21% of the dentists in the latest The Wealthy Dentist survey report that they would be willing to pay up to $150.00 to acquire one new dental patient.

Dentists responded that they would be willing to pay anywhere from $20.00 to over $300.00 for one new patient.

Of course, there were a wide variety of dollar amounts that dentists indicated they would be willing to spend in the acquisition of a new patient.

Here’s how dentists responded to the question, “How much would be willing to pay to acquire one new dental patient?” —

• 17% — Up to $20 a patient
• 13% — Up to $50 a patient
• 19% — Up to $100 a patient
• 21% — Up to $150 a patient
• 09% — Up to $200 a patient
• 04% — Up to $250 a patient
• 06% — Up to $300 a patient
• 11% — Over $300 a patient

Suburban and urban dentists were more willing to pay for more new dental patients than their rural counterparts with suburban dentists willing to pay the most.

Here are some of the comments by dentists in this survey:

“What we mean is that this is our actual cost through our dental marketing efforts.” (Pennsylvania dentist)

“My projected value per patient is $2300.00. So paying a few hundred dollars to get them in my door is a no-brainer.” (Texas dentist)

“I would pay more for veneers or implant patients.” (New Jersey dentist)

“Paying directly to acquire new patients on a per-patient basis is illegal, but general dental advertising and promotion is legal as long as costs are not charged per patient.” (California dentist)

“They’d have to go through with an orthodontic treatment.” (Massachusetts orthodontist)

“Corporate greed from mega dental clinics (owned by non-dentists) have practically no budget to acquire new patients. How in the hell do new graduates with private offices have a chance!!?” (Washington dentist)

Referral marketing has been traditionally considered by many experts to be one of the most effective ways to gain new dental patients because it creates a “warm lead” — a prospective patient who hears about the dentist from a friend whom they know, like and trust.

Potential patients who are “warm leads” will often call the office to set an appointment even if they’ve never visited the dental website simply because their friend or family member made the recommendation.

The cost to acquire that kind of patient is next to zero.

The Wealthy Dentist recommends for best results, that dentists provide an incentive or special offer to include in a ‘Tell-A-Friend‘ email. The ‘Tell-A-Friend’ feature is a great low cost way to let your patients market your practice for you.

The Internet Dental Alliance provides pre-written suggestions dentists can use to create special offers, so why not head on over to www.InternetDentalAlliance.com and check out Dental Email Newsletters for Current Patients and More Referrals today.