. It’s also one of the most effective tools available to dental offices that want to stand out and grow. Schedule an initial call today Consumers value something they can see and touch. The proven 4-page newsletter format we recommend provides dental offices a vast opportunity to connect with and educate readers while elevating practice awareness and building and strengthening the practice authority and reputation. At Patient NEWS, direct mail has evolved into a strategic, tech-driven solution that delivers a very strong ROI. On average, our clients achieve a 6x return within year one. Direct mail delivers something that digital marketing just can’t match. It’s precision-targeted and is the only way to reach 100% of your targeted audience, with 95% of consumers checking their mail daily. A large study revealed that recall was 70% higher among participants who were exposed to direct mail versus digital ads. These are just a few reasons direct mail is 10-30x more effective. It’s highly customizable, highly trackable, and highly effective at deepening the connection between a local dental practice and the community it serves, driving an increase in overall monthly new patient flow. Direct mail and digital campaigns work better together than alone. Direct mail is more action-oriented because its physical presentation stimulates the underlying mental processes that direct behavior. The average Patient NEWS practice grows by 20% over two years.

Dental patient satisfaction is increasingly being shaped by personalized care. While current satisfaction rates are relatively high, with reports indicating that over 90% of patients feel that maintaining their oral health significantly contributes to their overall well-being​, perceived indifference is a significant factor in patient attrition for dental clinics. ORGANIZE YOUR HOLIDAY NEWSLETTER NOW The perception of indifference is caused by a variety of factors, including a lack of communication beyond transactional, impersonal interactions, which can occur when dentists or staff members don’t take the time to personalize conversations or prioritize responsiveness, causing patients to feel ignored. A gesture like a customized seasonal holiday newsletter, which will reach 100% of patient households and is not perceived as spam, shows patients you care about building lasting relationships and strengthening patient trust and loyalty. In today’s competitive healthcare environment, make sure your patients feel valued and cared for with your holiday newsletter. The team at Patient NEWS will make it super easy and super personalized, and you can sit back and feel good on your holiday break because you’ve done a good thing. FYI: Printed newsletters offer several advantages over email – particularly for dental practices that want to connect meaningfully with their patients. Printed materials receive more focused attention as people spend more time reading physical mail compared to email, which is often skimmed or ignored. Your holiday newsletter will have a shelf life in the home of 17 days, making it more likely to be seen, and there is less competition in the mailbox. A newsletter also feels more personal and intentional than a generic email or holiday card, and it has a much higher perceived value than a card or email, which makes recipients more satisfied with the sender. The average dental office is also missing around 27% of patient emails, so even with an amazing open rate of 45%, an email will only reach around a third of patients, while your holiday newsletter will reach 100% of patient households. 100%! Order a holiday patient newsletter today . It’s the right investment for successful dental practices. Your holiday newsletter can also include information on your top services, new technology, special offers, referral requests, staff highlights, games and/or puzzles for the family, plus practice updates. Of course, it will also include a delicious and healthy recipe! Stand out in patient homes this holiday season and boost visits into the new year! #seasonsgreetings #merrychristmas #happyhanukkah #kwanzaa #happynewyear! #make2025thebest

Simple Systems for Seamless Patient Experiences Appointment reminders have become an essential tool for dentists to ensure that their patients stay on top of their oral health and attend scheduled visits. With the right system in place, dentists can significantly reduce no-shows, increase efficiency, and create a smooth experience for patients. The key to success lies in simplicity and seamless integration of online scheduling tools, which not only make booking easier but also allow for automated reminders that boost patient attendance. New Release: Practice ZEBRA’s Appointment Reminders now include the ability to add your online booking URL to the custom communication campaign. Our eZ Online Scheduler gives you an all-in-one solution, too! Appointment Reminders & eZ Online Scheduler – just $79/month* each! SCHEDULE A FREE DEMO Why Simple Systems Are Best Dental offices are busy environments where both teams and patients benefit from clear, straightforward systems. Appointment reminders that are easy to set up and manage – like automated email, SMS, or phone reminders – help reduce complexity and ensure that patients are well-informed about their upcoming visits. Automated systems also save time for the front desk team, eliminating the need for manual phone calls. They are highly efficient, too; studies show that automated reminders that use a combination of email and text can reduce no-shows by up to 29%. Simple, intuitive systems are often the most effective because they don't overwhelm patients or staff with excessive communication or complicated interfaces. The Role of Online Scheduling Incorporating online scheduling is a game-changer for today’s dental offices … when done right! Existing and new patients alike appreciate the convenience of booking their appointments online at any time of day without needing to call the office. This reduces friction for the patient and lightens the workload for office staff. That said, be sure that your online scheduler has many convenient appointment options, as well as an easy-to-see message to revert to calling the office directly when patients can’t find a booking time they want rather than just leaving them to abandon and feel unsatisfied with their experience. We’ve seen many online schedulers without appointment options for weeks, and neither an existing patient nor a new patient wants to wait three or four weeks when they’re ready to book! Online scheduling platforms can be integrated with our automated reminder systems. We recommend our eZ Online Scheduler because it’s really the best! Patients receive reminders about their upcoming appointments directly through email or SMS, offering a seamless and stress-free experience that fosters better patient engagement and makes it easy to reschedule or confirm with just a few clicks. Automated Reminders Improve Patient Experience Receiving a gentle nudge before an appointment is a simple yet effective way to ensure patients follow through with their scheduled visits. Automated reminders play a crucial role in decreasing forgetfulness, particularly in a busy world where dental appointments might not always be top of mind. Statistics show that practices utilizing automated reminders see a significant drop in no-show rates. With reminders, patients are much more likely to keep their appointments, resulting in a 23-30% improvement in attendance rates. Beyond attendance, reminders enhance the overall patient experience by fostering communication. Patients feel valued and taken care of when they receive personalized reminders, improving their perception of the practice and its professionalism. Importance for Successful Dental Practices Effective appointment reminders – especially when paired with online scheduling – are integral to a well-functioning dental office. Fewer no-shows lead to a more predictable schedule, better use of staff time, and more consistent revenue flow. Not only does this result in a more organized and stress-free practice, but it also improves patient retention and satisfaction. Investing in a simple system that includes online scheduling and automated reminders is a small step that can yield significant returns for any dental practice. It creates a seamless, patient-centric approach that ensures people get the care they need without hassle or confusion, all while helping the practice thrive. Book a free demo today! Ultimately, it’s about giving patients what they need: convenience, clear communication, and a smooth experience from booking to checkup. For dental offices, this is a win-win situation that boosts efficiency and patient satisfaction alike! *As of October 2024. Subject to change, so lock in now to secure your rate. Practice ZEBRA® base software required. Ask for package details.

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