3 Steps to Market Your In-House Membership

3 Steps to Market Your In-House Membership

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In case you need to catch up on the times, in-house membership programs are all the rage. With the Great Resignation in full swing, people are losing and opting out of dental and vision benefits more than usual.

Having an in-house membership program will not only make your services more accessible to your community, but it will also create more predictable recurring revenue for your practice. And if you’re wondering how you can market your in-house membership, then this post is for you.

3 Steps to Market Your In-House Membership

The key to marketing your in-house membership is education, first and foremost. Depending on where your practice is based, in-house membership programs could be a newer concept for your audience. But also, insurance companies have done a fantastic job at telling patients that they can’t see the dentist unless they have insurance…

Which is entirely untrue!

So if you’re ready to stop letting insurance companies make all the money, here are the steps you need to take  in order to educate your existing and potential patients on the solution that your in-house membership provides them, especially when it compares to the dental premiums they’re used to.

Step 1: Highlighting and Educating Your Patients on the Benefits of Joining Your In-House Membership

Whether or not your dental practice has dropped PPO insurance, your patients are always looking for more benefits and financing options that make their dental care more affordable.

This is why it’s so important to constantly communicate that you have an in-house membership plan all while highlighting the benefits that joining it will provide your patient.

For example, patients who are used to having dental insurance are more accustomed to having a $1500 per year benefit (or something similar) that ends up falling back on the patient because they’re unaware of it. But with an in-house membership plan, there isn’t a maximum benefit to the patient that they need to be aware of. Instead, they know exactly what they sign up for a fixed rate that guarantees that they save money.

In the end, your patients need to understand that a membership plan is a cost-effective alternative to dental insurance that involves benefits that your practice has designed.

It is essentially Amazon Prime, but for dental care for your patients.

Step 2: Marketing Your In-House Membership Program to Your Existing Patient Demographics

If you have a newfound in-house membership program, taking a look at your existing patient demographics is a great place to start. Specifically, you’ll want to pay attention to your inactive and uninsured patients.

Creating a plan to market your in-house membership program to your inactive and uninsured patient base will draw attention to the benefits they’ll receive when they join your program.

This will encourage them to seek out the dental care that they otherwise think will cost them an arm or a leg without insurance.

Step 3: Marketing Your In-House Membership Program to New and Potential Patients

Once you’ve targeted and educated your existing members, it’s time to market your in-house membership program to new and potential patients. The best way to go about this step is to deeply research and understand your local demographics.

Take note of things such as:

  • The median age of patients in your city and state
  • The median income of your city and state
  • Their access to health insurance

One key tip to pay attention to is how many small and local businesses are around you. This is because small businesses most likely do not offer insurance plans to their employees.

(By the way, we have an article all about ground marketing to your local small business complete with a free example of how to do it, as well as free downloadable tools to help you effectively  ground market your practice and in-house membership.)

Bonus: Small Tips for Marketing Your In-House Membership that Go a Long Way

Last but not least, there are a few small tips that you can implement to market your in-house membership plan more effectively.

The first is to be careful about the language that you use to talk about and address your in-house membership plan.

For example, avoiding the words “cheap” and “discount” may seem like a small change but it goes a long way. Associating those words with your in-house membership plan might give the impression that your office is, for the lack of a better word, “cheap”.

Instead, using a word like “save” or “savings” is a better way to communicate the benefits that they’ll gain by signing up for your in-house membership plan.

Another tip to implement is to use your in-house membership plan as a case acceptance tool. For example, if your patient is about to get a crown, you can tell them that if they sign up for your membership, they’ll save 20% on their treatment.

When your in-house membership plan is installed and presented properly, your patients are more likely to sign up and keep coming back after their treatment.

The Benefits of Marketing Your In-House Membership

Successfully marketing your in-house membership plan means you can increase your revenue and establish predictable recurring revenue for your practice.

Not only that, but membership programs enable better patient profiles/patient persona. Having your patients sign up for an in-house membership plan makes your patients more likely to return over and over again to utilize their membership, which results in your patients spending up to three times more than a patient who is a non-member.

(Don’t believe that statistic? Listen to this conversation with Jordan Comstock for the results he has seen since implementing an in-house membership plan.)

By marketing your in-house membership plan effectively, you’re making dental and health care more accessible to your patients.

And if you need proof of the efficacy of in-house membership plans, all you need to do is to take a look at the membership effect as seen perfectly through Amazon Prime. And if you want patients coming back to your practice as frequently as you receive Amazon packages on your doorstep, start implementing these 3 steps immediately.

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