For new dentists, the road ahead seems paved with success. You’ve finished school and are about to open your new dental practice. And because you’re up to date on the latest procedures and technology, what could go wrong?
Even with all the knowledge you have, your dental practice isn’t exempt from new practice obstacles. We want you to succeed in your new adventure of opening a dental practice. To help you reach your goals, we’ve outlined the three common dental practice pitfalls, so your practice can avoid them.
Poor Website Design
Like you, most of your patients are tech savvy and prefer convenient methods of communication and payment. A good website allows for both ease of communication and streamlined payments. Unfortunately, some dental practices focus only on the look of a website. While this is important, user experience and functionality are often more important.
Poor website design has little to no content, duplicate content, or non-existent calls to action. If your website lacks content, it hurts you in conversion rates, SEO, and your ability to attract and retain patients. Not having enough, or having duplicate content, will confuse, frustrate, or simply leave your patients (or potential patients) uninformed. As a result they’ll find another practice.
Additionally, lack of content decreases your position on search-engines, resulting in fewer visitors. If you don’t have a clear and easily identifiable call to action—be it calling your office, signing up for your email newsletter, among other options—then visitors will likely do nothing after visiting your website.
So, to avoid this pitfall, create a well designed, user-friendly website. This will lead to more patient interaction. Just remember, keep your patients in mind as you design and manage your website.
Being On Too Many Social Media Sites
Having a presence on a variety of social media sites can be beneficial, but being on too many is actually counterproductive and an inefficient use of your time. You don’t want to spend all your time managing them. Find out where your patients and potential patients are, and then set up profiles on those sites. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are typically the best social sites for dental practices.
Often times, a new practice will set up their social media accounts and then forget about them. Yes, you’re busy. But to reap the benefits of social media, you must use it regularly. Post content, respond to questions and comments from patients, and keep up with any social ads. Your goal is to ensure that you ‘re getting the most of your social media strategy.
Not Implementing the Right Practice Management System
The success of the modern dental practice hinges on an effective dental practice management software. A third pitfall for new practices is using software that doesn’t fit your needs.
Easy Dental is perfect for new dental practices. Not only is it easy to learn and implement, but it comes at the right price. We know cost savings are important for any new practice. With advanced, easy-to-use features that simplify your daily tasks, Easy Dental has all of the functionality that you need to run a successful practice at the right price.
The dental industry is competitive, so any advantage from the get-go will be invaluable. If you want to create a thriving dental practice it is important to learn from and avoid the pitfalls of other new practices. This way, you’ll be sure to implement the best strategies and tools.
We want you to succeed in your new adventure of opening a successful dental practice. Along with outlining these three tips, we have many more resources, including our free eBook: 5 Ways to Increase Your Practice Productivity. Download it and explore our other resources today!