Having loyal patients is great because it allows you to build a strong bond that will keep them coming back. However, anything can happen to these patients. New jobs, different insurance providers, or relocation can cause your most devoted patients to leave. This is why it is always important to be attracting new patients to your optical practice. As an industry standard, your practice should see an 8 to 10 percent increase in new patients year-after-year in order to sustain growth. If you’re not meeting this benchmark, we have some tips on how to improve your patient growth percentage.
How to Calculate New Patient Growth
Before we dive in, let’s see how close you are to the industry standard of 8 to 10 percent. To calculate your new patient growth percentage, subtract the number of patients you have this year by the number of patients you had last year. Then divide that number by the number of patients that you had last year. Finally, multiply that number by 100.
What did you get? Were you close?
If not, keep reading to discover a few ways to influence new patient growth for your optical practice.
3 Ways to Influence New Patient Growth for Your Optical Practice
1. Focus on Inbound Marketing Practices
Focusing on inbound optical marketing strategies can help your practice generate new leads and potential patients. Inbound marketing is a marketing technique where content, SEO, web design, and other factors result in prospects coming to you when they are ready instead of reaching out to customers by advertising in newspapers or TV commercials. When done right, inbound marketing can be a time-saver and an effective way to generate new patients for your optical practice.
When looking at implementing inbound marketing techniques for your practice, begin with the basics and consider the following tasks:
- Improve your web presence
- Invest in SEO
- Use social media best practices
Bonus Read: 5 Optical Marketing Resources that Will Get Your Practice Noticed
2. Use Technology
Using your resources effectively and implementing technology will make your practice more efficient and increase your patient satisfaction. With a patient portal and scheduling tools, you can help your front desk do their job more efficiently. These tools will also provide your current and potentially new patients with the flexibility to schedule appointments and manage their health records online.
3. Refresh your Office
Take a walk around the block or take a different way into work to change your perspective. Does anything make your practice stand out from the other buildings in the area? Sometimes, all your practice needs is a fresh coat of paint to make your practice stand out and make potential patients take notice. When painting isn’t an option, get new signage or update your window display to make a change in the scenery.
Is your practice hitting your new patient benchmark of 8 to 10 percent growth each year? Attracting new patients to your practice can be stressful, but by using some of the above practices you can influence patient growth while increasing current patient satisfaction.
Interested in seeing how your optical practice stacks up against other industry benchmarks? Download the 8 Benchmarks ODs Need to Monitor in Their Practice ebook for formulas and advice on how to put your practice on par with the industry standards.
