dentalblogs.com

dental news for dentists from the best minds in dentistry today

dentalblogs.com header image 2

Dentists Get Creative During Economic Downswing

September 19th, 2008 · No Comments

dental financingDepending on where you practice dentistry, you may be feeling the financial effects of our economic downswing. While cosmetic dentistry and dental spas were hot topics two and three years ago, today, many dentists are working hard to break even by providing bread-and-butter services.

An article at www.mlive.com, a Michigan news site, reports that one dentist found a solution for patients who didn’t qualify for credit with traditional patient financing companies. He met with a local bank to create a payment option that would draft patients’ bank accounts monthly. Their program was called SmartPay, and it worked. With a default rate of approximately ten percent, a set up fee of ten percent helped offset losses. In the end, the bank, dentist, and patients were happy.

Many dentists accept credit cards, file insurance claims, and work with third parties for financing. CareCredit is the leader in patient financing right now, but CapitalOne Healthcare Finance is also popular. Springstone Financial, and other smaller companies are making headway in the industry, as well. With many of these programs, dentists are paid in full up front, less a fee of up to ten percent. Patients can pay little or no finance charges and spread their bill over many months. In the past, patients turned to financing for cosmetic and major reconstructive cases, but these days, patients may finance smaller procedures, like crowns. Dentists, after paying the financing fee, see less profit in these situations.

A poor economy means fewer jobs, which translates to less money and less benefits for dental consumers. The mlive article tells us that discount dental clinics are getting busier in this market, and the more upscale, personalized care practices are losing patients.

The obvious way to press on toward profits is through marketing. Knowing your market and investing in targeted, proven marketing techniques should yield results. In this day and age, websites are a leader in advertising any product or service. If you don’t yet have a website, visit www.tntdental.com to learn how a custom, search-engine-optimized website could boost your business. You may also want to check into automated recall systems, like SmileReminder to make sure that your current patients are returning regularly.

The good news is, when business is down, you may actually have time to invest in strategic planning. If you aren’t sure where to start, but you know that you have to do some marketing, there are a number of proven dental marketing consultants who offer seminars, books, and videos to help you make wise decisions. Ask your colleagues for referrals, and do some online investigation for yourself. With the right blend of hard work and creative thinking, you could pull through this economic storm and come out on the other side with more success than you have ever experienced.

Tags: Administrative · Technology