The Brexit effect: a major opportunity for your dental practice

by Business growth, Communications, Inbound marketing, Treatment coordinator

Wherever your dental practice is located, the Republic of Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, time waits for no man, and March 2019 is little more than six months away. As things stand, deal or no deal, Brexit is due to happen at 11pm UK time on March 29.

Whatever your politics, as sure as God made little green apples Brexit is going to hurt practice owners. On the face of it I don’t see too many winners… but there will be some. More on that later.

Here are two of the frightening forecasts:

  • hard Brexit will result in millions of job losses across the UK and EU
  • soft Brexit will cause the disintegration of the Conservative party and bring Corbyn into government

In reality I doubt if either of these outcomes will happen. Brexit will more than likely be a fudge, with lots of confusion and wait-and-see mindsets, resulting in us all becoming more careful with non-essential purchases, creating a cascade effect with a predictable impact of price reductions and incentivised purchase plans on major consumer items like cars, sofas, holidays and I guess cosmetic dentistry too.

In these circumstances the majority of private dental practices will freeze their prices, and some will probably begin to reduce them in a vain attempt to create a competitive edge.

Meanwhile 4% (low) unemployment and 3.5%+ (high) inflation in the UK mean practice employment costs are heading north quite quickly already. A near perfect storm for the doom and gloom merchants.

So yet more pressure on margins, with the effect that under par practices that are limping along today will look for an exit or worse.

See the Brexit effect as a major opportunity for your practice.

Brexit is happening. Don’t be a victim, see it as a major opportunity to grow your practice as your competitors button down the hatches. Lead your practice team bravely forward with excitement, confidence and an aggressive marketing system tasked with growing your new patient numbers by 30%.

I appreciate this may sound a bit bonkers but I am being deadly serious: recognise that most of your competitors are poor, complacent and generally lazy about dental marketing. Be better than them consistently and you will always have a better high value new patient count.

The four key marketing areas you can improve by March 2019 are:

  • Improve your inbound handling. I’m amazed that good inbound systems are still rare, and most practices are squandering hundreds of decent new patient leads every year
  • Appoint a treatment coordinator and use them effectively
  • Be more accessible — stay open when your competitors are not
  • Become retail-focused in everything your practice does

Now is the time to get serious about your marketing system — get in touch and we can help you immediately.

JJF

07860 672727

[email protected]

JJF 10

“Brexit is happening. Don’t be a victim”

JJF, MD
Author: Jonathan Fine