Financial concerns are common when running a dental office. It can seem like overhead and related expenses are sky high, but you must keep your rates affordable for your patients. You understandably may be looking for every reasonable way to cut back on spending and to improve your office’s profitability. These are a few wonderful ideas you can implement now that can help you to reduce overhead going forward.
Conserve Energy Where Possible
Just as you might conserve energy to save money at home, you can do so at the office as well. For example, service your HVAC system regularly to keep it operating with peak efficiency, and program your thermostat settings with energy savings in mind. Switch to LED lights, and use power supply cords to cut off phantom energy usage at night and on the weekends. Ensure that doors and windows are properly sealed, and invest in new insulation for your walls if needed. Remember that you may be able to switch energy providers for lower rates if you practice in an area with deregulated energy.
Evaluate and Sell Dental Scrap
The metal scrap that your office may accumulate through daily efforts is worth money. In fact, you may be throwing away hundreds of dollars in dental scrap each week without realizing it. Many dental offices that begin accumulating and selling dental scrap for cash or for gold coins are surprised to learn how valuable this material can be. Simply locate a scrap metal buyer who can evaluate your dental scrap and let you know how much you can make from it.
Buy Supplies in Bulk
Regardless of how large or small your business is, it can be cost-effective to buy your supplies in bulk. This includes paper, pens, sticky notes, bottled water for your patients, light bulbs, air filters, toilet paper and more. Buying in bulk and making purchases through a wholesale supplier can save you a small fortune over the course of a year. Remember that some items, such as ink cartridges for the printer, can be purchased as recycled materials for a fraction of the cost as well. If you do not have space in your office to store all of your bulk items, consider taking some of your supplies home to store in your garage until they are needed.
Use Social Media Marketing
You need to find a way to get new patients into your dental office, but you need to contain marketing expenses. A smart idea is to use social media marketing to your benefit. Some aspects of social media marketing are completely free to use, and you can research marketing ideas today to find options that will work well with your unique target audience or niche in the community. For example, you may ask your customers to share or recommend your business on social media to their followers to receive a special discount or promotion.
Keep Your Mailing List Updated
Many dental offices mail billing statements, appointment reminders, promotional material and more to their existing patients. These patients may move frequently in some cases. Each time a patient visits your office, ensure that all of the contact information that you have on file is correct. This is a simple step that your administrative staff can take to reduce postage and supplies waste associated with returned mail items.
Many of the ideas that you have to save money around your dental office may cost a small fortune, but you can see that the ideas listed here are very cost-effective. More than that, you can begin using them today to improve your bottom line with great results. You can incorporate these ideas with some of your own for substantial savings in the years to come.
