Driven Dental Implant Marketing, a marketing agency that targets dental practitioners, has reported massive success in the first two years of its Virtual Patient Advocate (VPA) program. Driven recruits former dental hygienists and treatment coordinators to serve as VPAs, collaborating with dental practices and connecting them with ready-to-go leads. Driven Dental’s co-owner and Chief Marketing Officer, Charles Biami, spoke about how the program gives dentists peace of mind.

“We knew the VPA program would only succeed if we gave clients peace of mind. Our clients need to know they can rely on and be proud to be associated with our VPAs,” he said. “We knew that our idea of providing a full solution to one of the greatest frustrations practice owners have with marketing would only be as good as our ability to implement it. That’s why we recruited only compassionate and hardworking dental industry veterans from across the United States to our team of VPAs.”

How the VPA Program has Benefitted Implant Dentists

The VPA program has already seen results, giving them dental implant leads who are ready to move forward with treatment. “I’ve been very successful now with Driven,” says Dr. Ankur Gupta, who operates a dental practice in North Ridgeville, Ohio. “We were able to close 4 of the 6 cases we saw in our first month. We started our campaign on September 1st, and by October 1st, we’d closed $68,000 worth of treatment. Just from a return on investment perspective, that’s amazing.”

Dr. Gupta isn’t the only success story. Others include Dr. Michele Simpson, a general dentist based in Wilmington, North Carolina. In the first three months of working with Driven Dental, Dr. Simpson closed $103,800 through seven cases. These cases included one worth $25,000, the highest single case of her career. Dr. Simpson says that Driven Dental has been “totally worth it, and we’ve really loved it.”

“Our goal has always been to help dentists get away from just drilling and filling,” says Elijah Desmond, Co-owner and Director of Client Relationships at Driven Dental. “We want to help them achieve higher fulfillment, profits, and level of care in their practice. Our VPA program has taken that commitment to a new level. Now, we remove from our clients the time-consuming burden of making sure leads are ready to move forward with treatment.”

How VPAs Have Responded to the Marketplace through COVID-19

All of this comes after two years of COVID-19 uncertainty. Practitioners face higher acquisition costs and staffing shortages, and patients are more particular about whom they trust with their care… As a result, Driven Dental emphasizes their mission to remove the guesswork of lead generation, educate patients, and create more happy patients.

When asked about his experience with Driven Dental, Dr. Bryan Brenner said, “At the end of the day, the reason why [one patient] picked us was she just loved the personal connection she made with our team and with our Virtual Patient Advocate—that was definitely what set us apart.”

The VPA as a Staffing Solution to “The Great Resignation”

When COVID-19 first hit, the VPA program became a resource practice owners could use to maximize results without having to have more patients in their practice. Over time, practice owners began to appreciate all the successes the VPAs helped them achieve, even after practices were able to open up. Practice owners appreciated being able to prescreen and prequalify patients before coming into the practice so they could maximize chair time production.

In the post-COVID-19 landscape, new challenges have arisen for dental practices that our VPAs are helping overcome. For example, many practices are having team member shortages and staffing challenges—especially given “The Great Resignation.”

Because of that, there’s a shortage of team members able to give patients and implant leads the time and attention they need. Patients need more attention than ever because of how big a decision it is to move forward with implant treatment, especially in a tight economic environment.

That’s where our VPAs can help. They are your virtual team members who expertly and empathetically answer every question your leads have, prescreen them, and even prequalify them for financing before they schedule a consult with your practice.

As a result, we have expanded the program to serve an even broader market. The effects of COVID-19 are still felt throughout the industry, and Driven is excited to continue connecting patients and practitioners through their Virtual Patient Advocates across the United States.

Dental practice owners who want to explore whether this is the right model for their dental practice can schedule a strategy call with the team at Driven Dental Implant Marketing HERE.