As all practice owners know, it takes much more beyond treating patients to run a successful practice. We spoke to dental marketing advisor and founder and director of 360 Dental Prabin Gautam, and dental specialist practice management consultant Michelle Pritchard of Aligned Business Consulting, for their advice on how practice owners can grow and elevate their practice.
Dental practice owners wear many hats, so it makes sense to seek advice from the experts. When wanting to grow or elevate a practice, dental business experts such as Michelle and Prabin are available to give advice on areas that practice owners may find often get put on the backburner but can make a substantial difference to the smooth running of a practice – including Human Resources, marketing and business management systems.
Michelle says her mission is to help dentists and dental specialists get back to what they love—practising dentistry. “I work with them to conduct a diagnostic review and develop a treatment plan through a tailored 12-month roadmap to success, bespoke to their practice,” she says. “I then support them and their managers as they implement the business management systems needed to achieve their goals.”
Prabin says his business helps dental practices build their brands, generate quality enquiries and scale their businesses through branding, marketing, advertising, recruitment and consulting services.
He adds hiring an expert to elevate your practice through marketing has numerous advantages. “It will cost them far less than attempting DIY trial and error or hiring a generic agency that doesn’t specialise in or understand the intricacies of dental marketing,” he says. “The return on investment is significantly higher, as we go deeper by focusing on metrics such as the number of appointments, types of appointments, and the best strategies to attract the right patients and treatment enquiries.”
WAYS TO GROW AND ELEVATE YOUR PRACTICE
Foundations of success
Michelle says her foundations of success include three things: patient experience, team dynamics and clinical excellence. “It is easy to get overwhelmed if you are an owner, manager and practitioner,” she says. “In a nutshell getting these foundations right and set up correctly can mean the practice runs more smoothly.”
Team dynamics
Michelle says Human Resources is a very important but often overlooked aspect of running a successful practice. “Dentists go into dentistry to be dentists,” she says. “They think about opening a practice, but they have no business experience. They are very compassionate, very good at what they do, and the clinic runs well but then they start to grow and hire more team members and there are no systems in place for onboarding. One of the biggest pain points I see in practices is they have HR issues.”
Michelle adds that she thinks often dentist owners get overwhelmed with HR issues. “They are being taken away from dentistry because they are putting out fires all the time, so it is important they have HR policies in place and that they invest in their manager to be a manager.
“It is important to get the team to understand how a business works because a lot of practice managers do not come from a business background,” she adds. “They might have been a dental assistant or receptionist that has been elevated to that role. It is very important to invest in your team, so they know and understand processes you want to have in place.”
Patient experience
Michelle says having set procedures for each patient touch point is important. “The first touch point with a patient might be a phone call; you might have something written down about how each staff member answers the call, and a checklist on how the welcome pack gets sent out. Then a follow up a couple of days prior to the appointment saying we are looking forward to seeing you,” she says. “People think of systems as overwhelming but if you have a checklist on how things operate and what to do, it standardises everything so if a patient refers a family member or friend, you know they are going to get exactly the same treatment because everyone knows what they are doing.”
Building your brand through marketing and advertising
Prabin says branding, marketing, advertising and both local and broader area marketing are pieces of an upward triangle. “The base of this triangle is always branding, representing the value your target patients perceive in your treatments compared to other dental practices,” he explains.
“Given the rapidly rising number of dental practices in every suburb, the ‘build it and they’ll come’ strategy no longer works. Practices need to ensure they are seen and heard, with clear and compelling messaging to attract the types of patients they want.
“In fact, we are increasingly seeing well-established dental practices, which have operated for years purely based on their legacy and without any outbound marketing, now exploring options for modern marketing and advertising to avoid losing patients to newer, prominently marketed practices.
“When supporting assets and hubs for patient engagement, such as websites and social media, are well-executed, it becomes easier to increase reach and influence. How big and broad practices choose to go depends on their target audience, market, and expansion plans.”
Common mistakes
Prabin says there are some common mistakes a practice owner makes when wanting to grow their practice:
Ignoring online presence: “We often see dental practice owners who aspire to be seen as a boutique, go-to dental practice,” he says. “They end up spending heavily on their premises, down to the smallest details, such as an exclusive doorknob. While it’s important to have a beautiful and welcoming practice, owners often exhaust their budget on the physical setup and leave little for online branding. The problem, which they realise too late, is that the source of enquiries for the majority of dental practices is online. If they are not well portrayed or even not found anywhere online, all the money spent on beautifying the practice won’t yield a good return on investment. It’s crucial to first ensure the practice is visible online.”
Neglecting online branding: “Online branding is at least equally, if not more, important,” he says. “Your website and social media presence offer potential patients a glimpse into what it’s like to be a patient at your practice. If your branding assets are outdated, the audience is likely to expect a run-down, traditional dental practice, even if that may not be the reality.”
Overlooking actual performances:
“Often, dental practice owners are the lead dentists at their practice. Their schedules are generally busy, and they don’t get enough time to thoroughly review every detail of their marketing performance,” Prabin explains. “They engage marketing companies, but some don’t realise— or realise very late— that all the reports focus on are the number of clicks, calls, or website traffic that don’t translate into real value for the business. This can affect cash flow if not monitored regularly.”
Michelle says a common mistake she sees at many practices is marketing without purpose. “I have seen some practices pay up to $5000 – $7000 a month on paid advertising and when you ask what return they are getting, they don’t know.”
She adds a common mistake practices make is not looking at the patients that do not rebook. “Recalls in most practices are huge,” she says. “Recalls can be a pot of gold sitting there but a lot of the admin team do not like to follow them up, so they get put to the bottom of the pile. Luckily now there are automations to do that so it is much easier, so this should not be overlooked.”
Prabin’s top three tips to practice owners
Don’t compromise on your online branding and presence. Ensure your website has the 3F qualities: Feel, Function, and Found (in online searches for relevant search terms).
Make time to reflect on your marketing and advertisement performance. How far is the deviation between the report and actual results? What is your online position for relevant searches, such as ‘dentist in [suburb name]’? Does your marketing team make it easy for you, or do you find yourself spending a lot of time explaining the intricacies of the dental world?
Continuous learning. It is equally important to train all team members so that the burden of converting new enquiries or promoting higher-value treatments doesn’t rest solely on the practice owner’s shoulders. Marketing companies will bring enquiries through the door, but the next steps are up to the team members.
Michelle’s top three tips for practice owners
Practice Values and Foundations of Success
A practice that is clear on its values runs more smoothly. When patient experience, team dynamics, and clinical excellence are built around these values, it creates consistency and trust. Defining what your practice stands for helps guide decisions and ensures everyone is aligned.
HR Documentation and Compliance
Many practice owners underestimate the importance of solid HR documentation. Clear contracts, onboarding procedures, and policies prevent future issues and free up time that would otherwise be spent putting out fires. Investing in proper HR systems helps protect both the team and the business.
Systems and Tracking for Growth
Data-driven decision-making is key to long-term success. Practices that track key metrics—such as patient retention, treatment conversions, and operational efficiencies—gain clarity on what’s working and where improvements are needed. Without tracking, growth is just guesswork.
