Becoming a professional orthodontist requires commitment and a passion for dentistry. Once you have accomplished becoming an orthodontist, you may be wondering how to grow your orthodontic practice naturally and organically in a highly competitive industry. Learning how to grow your orthodontic practice will not only help your practice to stand out from alternative dentistry options, but it will also guide you in the right direction to establish a positive rapport among members of your local community.
Add Accessibility Features
Creating a welcoming and inviting healthcare practice is essential, especially if you want to maximize your appeal and reach in your local community. Whether you’ve just moved into a new practice location or if you’re building your property from the ground up, keep accessibility features in mind.
Implementing accessibility features into your orthodontic practice is not only a way to make accessing your building much easier, but it will help your practice to appeal to a much wider clientele. Clients who need a wheelchair ramp or widened doors will appreciate your dedication and are more likely to remain loyal to you. Installing a modern stair climber is also highly recommended if your practice’s offices are located on the second floor or even higher in a building.
Get the Fuel Your Facility Needs
Obtaining and maintaining the fuel your facility needs is also important whenever you are managing a practice of your own. Regardless of the type of fuel you require for your property, you can find exactly what you need by turning to commercial fuel services. Commercial fuel service providers offer fuel in bulk and work with healthcare facilities, including orthodontic practices. Working alongside commercial fuel providers is a way to rest assured knowing that the fuel you require for your own facility is in the right hands.
Partner With Local Organizations
If you are genuinely committed and want to grow your orthodontic practice, you can start by partnering with local organizations that are relevant to your own services. Partnering with local schools, adult day care services, and even health food markets can help drive traffic and business to your orthodontic practice. Additionally, it also provides you with an opportunity to exchange promotions for other business owners and entrepreneurs in your community.
How to Begin Partnering With Local Organizations
Partnering with local organizations is possible by reaching out and connecting directly with owners and other entrepreneurs near you. Conduct a bit of research to discover what organizations are available near you and most relevant to your orthodontic practice. Consider the clientele you want to attract when choosing organizations to contact.
Advantages of Partnering With Local Organizations
Establishing a good rapport with locals is not always easy or straightforward, especially if you are new to a town or if you’re opening a private practice on your own for the very first time. Connecting and partnering with local organizations can be extremely advantageous for the following reasons:
- Mutually beneficial: Partnering with local facilities, businesses, and organizations that have similar clientele is mutually beneficial. Promoting one another’s services that are provided can also help to generate leads for one another year-round.
- Establish your credibility: Making the effort to connect with local business organizers and owners is a great way to establish your own professionalism and credibility in the healthcare field. By making connections, others will become aware of the services you provide as well as your qualifications and credentials. This can also help in spreading the word about your orthodontic practice to other members of the community.
- Boost appointments: By spreading the word about your practice, you’re much more likely to receive new patients and scheduled appointments. This will help to streamline your workflow while ensuring you can remain in business.
Upgrade Your Exterior
For those who are serious and want to grow your orthodontic practice, upgrading the exterior of your place of business is a must. From working with professional fence contractors to installing an automatic gate to applying a fresh coat of paint to the outside of your practice, there are many ways to go about updating the exterior of a commercial building.
If you want to improve your practice’s curbside appeal or its overall value, you can do so with exterior renovation projects. Once you begin searching for a contractor who is well-versed in updating the outside of properties, keep the following in mind:
- Experience and location: Seek a contractor who is not only well-versed and experienced in the type of project you have in mind, but one that is available locally. Locals will have an understanding of supplier locations and where to find the materials required for a project while sticking to any budget set in place.
- Licensing: Always searching for a contractor who is not only experienced but is also currently licensed to work as a commercial contractor. Updated licenses are essential as they permit individuals or companies to work legally in commercial and residential buildings.
- Insured: In addition to verifying that a contractor is licensed, it’s also imperative to ensure that they are also insured. Proper insurance will help to protect anyone who intends to hire a contractor to work on their property, even if they are solely working to update the property’s exterior. A properly insured contractor is capable of working on the site of a home or commercial building without placing the liability onto the owner of the property.
- Portfolio: When searching for a suitable contractor of any kind, it’s always recommended to inquire about portfolios that are accessible and available. Portfolios of completed jobs provide insight into the type of work that can be done as well as the quality of the work that is delivered to each client. Reviewing the portfolios of a contractor can help you to determine if they are the right fit for the job.
Manage Your Wastewater
While managing the wastewater in your orthodontic practice may not be the first task you think of when developing your practice and business model, it’s just as important as tending to clients. Utilizing water in any capacity in a commercial building requires proper wastewater treatment and services. This includes whenever you are using water to drain a client’s mouth or with the facilities you have inside of your orthodontic practice available for public use.
Benefits of Wastewater Management Solutions
Working with companies that provide wastewater treatment and services is highly recommended when you are the owner or investor in an orthodontic practice. Maintaining wastewater in any commercial building or facility year-round is highly advisable to minimize the risk of potential sewage or drain-related issues. Additionally, routine inspections and regular maintenance can also significantly reduce the risk of encountering issues with drain clogs, backups, or sewage water.
Maintain Your Facility
Practice maintenance is key if you are looking to grow your orthodontic practice. Maintenance requires more than simply keeping surfaces clean and clear from germs. In addition to conducting thorough cleanings of your current orthodontic practice itself, you will also need to maintain other aspects of your building, from the electrical work and HVAC system to the plumbing you currently have in place.
If you encounter clogged drains, backups, or even sewage in your practice, you will need to contact the appropriate professional plumbing company or emergency service immediately. If you believe your furnace or air conditioner is no longer working properly or at optimal efficiency, reaching out to local HVAC specialists is highly recommended.
Maintaining your facility requires more than being able to tend to clients promptly. From the cleanliness and health measures to maintaining the plumbing and HVAC systems in your practice, there are many different ways to ensure you can remain in operation at all times.
Renovate Your Doors and Windows
You can opt to renovate your doors and windows to help grow your orthodontic practice, especially if you are establishing a brand-new place of business.
Finding the Perfect New Doors and Windows for Your Orthodontic Practice
Shopping for bulk windows and door shop solutions for commercial practices and buildings is possible by familiarizing yourself with local supplies and comparing your choices online. Whenever you’re in the market for new doors and windows, consider the following:
- Vision and style: What vision do you have for your orthodontic practice’s atmosphere and environment? Do you have a certain style you wish to implement into practice with color and decor? This can help you find a window treatment or door style that is truly right for you.
- Energy efficiency: If energy efficiency is important to you, consider searching for commercial doors, windows, and window treatments that are designed with an eco-friendly lifestyle in mind.
- Window treatments: Along with traditional windows and doors, it’s also possible to invest in energy-efficient window treatments. Modern window treatments include shades, darkening sheets, and more.
Install New HVAC
To grow your orthodontic practice, you will need to update and maintain the HVAC system you have installed. HVAC systems include furnaces and air conditioning units or central cooling solutions. If your orthodontic practice is in a location with a used or outdated HVAC system, it may be time to consider an upgrade.
Why Upgrade Your HVAC System
Providing a welcoming, comfortable environment is essential when operating an orthodontic practice. Helping your patients to feel at ease is also imperative, especially for those who have a fear of visiting the dentist or orthodontist. The more comfortable your patients feel about the temperature of your office, the less likely they are to feel stressed out. It’s also important to maintain appropriate temperatures for any medical professional tending to patients for optimal performance and comfort.
Finding a suitable HVAC company that provides air conditioning repairs is possible by checking with local directories and seeking out references from those in the community. You can also search for HVAC professionals online with the use of verified reviews and testimonials.
Get Safety Training for Your Staff
If you want to grow your orthodontic practice, you will need to take the training of your staff seriously. Not only is it essential that your employees are trained in customer service, but it’s also advisable that they hold additional certifications and training as the medical staff. CPR certification courses can help your staff to become familiar with appropriate emergency responses when necessary.
Having a trained staff can also help to attract more patients, especially when you are in the process of establishing a good rapport with those in the community.
Create an Online Presence
When you want to grow your orthodontic practice and you want to do so with modern resources, developing an online presence is a must. Creating an online presence is possible by building and launching a website, an orthodontic newsletter, and even social media pages. When you create an online presence, you can drastically increase your reach and ability to appeal to new prospective patients.
How to Cultivate an Online Following
Developing an online following can significantly increase the number of leads you receive when it comes to patients as well as future business opportunities. Generating an online following requires dedication and the ability to establish yourself as an authoritative voice in the orthodontic industry.
Building an official website to represent your practice is the first step in creating an online presence. Once you have an official website, create social media pages using the same name and logo as your official practice. You can then implement features such as social sharing, commenting, and even the ability to subscribe to a newsletter directly on your website itself.
Use social media regularly to share insights into the type of services you provide, the insurance you accept, as well as features your orthodontic practice offers. You can also use social media to keep locals informed of your operating hours when to schedule appointments, as well as any cancellation policies you have in effect. Share authoritative content to help garner a following while building trust.
When you are familiar with various tools and resources accessible to grow your orthodontic practice, you can begin promoting the services you provide to those in your community. From renovating your actual practice itself to creating a thriving online presence, there are many different ways to go about growing an orthodontic practice in any town or city today.