Opening a new dental clinic carries many risks. However, it is natural for dentists to finish their studies, accumulate a few years of experience, and open a clinic to achieve economic and professional independence. The problem is that most dental schools do not train future dentists to open a clinic and manage it from a business-marketing aspect, so at this stage, dentists are in a field that they do not know and act according to intuition only, which increases the chances of making the wrong business decisions.
Over the years, I have encountered quite a few cases of dental clinics that did not survive for long because the procedure of opening the clinic wasn’t done systematically or professionally, or in certain cases, The dentist should not have opened the clinic in the first place. A clinic’s failure is not a trivial matter and is usually accompanied by big debts. Here are some important principles to consider carefully before deciding to open a new clinic.
- Are you sure you need it?– Having a clinic is not the goal but the means. Some dentists make a very good living as employees or freelancers in other clinics, and perhaps they should not open a clinic. Another thing is that not everyone is fit to run their own business. Some excellent dentists are business owners but are such bad managers that they should work for someone else. It is better to put aside the ego that says, “I want my clinic!” As mentioned, it is best to open a clinic only because the result would be better than being an employee.
- Financial investment –Many new clinic owners fall into this category. They invest all of their money (which is always beyond what they planned to spend) on modern furniture and equipment, panoramic photography, plasma screens, new parquets, and units – leaving no money for advertising a new clinic in the area. The result? There is a new, well-equipped clinic, but no one knows that it exists.
So what should be done? The first step in establishing a new clinic should be experimental – in the first two years, it is not worth investing too much in equipment and furniture. For example, you can use refurbished, basic furniture while investing resources to bring new patients to the clinic. Only after an initial patient pool is accumulated and, stable sales cycles are reached, and you decide that this is the right place for years to come, invest in the clinic and upgrade it as needed.
The future of dental technology is growing and benefiting several people. Dental laboratory technology offers tooth services and solves dental care problems that tend to occur for example, teeth replacement, fixing, developing the perfect aesthetic feature for your tooth. For a successful procedure, it’s essential to get a licensed dental technician to perform the exercise.
- Advertising– Just as you cannot light a barbecue without combustible material, it is impossible to build a new patient pool without a massive investment in advertising. The investment in advertising must be made over several months and on all channels) in accordance with the existing budget) in order to inform your surroundings of the new clinic’s existence and create an initial movement towards the clinic. After the patient pool is built, it is possible to dilute advertising and switch to maintenance advertising. Skipping this step may create very slow growth at the clinic, if at all.
- Business plan –Those who skip the business plan stage take a dangerous risk. For example, you may find that expenses are much higher than you expected and enter into a cash flow crisis that will make it difficult to continue operating the clinic.
The business plan should include all the steps that should be carried out in the first year or two, with both pessimistic and optimistic scenarios, and be prepared for all cases. How many investors are there? Where should you advertise? What should you advertise? How much should you advertise? What other marketing actions should you take? How much does this cost? What will the clinic’s concept be? And so on and so forth. Of course, building a business plan should be done by a professional experienced in the dental clinic field; the better the plan, the greater the chance of success.
- Clinic concept –Will the clinic focus on dental implants and be called the “Dental Implant Center”, or would it be a dental centre for the whole family? Will cheap or expensive rates be charged? Will it employ only specialists or general dentists?
Make it more customer organized and use powerful Dental Practice Management Software, also known as DPM, a software designed to help dental professionals. Like eDentra, The software can use it for various purposes such as recordkeeping, collecting payments from patients, scheduling appointments and more.
- Location –The location of the new clinic is of great importance. It is worth remembering that a dental clinic does not have to be located on a main street, because clinics are not built on passersby, however it is very important to pay attention to accessibility by public transportation and parking for patients who come in a vehicle.
- Partnerships –There are cases where dentists do not feel secure enough to open a dental clinic alone and therefore look for a partner. Partnership is a wonderful thing but we need to remember that it is a complex, economic relationship, which might end with an ugly divorce. Therefore, the type of partnership must be carefully examined: who are the partners, what level of contact do you have with them, and as a rule, it is worthwhile to aspire to start alone and introduce a partner only if the need arises. Along the way, you may find that dental clinic management is not necessarily a complicated matter; all you need for the first stages is to recruit a good team, an accountant, and a business-marketing consultant who understands dental clinics.
- Goals –Anyone who establishes a new clinic must understand that they are entering a process in which the main fruits will be reaped only after a few years. The main target of the first years should be building a circle of satisfied customers who will be the clinic’s “ambassadors.” In this context, it is important to note that at this stage the clinic will usually work at a relatively low price range, to capture as many market segments as possible and bring as many customers to the clinic as possible. After achieving this goal, you may move to the target of profitability, including a gradual increase in prices and a reduction in advertising and marketing.