Does your fall calendar have gaps in it from patients that fell off during the closures and never rescheduled? We call that The Fall Gap and it's affecting practices across the country. In fact, we've calculated the average dentist is operating at a 41% deficit because of the Fall Gap, and will remain there unless they make significant changes.

Watch the video below to hear Ryan Menacho, Director of Sales & Marketing, explain the Fall Gap, and what dentists can learn from re-opening metrics in order to close the gap, and get back to growing their practice.

 

If you want to partner with our marketing experts so you can close the Fall Gap & get back to growing your practice, click below to schedule a Marketing Assessment Call with us, at no cost.

Click Here to Schedule Your Call

When the closures hit, practices scrambled to retain patients, often rescheduling them multiple times just to keep appointments on the calendar. But as many people realized the pandemic was lasting longer than originally expected, they stopped rescheduling and cancelled their dentist appointments completely. Now that practices have been open for a few months, dentists are seeing the effects of those cancelled appointments.

The False Hope Phase

Back in March, we hosted a Masterclass that advised practices how to position for a prosperous re-opening, and grow their practice post-pandemic. On that Masterclass, we predicted that there would be a false hope phase right after practices re-opened. During this time, dentists would see the pent-up demand for dental work and their new patients would skyrocket...and that is exactly what happened. Many practices saw record-high new patient numbers, and dentists believed they were back on track. But now, a couple of months later, that pent up demand has slowed down, and practices are feeling the difference.

The Fall Gap

With all that pent-up demand now booked and treated, dental practices are back to relying on regular cleanings and returning patients. But there are still patients that haven't rescheduled since they cancelled their appointments during the closures. In fact, we've collected data from dentists across the country that shows an average drop in patient engagement by 41%. This is leaving calendars open, and essentially, practices are operating at a deficit of 41%. 

Dental practices simply are not equipped to operate at that low capacity, and will start to feel overstaffed, perhaps you’re already experiencing this! There will be ongoing instability within practices unless they take decisive action. Unfortunately, many practice owners will not act until it’s far too late, believing if they simply “wait things out” everything will return to normal. The question is: how long are you willing to wait at a 41% deficit? 

If you're ready to partner with marketing experts to close your Fall Gap & get back to growing your practice, click below to schedule a Marketing Assessment Call with us, at no cost.

Click Here to Schedule Your Call

Take Action

While other dentists wait at least 1 or 2 more months before taking action, you have the opportunity to get ahead of the competition. The best opportunity to act is right now, because while many dentists still have not started marketing, the cost for Google ads remains low. Back in April, we reported that Google ad costs were 60% cheaper than before the closures. Today, Google ads are still 22.5% cheaper than they were before COVID. 

As competition rises, ads will only get more expensive. If you start marketing now, you will attract more new patients on a discount, and you will be ahead of everyone who is still waiting it out and remaining in that 41% deficit. 

How Dr. Lockney is Closing The Fall Gap

Dr. Lockney had our integrated marketing system in place well before the closures, and never turned off his marketing. As a result, he was able to see a number of emergency patient in April and May during the closures. He is dedicated to maintaining control, and going after patients to maintain consistency at his practice. Dr. Lockney did not want to let the market decide what happened to his practice, and is currently seeing high, sustainable new patient numbers since he re-opened.

At this point, you have 2 choices...

     1. Do nothing: remain at the average 41% deficit, and let the market decide when you will return to baseline.

OR

     2. Schedule an assessment call with us: we can help you take the best next step for your practice and your goals, to quickly surpass the baseline, and get back to consistently growing your practice again.

Click Here to Schedule Your Call