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Practical marketing and management for the dental practice with stepps

01-26-2009 | Multiple dimensions to make a dental practice fit for the future

The stepps platform by DENTSPLY Friadent offers the company's customers a comprehensive, professional and at the same time feasible program for developing dental practices and hospitals with powerful marketing and management instruments. stepps is based  on proven and successfully tested methods, includes practical help systems and is designed to help dental practices and hospitals that are focused on success.  The major stepps themes of profile, patients and partners concentrate on the decisive factors for the success of a dental practice: a clear and prominent profile, successful acquisition and retention of patients, and the establishment of implantology partnerships with other specialists for future cooperation. A professional team of dental marketing experts from DENTSPLY Friadent supports customers with targeted consulting and marketing services specially developed for dental practices, oral, orthodontic and maxillofacial surgery practices, and dental hospitals. .

System for targeted development of dental practices and hospitals: 

The range of stepps services: 

The ZFI program
The question of how to make a dental practice successful is not easily answered. Even the best financial results give no indication of success in the future – they only reflect the successes of the past. It is primarily the "soft" factors that determine the future of a dental practice: the patients, the processes and the team. The ZFI program (Future Capacity Index) contains four modules that indicate the future capacity of the practice in a very practical way: the cockpit, the workhops, the team and the patient survey provide actual, usable insights. 
ZFI Cockpit
The ZFI cockpit allows the position of the practice to be determined at a glance. Areas that are already positive and areas that have potential for improvement are identified. Sixteen characteristics show the exact factors that are important for the success of the practice. This information can be used for precise control of the direction of the practice over the long term and to develop it in accordance with its potential. The ZFI Cockpit is also an excellent preparation for introduction of quality management.
ZFI Workshop
The insights gained can be converted to concrete strategies in the ZFI workshop. Possible approaches are discussed in meetings under the guidance of an experienced team of consultants. The ZFI workshop assists in developing the potential of the practice and implementing it step by step with appropriate actions. 
ZFI Team Survey
The success of a dental practice depends primarily on how the team identifies with the practice and on their motivation. A friendly team, high-quality patient care and the enthusiasm of the individuals in the team have a decisive influence on the satisfaction of your patients. The ZFI Team Survey will provide usable answers to the questions of how enthusiastic members of the team are and how satisfied they are with their workplace. The responses can be analyzed to determine actions that can make a positive contribution to the development of the practice. 
ZFI Patient Survey
How do patients experience the practice, do the services of the practice conform to the expectations of patients, are patients satisfied, would patients recommend the practice to others? The professional evaluation of the anonymous patient survey gives concrete answers to all relevant questions. A patient survey can be used to guide the development of the dental practice.

stepps communications consulting – tailor-made development concepts
The proven stepps instruments can be used to master almost all challenges of the dental practice. Users of stepps are guided step by step: DENTSPLY Friadent develops customized solutions precisely designed for the individual practice in cooperation with experienced consultants. The development goals of the dental practice, the laboratory or the hospital are defined in consultation with the dentist. The comprehensive communications concept contains not only the target definition but also a detailed plan of action, a realistic schedule and a detailed cost plan. Success can be planned – and becomes feasible!  

stepps legal consulting
The health market in Germany has fundamentally changed in recent years and with it the legal situation of physicians and dentists. In some areas the new legal circumstances have opened up completely new perspectives, but they have also increased insecurity. What has changed? What is permitted, what is possible under the law? Where are the limits? The need for legal information and consulting is increasing greatly. The stepps legal adviser are specialists in consulting for physicians, dentists and hospitals on all aspects of law to do with physicians and medicine. This includes medical liability, medical contract law and medical partnerships along with practice strategy and business consulting for physicians and dentists. 

stepps practice photography – because a picture is worth more than ...
What are the most beautiful words compared to a brilliant smile? Good practice communications is based on photography that shows the personality of the practice team. Experience in practice photography, an eye for just the right subject, the feel for the right moment, and the ability to show the practice and the team in context – this is what distinguishes a good dental photographer. A broad portfolio of practice pictures with unrestricted rights of usage is the basis of successful communications. 

stepps PracticeCall – the new dimension of service for patients
If patients cannot contact the practice by telephone because the line is busy, it is out of hours or during vacation periods, specially trained employees of a professional medical service center answer calls in the name of the practice. They give information in a friendly and competent manner and note down who would like to be called back and when. They can also give specific information – such as services offered by the practice – or act as an initial filter outside office hours for acute cases.

stepps patient information events – direct access to the right patients
The demands and expectations of patient have changed greatly in recent years. People are more conscious of their health, and interest in high-quality dentures is greater than ever before. This situation offers completely new options for patient education and advice for both patients and the practice. Patient information events offer the unique option of contacting specific potential candidates for implants to tell them about implantology and to attract them to your practice as new patients. In stepps users will find complete support in all questions about event marketing from preparation and organization to running the event and the follow-up. The professional planning, invitations and advertising is only one success factor. The team of consultants also provides the event coordinator with everything required for a successful patient event through stepps. This includes items such as professionally printed templates for brochures and advertisements, PowerPoint presentations on the topic of implantology, and comprehensive information material for patients.

Surgery and prosthetics working together: more implant patients through implantology networks
The concept of the implantology partnership enables all dentists to integrate implantology successfully into their own practice – without having to conduct surgery themselves. The trusted, quality-oriented collaboration of implant surgical practices, prosthetically oriented dentists and partnerships with experienced dental laboratories opens completely new horizons. The basis of the implantology partnership is a series of seminars in which highly qualified presenters demonstrate the potential for development that implantology offers for a dental practice. Participants attend four seminars to develop expertise in implant diagnostics and implant prosthetics and to gain some insight into the basic principles of implant surgery. Communications with potential patients and team coaching are also included in the program. The experienced surgical partner not only conducts the implant training but also remains available as a consultant and coach for the prosthetics partners over the long term. The implantology partnership is continued in the study club – a regional expert forum with qualified continuing education courses. 

stepps direct – the fastest entry to successful practice marketing
Improve patient loyalty and attract new patients – stepps direct offers proven, effective and very economical solutions for these tasks. All actions are designed to work together – dental practice communications are fully unified right from the start. The stepps direct online  platform offers customizable communication instruments for presenting your range of services and types of treatment. Your practice presentation can be easily developed online and you can create the various media such as letterheads, practice brochures etc. A comprehensive collection of designs, graphic motifs and around 50 different means of communication are available. The range of options is continuously growing. It allows all users to develop their own practice profile. 

stepps is available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. For its availability in  other countries please contact your local DENTSPLY Friadent representative for information. 

More Information on customer developping program stepps

Factsheet stepps (PDF, 535 KB)

Basic Press Release stepps (PDF, 528 KB)

Website stepps