Many patients avoid going to the dentist year after year. While some of these patients may be too scared to go, many of them simply feel like dental care is unaffordable. You may even have patients that come in occasionally, like when they have a toothache or a dental emergency, but then never fully commit to a preventive care schedule or necessary treatments. A dental membership program can help patients afford the care that they need, whether they have insurance or not. Plus, adding a dental membership program could be the first step that you take to dropping insurance and becoming a fee-for-service provider. Today on the blog, our dental practice consultants share six ways to ensure your dental membership program is a success.
The Price is Right
We’re referring to setting the cost of your plans just right – not too high and not too low. Expensive plans will scare patients off and defeat the purpose of offering memberships in the first place. But if you don’t charge enough, you won’t make a profit.
Determine Your Market
Before establishing which services to include in each membership plan or even how much the plans will cost, you must first establish your market.
Membership plans should meet the needs of your target market, which may include:
- Over 55 years of age
- Millennials
- Families
- Small business owners
Some practices prefer to offer plans for children, adults, and those needing specific care like periodontal treatments. It’s possible that you may want to reach each of these demographics. But the best approach is to start with one or two and then expand after you’ve seen that your membership plans are successful.
Offer Rewards to Team Members
Growing your practice takes everyone’s effort. Get your team members on board with the idea of offering membership programs by rewarding them each time they get a patient to purchase a plan. Ensure that a trusted individual in the office, like the office manager, tracks these purchases and gives credit where credit is due. Perhaps you offer additional hours off of work or provide a small bonus each time a team member sells a plan.
Set Goals
Whenever you start something new or want to improve what you already have, you should set daily, weekly, and monthly goals. How many membership plans do you hope to sell each day, week, or month? Share these goals with your team so that everyone can work toward a common goal. Assess your goals and whether or not your team is reaching these goals. If you are, find out what everyone is doing so you can continue your efforts. If you’re missing the mark, reassess everyone’s approach and adjust accordingly.
Market Your Efforts
By this, we mean to ask for patient feedback from those that have bought membership plans. You could capture their statement in an online review or video to share on social media.
Network and share what you’re doing with other associates in your field, like orthodontists, oral surgeons, and endodontists.
Meet with local small business owners, especially those that do not offer dental insurance benefits, and offer to share information about your membership program with their employees. Small business owners may even offer to foot the bill for their employee’s membership plans.
Publish and boost Facebook ads to spread the word on social media.
Talk to every patient about your membership plans, even patients that already have insurance. Not all insurance policies provide excellent coverage, and patients may still be left with an out-of-pocket expense that could make buying a membership plan worth the added cost.
How to start a dental membership plan
Incorporating significant changes in your practice isn’t always easy. If you’d like to learn more about starting a dental membership plan or ensuring it is successful, contact Bryant Consultants by calling (877) 768-4799.
