Find Out How The Top 10% Of Dentists Do It!
Are you competitive?
Would you like to know what Top Dental Offices do to be in the Top 10% of the industry?
Would you like to be there too?
With the visibility that Practice ZEBRATM provides – you can get there.
We have analyzed the data from thousands of dental offices across the country, in varying demographic markets, with varying levels of competition, at various practice stages, and with varying services, providers, and skillsets. The averages for the critical key performance metrics (KPIs) are very consistent among the most successful.
I say again – these are average metrics from the thousands of clients we have worked with in each of these areas. It doesn’t mean everyone operates at this level, and in fact there are only a handful who get it right for every metric.
Those are the superstars! You may have higher and lower metrics in different categories here. The key is to understand the importance of making ALL of the metrics work synergistically to get your practice to peak performance.
This is a tough subject for many offices. It can put some on the defensive. But to improve and grow, we have to be brutally honest with ourselves so that we can focus on what will make a difference.
The point of this blog is to share how important these numbers are to know, to accept, and to work on.
I bet you’ve heard a myriad of dentists complain about marketing results – “direct mail doesn’t work in my area” – but what they don’t admit is that their team misses 50% of their calls and converts at 30%. You’ve heard others complain about marketing ROI, but they don’t tell you (and might not realize) that their office isn’t scheduling new patients to come back.
Scheduling is the metric that many of our clients are astounded by. They “think” they have 80% of their patients scheduled, but the average dental practice has less than 50% scheduled. To be clear, that means the average dental practice doesn’t have 54% of patients connected to them. That 100% guarantees they’re missing out on production. These are critical metrics for success.
When it comes to annual production, the average dental practice is producing $1.5 million, but top practices have an “average” of almost $4.5 million.
What’s the difference? It’s the rest of the key performance metrics shown here.
CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE A Practice ZEBRA review with your Account Success Manager.
#1 – New Patients. Successful practices realize the value of a new patient and work hard to attract a lot of new, work on call handling, incentivize their teams, and schedule them back effectively. You’ll see in the chart above, the annual value of an active patient is over $3,000, the value of a new patient for the top 10% is a whopping $4,500. Regardless of your patient values, the higher value of a new patient is consistent. The industry average first-year value of a new patient is $1,800. So every time you miss a call, that’s potentially $1,800 down the drain.
#2 – Scheduling. This is a BIG ONE. This is a stat to pay close attention to. Top practices have at least 80% of their patient base scheduled. Scheduling not only creates a more efficient practice workday, it also drives significant production. Top offices focus on this goal. Recently a client told one of my Account Success Managers to “ignore their scheduling” and focus on bringing in more new clients to increase their ROI. My friend, that will put you in a turn-and-burn churn. Not only do you want a good steady flow of new patients, but you need to schedule them back. Imagine the new-patient value if you focused on recall and attracting and scheduling family members. The higher the return rate, the higher the chance for referral and the higher the production.
#3 Customer Service. Top practices answer 90% or more of their inbound patient calls live! And they convert over 75% to appointment. This is key for a strong new-patient flow. Call handling is a true skill and top practices recognize this. Teams take our Phone Power telephone training and certification seriously, and they’re engaged in working harder to achieve top marks in this area. These stats prove what we’ve been saying for 20 years – the person who answers your phone “is” your practice to the caller. If that person isn’t enthusiastic, helpful, welcoming … not to mention easy to understand, knowledgeable, and trained to convert … it will hurt your new-patient bookings. Use Phone Power telephone training in Practice ZEBRA and get certified to brush up skills.
#4 Patient-Focused. Top practices have correct patient records including email and cell phone contact info. That means that all of their marketing efforts, mail, email, automation reach their patients. A reminder system is very ineffectual when you’re missing the correct data. Top practices also stay connected with patients in positive ways. Social campaigns, value-added communications, events, and referral incentives.
#5 IT’S NOT TOO LATE. You can do this. You can make changes in your business. Take an honest look at your metrics in Practice ZEBRA and decide which ones you will tackle first. Over all of these years, before we had Practice ZEBRA, I can tell you that consistently, top dentists are never afraid of getting more information. They are curious and open and looking for ways to be great. They like to invest in making their practice, their teams, and their patients more successful.
And yes – they are definitely competitive!
If you’re excited about doing more for your patients, then monitoring these metrics and taking action will help you!
There is no reason you can’t join the Top 10%. With DSOs setting up and competitive offers in the air, what are you doing to ensure more patients join, and fewer patients leave, your practice? Winning dental offices are consistent in that they do “just a bit more” for their team engagement and for their patient success.
Alternatively, a miss on any of these top KPIs and you’re leaving production behind. AND … if your competitors are hitting these marks, it’s going to hurt your practice future.
Research indicates that roughly 70% of clients who leave you do so because of their perception that the business doesn’t care about them. It’s not about bad service – and can be solved when you communicate in a positive way.
Don’t turn a blind eye to what’s happening in your practice. Take ownership. You can change. Your team can improve. We’re here to help.
Practice ZEBRA truly is in the center of the entire patient experience and all of your dental marketing campaigns.
Practice ZEBRA can show you what you can improve upon (and maybe problems you didn’t even know about).
When armed with the data, you and your Account Success Manager can work together to help your practice improve productivity, STAND OUT & Grow! Happy Groundhog Day … spring is near, it’s not too late!
Schedule A Practice ZEBRA review