Marketing your credit options correctly - Martin Gilbert Director of Chrysalis Finance

Credit options are becoming increasingly important in UK dental practices. The increasing demand for elective dental treatments, combined with the ubiquitous search for cost-effectiveness, has made the provision of finance very attractive, and it can be an important USP for many practices.

However, even if a practice is offering credit options, it may be the case that they are not seeing the best return on this facility as possible.

This is simply due to the fact that many dental professionals lack the necessary marketing skills to properly promote the services they offer patients – and this could really be to their detriment. Indeed, opportunities missed through poor marketing can actually be the difference between a practice achieving and one that is excelling.

Your practice’s website is, perhaps, the most obvious place for you to start promoting your credit facilities. By making sure the information is easily accessible and easy to understand, any visitors to your website will immediately be informed of the options they have with you.

Similarly, maintaining a regular and consistent social media presence, in which patients are kept informed and included, can be a very efficient way of getting across a desired message. Posting information about credit options on your practice’s social media page is a sure-fire way of increasing your patients’ knowledge on how they can benefit from what you have to offer.

You could also include a message in your phone system’s ‘on hold’ message. Ideally, you don’t want your patients to be on hold for very long – but on the occasions where they do have to hold the line, it is good opportunity to promote your credit options (which will be far more useful to you, and less frustrating for your patients, than playing a tune like Greensleeves while they wait!).

Quite obviously, appreciating that these methods should and could be implemented and actually implementing them are two very different kettles of fish. Effective marketing takes time and considerable effort – two commodities that are too often in short supply for busy dental professionals. Therefore, it may be advantageous to recruit the services of an expert marketing team to help you come up with a consistent and appropriate strategy for your practice. Of course, it may present an upfront cost, but it is an investment that will almost certainly pay dividends in the future.

Of course, there is a very simple and effective solution: Chrysalis Finance, the UK’s only provider of simple, licence free credit options, also has the marketing savvy needed to help you and your practice get the very most out of their exceptional finance facility. Its services range from printable material, to assistance with your website, helping you ensure that your patients are up to date on the great finance options you can offer them.

For more information about Chrysalis Finance call us on 0333 32 32 230 or visit www.chrysalisfinance.com