Financing A Better Lifestyle

Posted on: 28 June 2016

If your dental practice is losing patients and money, you may wonder how you can turn around your business before it completely goes under. There can be many reasons that patients don't turn to you for their dental needs. Some patients may not like the atmosphere in your office, while others may feel uncomfortable with your staff. Here are things you can do to turn your dental practice around now.

Revamp Your Office and Exam Rooms

For many patients, visiting the dentist can be a stressful event. The individuals may feel even more anxious about their treatments if they don't feel comfortable in your reception room or exam rooms. To avoid the stress and anxiety, some of your patients may refuse to visit your office for the much-needed treatments and care they need. One of the things you might do to bring in more patients and stop losing old patients is to revamp your office and exam rooms.

If you currently use dark, gray white colors and furnishings as your decor, it may be time to switch it up. Instead of use white, black and gray colors in your waiting rooms, use yellows, greens and orange. Although white, black and gray each have their own unique benefits, the colors can also be impersonal, intimidating and somber to some patients. You want to create a friendly and inviting atmosphere that makes your patients feel good about your office and services. 

Yellows and green work well for your reception room because they add cheer and hospitality to your office. Blue's calming effects can help make anxious patients feel more relaxed about their treatments. If you're unsure about the best colors to use for your office's overall design, it's a good idea that you hire a dental practice turnaround consulting firm to help you choose.

Help Your Employees Become More Customer Focused

The next thing you can do is improve the attitudes of your staff. If your assistants, hygienist and receptionist lack sufficient customer service skills, patients will most likely pick up on this. For instance, if some of your dental assistants tend to "talk down" to patients regarding their oral hygiene care or problems, many of your patients may feel embarrassed, berated or even childlike. Patients may also feel unappreciated if your staff appears unhappy to see or greet them. 

A consulting firm may offer the training tools your staff needs to be more personable, cheerful and customer-oriented at work. It may involve retraining your staff through workshops and other group activities. You may want to join your staff in their workshops as well. Although you're the boss, you may also need some improvement in your customer service skills, such as how you explain dental procedures or discuss oral hygiene care.

For more information about turning around your practice, contact a dental practice debt consolidating company today.