The 7-day a week dental practice

I'm noticing a trend - dental clients who want to open their dental practice 7 days a week to make maximum use of their facility.

Team members who individually work no more than a 4-day week in these practices are really enjoying the opportunity.

Patients love it (as long as you make sure that weekenders pay deposits to avoid FTAs).

Within The Extreme Business 100 community, I'll be commissioning more research on this, to develop a blueprint that can be shared with others.

Here's what I'm thinking so far.....

It's more important than ever to find ways to set your practice apart from the competition. One way to do this is to offer extended hours generally, including 7 days a week.

First, it allows you to accommodate patients who have busy schedules and can't make it to the dentist during traditional business hours. This can be a major selling point for patients, especially those who work long hours or have young children.

Second, opening your practice 7 days a week can help you increase your revenue. By offering more appointment times, you can see more patients and generate more income.

Third, opening your practice 7 days a week can help you improve your patient satisfaction. Patients appreciate being able to get the care they need when they need it, and they are more likely to be loyal to a practice that is flexible and accommodating.

Of course, there are some challenges to opening your practice 7 days a week. You will need to make sure that you have enough staff to cover all of the hours, and you will need to factor in the cost of additional wages. However, the benefits of opening your practice 7 days a week can outweigh the challenges.

It is critical to get the numbers right - revenue, cost of sales and overheads have to be capable of generating additional profit. That's where I'm helping clients with a lot of financial analysis.

Here are some additional tips for opening your practice 7 days a week:

• Make sure your team are on board with the idea. They will need to be willing to work weekends and holidays.

• Create a schedule that works for your patients and your team. Consider offering early morning, late night, and weekend appointments.

• Market your extended hours to potential patients. Let them know that you are available when they need you.

• Be flexible and accommodating. If a patient needs to reschedule an appointment for a genuine reason, be understanding.

• Offer incentives for patients to come in on weekends or holidays. This could include free TCO assessments, or other perks.

I'm going to be monitoring those who make this transition very carefully and hope to come back to you later in the year with tactics for 7-day success.