3 Overlooked Ways of Retaining Patients After Acquiring a Dental Practice

Acquiring a dental practice can be a major investment for dentists. Once you are in business, it is essential to retain the existing patient base to ensure long-term success. Retaining patients can also help you build a positive reputation and attract new patients through word-of-mouth referrals. Many dentists look to marketing strategies and cosmetic office improvements to boost retention, but these three overlooked strategies help retain patients and can help boost your ROI from the start.

3 Overlooked Strategies To Retain Dental Patients

After all the challenges of financing, valuation, due diligence and regulatory compliance, recouping your investment is probably top of mind. Patient retention is about ensuring the patients are comfortable in your office and under your care and involves more than fancy new equipment or loyalty programs.

1. Communicate with patients: Communication is key to establishing trust and retaining patients after a practice acquisition. Be transparent and communicate any changes in the practice, including new staff, services, and office hours.
2. Staff retention: After a practice acquisition, it is essential to retain the existing staff to ensure continuity of care and maintain patient relationships. Losing their favorite dental hygienist or dealing with a new reception team can make patients uncomfortable. Address staff concerns early and offer retention bonuses as you transition through the process.
3. Maintain continuity of care: In addition to keeping familiar faces your patients recognize, ensure you offer the same level of care and variety of services the patients previously received. Be aware of price sensitivities—if prices jump too high too quickly, patients will likely look elsewhere for care.

Focus More On the Practice and Less on the Acquisition

Retaining patients after buying a dental practice is essential for long-term success. While in the process of acquiring a dental practice, you should be planning how to establish your practice as a trusted provider of high-quality dental care and ensuring patient retention.

This can be difficult when buying a dental practice is such a complex and challenging process. Working with a specialist in buying and growing dental practices can help you plan, acquire and grow your dental practice from start to finish, allowing you to focus on your patients.

If you’re ready to acquire your own dental practice, contact Buy the Right Practice today.