With all that's going on with the pandemic, many practices have been forced to close or stay open only for emergency care. Times are tough. There's no doubt about that. But we will recover. As we do, there's plenty of work we can do behind-the-scenes to prepare our practices for the future.

That means putting the right preparations in place to make your practice stronger than ever once things start coming back. Your practice can grow again. And it will grow again if you build growth into your recovery plan. One of the best ways to build growth into the day-to-day operations of your practice is to offer services that generate repeat visits and recurring revenue. Here are three ways you can promote recurring revenue in your practice.

Offer and regularly promote teeth whitening.

People aren’t always coming to our dental practice to receive treatment. They're not always coming in to improve their dental health. Often, they’re coming to make their smile shine brighter. And while many practices offer teeth whitening, many still do not. Of those that do, many leave a lot of opportunity on the table by not promoting it consistently. If you fall into either one of those categories, now might be the time to start offering or promoting your teeth whitening.

Teeth whitening is easy to do.  It's nice and quick and can create a great source of recurring revenue for your practice. It might be a low-ticket offer, but it can bring in a high volume of patients. And it can add additional revenue opportunities from existing patients who might have no idea how easy it can be to leave your office with a bright white smile.

Teeth whitening services can be very helpful in growing many parts of your practice, too. You could offer a deal for a first-whitening. Or you could offer it as a free add-on service for high-value procedures.

But teeth whitening is also just a great add-on service you and your team can offer all patients who come through the door. They will leave feeling better about themselves while you enjoy being able to grow your practice and earn recurring revenue from future whitening sessions.

Conduct oral cancer screenings.

Preventative care in dentistry takes many forms. Hygienists can find periodontal disease before it progresses. They can offer treatment methods to preserve a patient's gum health and subsequently preserve their heart health. Dentists can extract teeth in order to avoid crowding as well as the pain and dental issues that will result from the crowding. 

All of those things can lead to health problems down the line, which helps patients in many ways. But we can also help patients while growing our practices and adding recurring revenue to our practices by conducting regular oral cancer screenings. 

Offering oral cancer screenings won’t only help save lives, but it’ll help you create recurring revenue for your practice. Patients often readily agree to screenings and both you and your patients sleep easier knowing you're helping them catch issues early.

Create a dental membership program.

Offering membership plans for your dental practice is a great way to better serve your patients while simultaneously generate recurring revenue for your practice.

Dental membership programs give patients an alternative to insurance, which often gets in the way of dental care instead of helping patients get better dental care. Frequently, the complications of dental insurance causes many patients to pay more out-of-pocket than they should. Many times, patients choose to forego treatment they need for financial reasons.

With dental membership programs, you can offer patients more choice and freedom with their care while simultaneously generating regular monthly income for your practice. This will be especially important for patients who lose their insurance and need an alternative way to get the care they need.

What options have you implemented in your practice to unlock recurring revenue?

There are many ways to strengthen a dental practice. You can invest in leading your dental team well. You can invest in Facebook marketing for your dental practice. And you can build dental marketing funnels. The list goes on. But some of my favorite ways to strengthen a dental practice are the ones that simultaneously help patients improve their health while generating recurring revenue from your practice. These three strategies can help you do both of those things in your practice. What are you doing to unlock recurring revenue?

And, if you want more help improving your business, join me and thousands of other practice leaders in my free Delivering WOW Facebook community!