What is Dental Lead Management and Why You Need It

Simply put, dental lead management is the process of tracking and managing potential patients (leads) from their initial contact with your dental practice to their conversion into paid patients. It involves using tools and strategies of effectively communicating, organizing, and nurturing leads to maximize patient acquisition and retention. 

Done effectively, lead management ensures that every inquiry, phone call, or website visit is followed up with, increasing the chances of converting leads into patients. For dentists, investing in lead management can make the difference between a thriving practice and a struggling one. A few key components of lead management can include:

1. Lead Capture / Acquisition: Collecting information from potential patients through various channels (e.g., website forms, social media, phone inquiries)
2. Lead Outreach: Proactively engaging with leads who have called in or submitted an advertisement form and nurture them into potential patients
3. Lead Tracking: Monitoring the progress of each lead through different stages of the patient journey
4. Follow-Up: Implementing systematic follow-up processes to engage leads with personalized communication and timely reminders
5. Nurturing: Providing relevant information and offers to keep leads engaged and move them closer to booking an appointment
6. Conversion: Turning leads into scheduled appointments and ultimately loyal patients

Lead management is so much more than these steps, though. It is the opportunity for dental practices to build trust, provide reassurance, and ultimately form long-lasting relationships with potential patients before they even sit in the chair. The primary operator of lead management is known as a Patient Advocate and is titled that way, as opposed to a sales representative for example, because they are positioned to be in the patient’s corner ‒ to learn and understand the patient’s unique needs and ultimately guide them to the best outcome.

Check out our blog post. Why Your Dental Practice Needs a Patient Advocate to learn more about the Patient Advocates crucial role.

Every dental practice does lead management to a certain extent, however a robust lead management strategy is best suited for practices that are attempting to acquire and close big case treatments like full mouth reconstruction, all-on-4, or other forms of implants. And once that lead management strategy is in place, dental practices can enhance their efficiency, improve patient satisfaction, and boost their growth potential when building the big case side of their business.

To learn more about lead management, download our 5-Step Lead Management Strategy Guide for FREE.