Your Guide to Optimizing the New Patient Conversion Funnel

Struggling to turn consults into starts? Use this step-by-step funnel to streamline intake, clarify payment, and follow up faster—so more new patients say ‘yes.’

• Centralize patient tracking
• Use digital intake
• Make payment decisions patient-driven
• Automate follow-ups
• Track Obs to fill chairs

Orthodontic New-Patient Conversion Funnel: A Practical Guide

Today, orthodontic practice growth is challenging without a precise, analytical approach. New technologies, heightened patient expectations, and intensified competition have made it harder to attract and convert new patients. Everything in your practice—revenue, reputation, growth, survival, and patient care continuity—depends on your conversion funnel.

However, when you look at your new patient conversion rate, are you overestimating your success? Many orthodontic business owners believe their conversion rates soar high between 80 and 90%. Meanwhile, Gaidge Analytics' data reveals an average conversion rate of only 68% in 2022 for U.S.-based practices.

Conversion rate = treatment starts ÷ consults × 100

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From a patient's very first call to their final treatment days, each step harbors opportunities for conversion, engagement, and ultimately, growth.

With Gaidge's insights, you can break away from average conversion rates and drive your practice towards the 90% mark and beyond. To get started, here's a comprehensive guide to conversion funnel optimization so you can start growing your orthodontic practice.

Step 1: Centralize Patient Management

Managing patient information can be difficult when it's on different platforms. To attract new patients, begin by organizing your workflows.

The Gaidge Consult Manager's Patient Queue Dashboard unifies the patient journey into one platform, reducing confusion and allowing you to track appointment tasks and their status in a single dashboard.

It provides a clear overview of the conversion process:

• Track paperwork completion
• Identify pending follow-ups
• Reduce no-shows with confirmations

See Consult Manager in action.

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Step 2: Digital Intake

With traditional intake paperwork, converting more patients can be challenging. It's inconvenient for patients to fill out, it costs more, and it slows down your practice's workflow. It also doesn't give you enough time to prepare before appointments.

Digital forms make your practice more efficient and help you understand patients' preferences and concerns, leading to a higher exam close rate.

Gaidge Forms create a smooth digital intake process that simplifies administration and appointment management, increasing new patient conversion rates.

With HIPAA-compliant forms, patients can fill them out anywhere at their convenience. You can track completion and send reminders with built-in analytics, and customize templates with your practice's branding.

Try digital forms templates.

Step 3: Transparent Payment Options

Cost is a common barrier to orthodontic care; address it with transparent options and time to decide.

With the Gaidge Consult Manager, you can provide a transparent and user-friendly Payment Presentation tool that eases financial decision-making for your patients:

• A payment presentation screen easily displays insurance information, treatment types, and total cost. This allows patients to see exactly what they're paying for, building confidence in your practice.
• A payment slider tool lets patients adjust their down payments, monthly installed amounts, and payment plan lengths for informed financial decision-making.
• Remote treatment acceptance enables patients to accept their treatment plan remotely via email. On their own time and from the comfort of their homes, patients can choose to take the next step.

In essence, the Payment Presentation tool allows you to simplify financial discussions and decisions for both your practice and patients—eliminating one of the largest barriers to treatment acceptance.

Step 4: Never Miss a Follow-Up

In your orthodontic practice, follow-ups are vital for converting potential patients. Reminders keep your practice in patients’ minds and help move them towards treatment. Quick action is essential because missing a follow-up means losing a chance to convert.

The Gaidge Consult Manager makes sure no patient is forgotten. It allows for timely communication and efficient management of patient interactions.

Track conversion in Gaidge Analytics.

Managing Pending Follow-Up

Potential patients can sometimes be left in limbo, undecided, or waiting for the right moment to commit to treatment. These are your pending patients, and managing them effectively is key to ensuring they transition into active treatment.

With the Gaidge Consult Manager, you're equipped to keep them engaged and progressing through the conversion funnel. It provides automated follow-up notifications, enabling you to stay connected with these patients and guide them through the conversion funnel. This helps you maintain a continuous conversation, providing regular reminders of your services and demonstrating your commitment to improving their smiles.

Observation Management

Like your pending patients, you can't leave your Obs patients behind. These are your future patients on the cusp of committing to treatment, so they hold considerable potential. But among the many patients you manage, the challenge lies in ensuring those under observation aren't overlooked.

Further, the Gaidge Consult Manager allows you to have a much closer connection with these potential patients. You can filter and manage them by type (Pre-Tx Obs, Between Phases Obs, and Obs Ready) and age. Then, you can easily see who is ready to move onto active treatment.

Filter Obs by readiness and age to backfill cancellations quickly.

Moreover, having all observation patient statuses and tasks on one screen gives you a bird's eye view of your patient pool. This high level of organization enables you to strategically fill open appointments, ensuring that potential patients ready for conversion are always prioritized.

FAQs

What is a new-patient conversion funnel?

‍It’s the step-by-step path an orthodontic prospect follows (from first inquiry and digital intake through consultation, financial presentation, and scheduling) to becoming a treatment start. Mapping it lets you spot drop-offs and remove friction.

How do I calculate conversion rate?

Conversion rate = Treatment Starts ÷ Completed Consults × 100.

(If you need a lead-to-start metric: Treatment Starts ÷ New-Patient Inquiries × 100.)

How do follow-ups affect starts?

Consistent, personalized follow-ups keep you top-of-mind, answer lingering clinical/financial questions, and provide a clear next step (book, sign, pay). They prevent qualified prospects from stalling and turn “not yet” into scheduled starts.

Turn Potential into Profits with Gaidge

In orthodontics, optimizing the new patient journey is crucial for growth and revenue.

The Gaidge Consult Manager streamlines patient management by simplifying data handling, intake processes, payments, and follow-ups while effectively tracking pending patients.

It’s more than just a tool; it’s essential for driving practice growth and enhancing patient experiences. Get a customized demo today.