How to Grow Your Whitening Business

Is there anything more truly an American status symbol than flashing a mouthful of perfectly aligned, pearly whites? To get this look, some opt for an at-home whitening kit, visit a wellness spa, or go to their dentist.

According to some statistics, up to 45 million Americans have had a professional teeth whitening procedure. But the question is, "Where are they having their whitening procedures done?" The answer may not be in the dental office but in the spa, where they offer similar services. A lot of cosmetic startups sell over-the-counter whitening kits, as well. Because of these factors, it can be challenging to entice patients into your practice.

Let’s jump into how you can sink your teeth into your slice of this lucrative service and tap into a popular revenue stream.

Educate Your Patients About the Benefits

If you want to boost your confidence, try flashing a beautiful smile! Statistics show that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe a smile is a positive social asset and over 76% find having a cute smile is attractive to the opposite sex.

In marketing, the number one rule is to address the problem and then provide the best solution. One way you can do this is to treat teeth whitening as the transformative tool it is and not just a feature you are upselling. If you do it right, your practice becomes a magnet for those who want their teeth whitened. Besides, the outstanding results of professional whitening services compared to at-home kits are undeniable. So, it's your job to highlight this fact and get patients to understand this reality.

Patients assume that all whitening products are equal until they get subpar results using an over-the-counter brand. Educate your clientele on the benefits of teeth whitening when they visit, in monthly newsletters, and in every other opportunity you can find.

Do More Than In-Person Marketing

Having a face-to-face chit-chat with your patients about whitening can increase whitening sales, but this approach has a few disadvantages.

Why you may ask, is this not the best, most direct method of getting the word out? Well, it requires more effort and time, which you probably don't have a lot to spare when running a busy dental practice. Admit it, you and your team are super busy and may not remember to upsell this service during every patient encounter throughout the day.

Preaching the gospel of teeth-whitening one person at a time can be tedious, not to mention costly. Spreading the word outside your ambulatory is incredibly easy if your communication system provides automated messaging across several channels as Adit does. With features that include patient SMS messaging, Pozative reviews, and intuitive email campaign tools, you can bring whitening service awareness to those you contact through channels they prefer.

Before and After Photos Are Your Best Marketing Tool

You've seen countless weight loss ads that show dramatic results of someone holding up their old pants next to their slimmer waist. This type of marketing immediately engages the audience because it is stunning and motivating to see these success stories.

In dentistry, using before and after examples is equally as impactful. Remember, your dental patients have likely already tried home whitening kits and weren't impressed. You can highlight the difference between cheap kits versus professionally applied whitener by sharing photos of dingy chompers being transformed into brilliant smiles.

Place visuals all around the office, especially online, that proclaim the value of the teeth whitening procedures you offer! Don’t forget other places for your ad campaign, like text messages and newsletters.

Having a large TV in your waiting room flashing photos of the transition your whitening products have made can affect more people than you may guess. Also, share dental shade guides, patient testimonials, and other procedures you offer on your website, in monthly newsletters, and when explaining the benefit of your whitening products to your patients.

Get Your Entire Team Involved

Giving your team a teeth whitening procedure will help them to be able to speak about what they know. Not only does your staff benefit from learning about this treatment, but they also get to experience the confidence-boosting effect and share this feeling with your patients. This makes it easier to encourage patients to book a whitening appointment since they're seeing live results walking around your office.

In addition, your clinic should have a team member that specializes in teeth whitening. They can act as a representative and share everything there is to know about this procedure when patients have questions. This ensures information about what to expect during the whitening process, insurance coverage and payment, and aftercare are consistent.

Highlight the Affordability of Teeth Whitening

While you want to profit from your whitening services, you still need to keep your price point reasonable for your patients. Value pricing is a smart approach to gaining patient interest and increases the likelihood of brightening their smile in the future.

You can also justify your rates compared to home kits by demonstrating the value a professional whitening session offers. Bring out the shade guide and show the results other patients have achieved using your products. This will make it easier for them to accept your asking price.

Provide Your Dental Patients with Several Whitening Options

Sometimes, a patient may assume that bleaching their teeth isn't for them because of significant staining. Or, the opposite could be the case, and they believe this service is only for those with serious discoloration, which isn't an issue for them.

Take time to show the different degrees of whitening your practice offers. By taking the time to highlight your ability to provide deep bleaching for stain removal or a quick touch-up on an already beautiful smile, your patients will overcome their misperceptions and be more receptive.

Be Strategic About When You Promote Your Whitening Services

Every marketing dollar you spend comes directly from your bottom line, so you want to maximize your conversion rate. Before you opt to run a Facebook ad that targets everyone aged 18 - 85, take a more strategic approach so that your advertisement gets in front of the right audience the first time around.

This means you should run your teeth whitening campaigns when this service is in the highest demand:

• Holidays
• Wedding season
• Prom
• Graduation

You can achieve significant growth during these peak times of the year and get more results for your advertising dollars.

Increase Patient Spending and Visit Frequency

Instead of only seeing patients for preventative care twice a year, you can use your whitening business to recall them between annual visits. After all, your revenue depends on how many new patients you garner, and when boosting how often they visit, you can increase their spending.

If you have an automated practice management platform like Adit, your team can easily create campaigns offering teeth whitening within appointment reminders your patients receive. Being proactive in how you market your service and offering it before your patient ever comes into the office is one of the easiest steps to take.

Set Goals

As a dental professional, it's easy to get caught up in clinical duties and lose sight of administrative tasks. If you want your whitening services to become popular, consider setting daily goals, such as providing five to seven whitening services per week. This may feel like an impossible milestone at first, but it's more achievable than you realize when you incorporate the suggestions made in this article.

Create Urgency with Discounts

Nothing works more like a charm than a limited-time offer, especially around major holidays. This tactic will increase the urgency of getting the procedure, pushing folks to take advantage of your offers before they are gone.

An example of this would be to offer a $200 discount on a teeth whitening procedure around Christmas or New Year. This tactic creates urgency so that dental patients take advantage of specials before time runs out. This gets people in your dental chair and keeps your bottom line in the green.

Use Social Media to Boost Your Teeth Whitening Business

You had better believe that your patients are all over social media looking for information and inspiration to improve their smiles. Connect with them through several online communities, including:

• Instagram
• Snapchat
• Pinterest
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Tiktok

Increasing the channels that your office communicates through with patients will not only increase your online presence, but you can further educate and inform your clients. The more they see your message, the more relatable your brand becomes.

No matter what stage your teeth whitening campaign is in, repurposing your messaging across different social media platforms is a great idea! For example, photos in an Instagram post showing off before and after results can be part of a Pinterest how-to article.

Adit Can Boost Awareness About Your Whitening Services

You want to help your dental practice become a thriving business, and whitening services are a profitable addition to your service offerings. When patients whiten their smiles, they gain confidence and grow their bond with the dentists who make it possible.

Adit understands that teeth-whitening is a popular treatment that patients of any age have enjoyed at least once. Our practice management system provides powerful communication and marketing tools to make growing this service quick and efficient across multiple touch points, including:

• Mobile
• Smart device
• Patient portal
• Email
• Chair-side
• Social Media

We have years of experience in the dental industry and understand the challenges of maximizing profits on a procedure like teeth whitening. Our innovative platform helps you do more than simply send automated messages offering this treatment. We make scheduling a breeze, streamline and add flexibility to the payment and billing process, and offer outstanding client support, so you get the most out of Adit's over 15+ state-of-the-art features, including:

• Adit Voice
• SMS Text
• Telehealth
• Adit Pay
• Marketing
• Call Tracking
• Pozative Reviews
• Practice Analytics
• Patient Recall
• And more!

At the end of the day, your patients expect your clinic to provide them with an outstanding treatment experience. A brand-new smile is just icing on the cake. Adit helps your team create dental visits that inspire rave reviews and nurtures brand loyalty by taking a customer-centric approach to practice management.

Book your free demo to discover how our software can seamlessly integrate with your existing system or completely revolutionize how your dental clinic achieves these goals.