Remind Insurance Patients That Their Benefits Have Been Renewed
Dentists frequently tell me their top New Year’s resolutions for their dental practice is to attract more new patients. Well, January is traditionally one of the best months to acquire new dental patients for your practice! Three completely different types of patients are all coming into the market at the same time.
1. People who have put off their dental treatment plans until after the November-December holidays.
2. New Year’s resolution patients who have decided to clean up their dental act as part of their new physical fitness program.
3. Patients who have put off their dental treatment until their dental insurance benefits are renewed in the New Year.
Group number one, the procrastinators, are already in your practice. All you need to do to get them in the door is to follow through on your normal Chart Audit of patients with uncompleted treatment plans. This means a call from your dental scheduling coordinator to remind these patients that the new year is the right time to complete their treatment.
Patients from group number two are generally not in your practice. These people will be out looking for cosmetic, implant, sedation and orthodontic dentists in droves! Most of these people will look online to find a local dentist who can meet their particular dental needs.
If you don’t already have a comprehensive Internet marketing plan (multiple dental directory listings, email newsletter program, team training on how to convert Internet patients and multiple targeted high-value new patient websites), there’s no time like the new year. Sign up with a dental website provider. and they’ll do the work for you!
Group three, those patients who have been putting off treatment until their dental insurance benefits are renewed, can be quickly converted into active treatment plans with a simple letter that should be sent to ALL your insurance patients. Here is a sample letter:
Re: Dental Insurance Benefits in the New Year
Dear Valued Patient:
I would like to take a moment to discuss your dental insurance benefits.
Almost all insurance companies renew your dental benefits with the New Year. That means that you can take advantage of possibly $1,000 or more of benefits for yourself and your family.
So if you’ve been postponing dental treatment, now is the time!
Many insurance patients neglect to take full advantage of their insurance benefits. These benefits, often part of an employer’s insurance program, are typically lost if not used. What are you waiting for? Call today to ensure your best dental health - particularly if you’re due for your regular check-up and cleaning!
As always, please do not hesitate to call our office or email us should you need anything at all.
Sincerely,
Dr. Dentist
P.S. If you have friends or family who you feel would benefit from our preventive approach to healthy gums and teeth, please send them our way. We’ll take good care of them!
P.P.S. Be sure they mention your name so that we can thank you personally with a token of our appreciation.
To send online newsletters to your entire patient base, and gain access to pre-written dental patient communications letters that can kick-start your dental marketing in the new year, just sign up with a dental email newsletter company.
We all know how many insurance patients wait until the end of the year to use their benefits. All it takes is a simple reminder from you to bring them in earlier!
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