You’re exploring a dental practice relocation. Are you crazy? No. Dental practice relocations can be the BEST thing you do in the next stage of your career. Lower rent. More new patients. Better facility. Modern equipment. They can all be had in a dental practice relocation when its done right. But if you get it wrong, you’ll spend the next decade working your way out of a dark hole.
3 Precise Dental Practice Relocation Tips In this article, you’ll learn 3 precise tips (of more than a dozen) that you can use today. This information applies to ANY dental practice relocation, in any demographic area. With these tips, you may end up like one of our clients in Arizona who recently moved. In his own words, he’s happier, seeing more new patients and saving almost 25% on rent costs in a nicer, updated facility. I personally traveled to see his office in its final form and its amazing. He got the exact kind of practice he spent years hoping for. You can do this to. But you must get the first stages right or you’re in for a world of hurt.
#1 STRATEGY For Your Dental Practice Relocation = Co-Creation We’re going to get you to use surveys and tap into some extraordinary benefits from them (hint: its not the typical survey benefit) 1. The goal will be to get patients to co-create the new office with you, at specific stages 2. This will look like a survey of paint colors, or operatory names or logo design 3. During the construction stages, send out multiple surveys to patients requesting their help 4. Get this out in newsletters, facebook pages, email blasts, whatever it takes to get them engaged in the process Why? Humans commit to the things they help create. By activating the co-creation nerve, you’re getting two HUGE benefits: a) your patient’s best opinions and wisdom, tapping into the genius and preferences of your patients b) your patients will naturally be more committed to the new location Next…
#2 STRATEGY For Your Dental Practice Relocation = A Big Simple Map
1. Get a big map and put it in the waiting room at least 6 months before you move
2. The map should show the fastest route from your existing office to the new office
3. Put it on an easel next to the front desk 4. Tell the receptionist to make a big deal about the map to every patient from now until moving day Why? People will go to familiar places first. We want your patients to feel like your new location is familiar even if they’re never been there before. Bonus: put the map under every survey from the paragraph above Next…
#3 STRATEGY For Your Dental Practice Relocation Iconic Location
I talk about this in my book, Practice Location. The concept is simply this…pick a new office location directly next to a prominent, known local icon. In other words, if your new practice is next to a familiar iconic location in the community, the practice itself will feel more familiar. Even if they’ve never been there. With a great iconic location, you can establish: – credibility – authority – perceived value – familiarity – etc An example would be a local monument… or well known park… or town hall… or large mural… or any other major recognizable location. Bonus: Choose a new building with an iconic location that matches your values for your practice (like how my firm uses the image of the Liberty Bell to talk refer to proclaiming liberty through practice ownership). You can enhance and deepen the “message” your practice stands for by positioning your practice next to an iconic location that carries a message similar to the vision you have for your practice. Extra Bonus: We’re giving away 1000 free copies of my book this year…there may still be copies left here: www.HowToOpenADentalOffice.com/free You can pick up a number of other powerful site selection ideas in that book.
BOTTOM LINE: Existing, healthy, established practices like yours can successfully make a dental practice relocation like this “work”…,even with a horrible set of demographics and competition. But it is imperative that you: A) Have a powerful PATIENT RETENTION strategy and marketing budget (as discussed in this podcast episode) B) Activate the co-creation nerve in your patients for the highest level of commitment C) Strategically choose your practice relocation spot for maximum impact (this goes way beyond rent costs and the appearance of the building) Best of luck!! Source: HOW TO OPEN A DENTAL OFFICE