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Hi everyone,

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and thank you for tuning in to the
Becker's Healthcare podcast series.

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I'm Ryan Muhammad with
Becker's Hospital Review.

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Today I am pleased to be
joined by Mallory Littleton,

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group account manager at Clear,

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who will discuss building a scalable and
successful membership plan for your D S

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l. Mallory, thank you so much for
being here today. How are you?

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I am well. Thanks so much for
having me. I'm excited to be, uh,

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be doing this for you.

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Yes, and I'm very excited that
you're here today. Um, to begin,

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would you mind introducing yourself
and sharing a bit about your role?

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Sure. Uh, so like she, like you said,
my name is Mallory. Um, I work at Clear,

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we are a membership plan platform.
Um, and so I, my specific role,

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um, you know, I support large
enterprises from coast to coast.

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I deal with practices, had anywhere
from five to 14 locations. Um,

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and I help them basically grow their
membership plans. You know, um, one of my,

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the big things is that I take a
personal interest in your practice,

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even if they are part of a larger
group. Um, and like I said,

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I'm setting them up for success,

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making sure they continue to be
successful year over year. Um,

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so I'm pretty passionate about
making sure that everyone is,

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feels comfortable about their plans and
they know exactly what they're doing,

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what they're walking into. Um, so
yeah, it's a little bit about me.

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Perfect. Thank you so much
for that, uh, introduction.

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And the first thing that
I wanted to, you know,

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have a conversation with you about is
lack of dental coverage contributes to one

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in four adults delaying or foregoing
dental care altogether. Uh, which,

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you know, for you,

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me and a lot of other people is a major
concern for practices trying to attract

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new patients, improve health out
outcomes and dry revenue. Um,

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how are you seeing leaders in
the field address this issue?

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Uh, great question.

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So one of the things that I've really
started noticing is that practices are

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creating cultures, right?

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It's not just enough to have a dentist
and some nice people at the front desk,

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right? Like they're evolving,
they're creating brands. Um,

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they're almost making it an experience
for patients. Um, you know, and,

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and the thing is, is that
patients have options.

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Like they have to make them choose
theirs. Another thing, you know,

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aside from creating cultures is
they're really starting to invest, uh,

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in technological advances, right? We're
thinking outside of the box, we're off,

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you know, I've seen a lot of
practices offering cosmetic Botox, um,

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genetic testing, um, you know, all
these new whitening advances. So, uh,

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having this cool stuff that people are
attracted to, um, is a huge thing. Um,

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and then last but not least, you know,
implementing a membership plan. Uh,

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that's, you know,

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the simplest way to get patients in
the door and keep them there. Um,

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and like you said, you know,

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one in four adults are delaying or
foregoing that care altogether. Um,

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and all of our market research, you know,

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we found that almost 90% of the
uninsured patients that we surveyed on a

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national level, they showed some
level of desire for coverage, right?

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But they get bogged down with the options
and the insurance mumbo jumbo. Um,

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but membership plans, they're
providing something fresh. It's new,

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it looks and feels like insurance, and
it really reduces the obstacle, uh,

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the obstacles, I should say to
dental care, right? It's affordable,

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it's attainable, it's easy to understand.
Um, so when you think about it,

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membership plans really are the perfect
solution to attract new patients, um,

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drive revenue and make sure that
they're improving their oral health.

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Absolutely. Thank you so much
for that insight. And you know,

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just as you were saying, and
something I just learned, um,

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is that in-house dental plans are
on the rise. And actually, um,

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a 2021 a d a survey indicated a
quarter of dentists nationwide

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are offering membership plans, which
is something very interesting. Um,

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what aspects of in-house membership
plans are appealing to both practices and

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patients? Uh, for you,

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how would you characterize the difference
between membership plans and other

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plan types, like third
party discount plans?

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And why are these discrepancies important?

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Uh, no, that's, uh, it's, it's, it's
so true. Everything you just asked, um,

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more than happy to chat
about, cuz obviously I'm
very passionate about it. So,

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um, you know, one of the aspects I,
with in-house membership plans, right?

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It is a mutually beneficial entity,
if you will, right? You know,

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one of the main, um, you know,

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the way it reason it appeals to both
practices and patients is because it's

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guaranteed coverage for the patient
and it's a guaranteed patient for the

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practice, right? It's a 12 month
plan, all your bases are covered, um,

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all the preventative care is included,

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and then anything out of hi outside of
hygiene, right? That comes at a discount,

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they know what the discount is. Um,

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your membership plans aren't picking
and choosing what they receive. Um,

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I'm sure every dental practice office
has heard somebody turned down X-rays at

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least three times a day. Um, also,
these patients aren't only coming in,

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you know, for an emergency exam. Um, a
lot of times patients come in and get,

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you know, whatever's
hurt, they get it fixed,

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and then you never know if
they're coming back, right? Um,

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with that guaranteed coverage,
uh, there's, you know,

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with a platform like Clear,
we manage automatic renewals,

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which means there's no lapse in
coverage for that patient. Um,

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so patients get the
care they need and want.

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Dentists are happy because
they're driving revenue,

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they're filling the schedule.
So it's really a win-win. Um,

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another aspect it's appealing to
both practices and patients is the

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accessibility. We are reducing barriers
for these uninsured patients, right?

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It's budget friendly, it's transparent.
What you see is what you get. You know,

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you're not getting any hidden fees
or surprise bills from insurance.

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No one likes that. Um, and it's
simple to understand, right?

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Like insurance is designed
to be confusing. We are
trying to erase that, right?

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This is supposed to be easy for
you to manage as a patient. Um,

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and then it's also easy for the practice
to talk about. Um, and then, uh,

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you know,

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another aspect that's really appealing
to both practices and patients is, um,

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it generates this
loyalty and trust, right?

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It's not designed or
controlled by some third party.

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You gotta wait six hours to talk to
somebody if you've got an issue on the

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phone. Um, no one's telling the patient
what they can and can't receive,

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and no one's telling the dentist what
they, what they can offer their patient.

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Um, there's no maximums
and waiting periods, uh,
deductibles, none of that. Um,

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and again, partnering with someone like
Clear, you know, our platform provides,

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um, patient and dentist portals, right?
So both parties can manage their plan.

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It's adding structure, it's formal, it's,
you know, adding some formality to it.

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And it's honestly just a peace of mind.
You know, the patients feel special. Um,

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you know, they feel, and the practice can
feel good about what they're offering,

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but the difference between like membership
plans and third party discount plans

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and, you know, there are
definitely some differences, um,

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and both can be beneficial. Um, but one
of the, the biggest differences is like,

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if you think about
membership plans, you know,

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we commonly think of as a normal consumer,

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maybe Netflix or like your gym membership,
but membership plans and dental care,

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like, it's a fairly new concept to like
a lot of consumers and even practices,

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right? So it is important to know the
differences. With a membership plan,

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you think about it, it's a monthly or
annual fee, and that entitles you as the,

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you know, a patient or a consumer to
specific benefits. So in dental care,

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for example, in a membership plan,

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it's all the preventative care hygiene
that that patient would need for a full

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year. And then you get access to
additional savings like fillings, crowns,

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so on and so forth. Um,

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membership plans change consumer
behavior entirely, right?

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They become loyal to your practice. Um,

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it's easy for that patient to
manage and budget their costs. Um,

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their benefits start immediately.
They don't have waiting periods,

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delays for treatment.

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They know exactly what they're getting
and they're almost guaranteed to come in

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two times a year for a
routine hygiene visit.

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They're committed
because they paid for it.

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They know exactly what
they're getting, right? Uh,

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and then they're two to three times more
likely to accept the treatment because

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they trust the doctor's care,

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they trust their guidance and the plans
were designed specifically for them,

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right? Um, not to mention, you
know, with a membership plan,

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dentists have direct say and control
over the structure and pricing.

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We're using their fee schedule
to design the plans. Um,

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they've determined what's discounted
and what they want their patients to

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receive. No one's telling the patient
what they can or can't do. Um, you know,

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on our platform you can
design multiple plans.

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Are we focusing on senior citizens? Are
we focused on focusing on pediatrics?

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Um, not to mention, you
know, with a membership plan,

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those payments go directly to the dentist.

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There's no third party
middle man collecting half
the fees or telling you what

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you can and can't, you
know, collect or claim. Um,

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and then at the end of the day,
you're not dealing with claims delays,

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paperwork. Um, there's none of that red
tape in the way. Now, on the flip side,

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you have a third party discount plan. Um,

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the best way to think of the
difference is kind of like a Costco,

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like a membership card or
like a BJ's, a Sam's Club.

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So you're gonna pay an
upfront annual fee, right?

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Simply you get access to discounts. So
say you pay $200 for a discount plan,

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that fee doesn't even go to the
practice or the dentist, right?

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It goes to a plan administrator. So the
doctor doesn't even see that money. Um,

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no hygiene is typically
included in that price, right?

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It just means they get
access to discounts.

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So nothing is driving
that patient in the door.

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It's a matter of if or when
they even come in. Typically,

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patients are using it for
one-off treatment, um,

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which honestly is no different than
how your current uninsured patients are

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behaving. Um, patients are not loyal to
your practice where the discount plan,

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they are loyal to the discount because
they can shop around from a network of

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dentists versus a membership plan where
they're loyal to your specific practice.

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Um, you know, as the dentist,

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you have zero control
over plan pricing design,

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everything's controlled by a
third party, right? And again,

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you only make money if and when the
patient comes in, which is again,

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no guarantee. So at the end of the day,

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like discount plans and membership plans,

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of course they both make
dental care affordable. Um,

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but it comes down to what you, you
as a practice or the dentist wants,

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like long term, right? Again,

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discount plans don't generate the
loyalty and the compliance you need,

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like for a steady stream of revenue year
over year. And discount plans again,

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aren't mutually beneficial. The patient
benefits cuz they get a discount,

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but what do you get out of it as a,
as a, you know, a practice, headaches,

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lost money, lost time. Um, so just at
the end of the day, you gotta decide,

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you know, what are the long-term
results that you're looking for.

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Amazing, amazing answers. Thank you so
much for giving us that explanation.

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And you touched on it a bit, um, but
I wanted to ask you, uh, specifically,

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what are the benefits to dental practices
in implementing a membership plan,

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um, in terms of cost operations,
uh, patient care satisfaction,

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all of those, and what
are the key indicators of,

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of a high performing membership
plan? Um, in, in answering that,

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do you have any success stories
or examples you can share?

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Oh, yeah, absolutely. Um, so in regards
to your first question, you know,

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about like the benefits of
implementing a membership plan, um,

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from an operational standpoint,
implementing a platform, um,

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like clear for a membership plan automates
most of the administrative burden,

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which is most of the time why
people come to us, right? You know,

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um, with Clear, you
know, you have a portal,

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it allows you to automate a lot of your
processes, right? So you're inviting,

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enrolling, and managing your patients.
Um, we handle the payments for you,

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you collect the money, you can
view and track plan metrics.

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You have real life and real-time
visibility and flexibility. Um,

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there's the auto-renew management.

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It just makes life easier on your team
from an operational standpoint. Um,

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in terms of, you know,

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having a membership plan in place allows
your teams to focus on actual patient

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care.

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They're not fighting with insurance and
dealing with claims for hours on the

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phone. Like, I, I talk to practices
all the time and, you know,

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I call to talk to an office
manager and they're like, oh,

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she's been on the phone for two hours
talking with such and such insurance.

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I'm like, oh my gosh, I feel
terrible for her. Um, but you know,

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now they have an alternative to
offer to your uninsured patients,

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whereas before they probably were
turning patients away. Um, you know,

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and in terms of costs,

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they're doubling their revenue from
existing uninsured patients and they can

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attract new patients with the plans
they designed. You know, and from also,

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you know, a patient's standpoint, they
genuinely love these plans and, you know,

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it really takes the guesswork out
of their oral health. Um, in fact,

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I often hear feedback from my practices
that their patients say, you know,

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I wish my regular healthcare
was this simple to manage. Um,

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and not to mention it, it
sounds silly, but like,

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they're excited to get the treatment
done, right? They trust their doctors,

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they know where their money is
going, they don't feel scammed,

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and they're not gonna get surprised by
some thousand dollars bill that's gonna

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show up in the mail when
insurance said one thing,

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but then it ended up being
another. Um, you know,

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and when it comes to like high
performing membership plans, um,

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I definitely have a, uh, uh, an example
I'll show you. But one of the things,

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you know, once you do implement
a membership plan, one of the,

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they're three indicators that I
think are really important, um,

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and that kind of really show how a plan
is performing. So treatment acceptance,

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right? You know,

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we consistently gather real life data
from our practices at their practice

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management systems. So,

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and it consist led data consistently
proves that clear patients accept

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00:13:05,220 --> 00:13:09,920
2.5 times more treatment compared to
their uninsured counterparts over the

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course of 12 months.

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Whereas before those patients were
probably coming in maybe once every two

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years, if you're lucky, right? Um,
production-wise, typically we see, um,

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that clear patients produce about
a thousand dollars annually,

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whereas their fee for
service, so they're just,

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their uninsured counterparts
are producing about $400.

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So just in that statement alone, if you
have a high treatment acceptance, um,

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that is a very, that is a good
indicator of a really good, you know,

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high performing membership plan. Um,

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another indicator would be patient
retention. Um, high renewal rates,

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if these patients are continuing
to come back year over year,

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you know that those patients
are satisfied, right?

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And then it allows your team to focus
on bringing in new patients. Um,

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another with patient retention is
a low cancellation rate. So, um,

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with membership plans, they are a
12 month commitment. Um, patients,

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if you have a low cancellation rate,

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that means that your patients
are completing their 12
month commitment, right?

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They see the value of the plans and they
know that their benefits are contingent

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on being on the plan for 12 months. Um,

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high renewal rate and a low cancellation
rate is literally all comes down to a

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00:14:19,250 --> 00:14:22,610
team that is properly
educating the patient. Um,

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if the team isn't communicating that
information to them, it's gonna be,

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it's gonna be a struggle. Um,

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so it definitely comes down to team
buy-in and that sort of thing. Um,

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leading me into that would be team
engagement, right? So you have,

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if you have a trained and confident team,

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and I don't just mean the front office,
I'm talking hygienist assistants,

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your dentist, it's a shared
responsibility, right?

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It doesn't just fall on the
backs of one, one department. Um,

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if they view this as just another
project or an initiative and they don't

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really see the long-term benefits of
these plans, it's not gonna be successful.

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00:14:57,090 --> 00:15:00,840
Plain and simple. Um, you know, we're not
just handing out brochures. We're not,

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if somebody, if they ask
for it, we'll talk about it.

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Like they're talking to every single
cash patient that walks in the door,

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they're spending time with the patient,
they're educating the patients, and it,

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you know, as cheesy as it sounds,
they're excited about it, right? Um,

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another thing that you know,

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is a really good indicator of a high
performing plan is having a planned

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champion. We see that a lot of times
in an office, there'll be one person,

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00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,760
whether that's the office manager or
someone else who really owns the clear

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00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:31,680
process, right? They're motivating the
team, they're setting goals for the team,

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00:15:32,030 --> 00:15:36,760
they create incentives. Um, so that
is a huge part of it. Like I said,

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team engagement, really,
if you don't have that,

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it's gonna be difficult to get to the
other two. Um, and with a platform,

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you know, with Clear,

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you do get a dedicated and a passionate
account manager like myself, um,

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who does have a vested interest
in your team's success. Um,

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00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:55,960
whether that's through onboarding,
training, consistent outreach, um,

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strategic growth support,
whatever you might need, um,

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we are here for you from
here till forever. It's not
just a a one month thing.

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00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:03,840
And then we're, we're done with you.

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00:16:04,420 --> 00:16:08,320
I'd love to share a actually a
recent success story. So, um,

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00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:12,760
currently I am working with a six
location group, um, in the Midwest. Uh,

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00:16:12,820 --> 00:16:17,360
and they are looking to expand to about
10 locations by the end of the year. Um,

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they had a, an in-house plan in place.

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00:16:19,860 --> 00:16:22,320
It was just something that they
were managing on their own. Um,

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00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,600
and it just became unmanageable.
Um, at the end of the day,

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00:16:25,620 --> 00:16:29,880
it was a huge administrative burden,
and it also came down to the teams.

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00:16:30,220 --> 00:16:32,280
The teams are doing okay, right?
Like they had a, you know,

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00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:33,960
a decent amount of patience on the plans,

296
00:16:34,460 --> 00:16:36,800
but they didn't really know how
to educate their patients, right?

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00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:38,520
They were just kind of handing
their brochure and be like, oh,

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00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:42,040
look at this money you can save. The
patients didn't really get it, um,

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00:16:42,140 --> 00:16:45,680
or what they could use them for.
So, um, additionally, you know,

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00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:48,800
these plans are supposed to be in place
for, you know, 12 months. But if a,

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00:16:48,820 --> 00:16:49,120
you know,

302
00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:52,560
say somebody came in today for their
preventative care or hygiene visit rather,

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00:16:53,660 --> 00:16:57,320
and they came in 18 months later
for their second hygiene visit, um,

304
00:16:57,750 --> 00:17:01,120
they would just give the, they would
just honor the plan, right? So now the,

305
00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,960
now the plan has been on, you know, the
patient's been on a plan for 18 months,

306
00:17:04,540 --> 00:17:06,360
um, and it really doesn't
make any sense, right?

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00:17:06,380 --> 00:17:08,560
And so they'd come in at 18
months or whenever it was,

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00:17:08,580 --> 00:17:11,360
and that's when they'd renew.
So there was no consistency,

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00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:15,800
a lot of missed opportunity in terms of
treatment, um, production collections,

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oral health, you know, for the
patient side of things. Um,

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00:17:18,700 --> 00:17:23,200
but we've transitioned them over to
clear. Um, they are extremely happy, uh,

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00:17:23,230 --> 00:17:26,800
with the rollout thus far,
so in less than 90 days. Um,

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00:17:26,900 --> 00:17:28,520
as of right now I'm looking at them,

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00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:32,240
they have 165 active patients
in less than 90 days. Um,

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00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:34,520
it's a good mix of not just new patients,

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00:17:34,540 --> 00:17:36,680
but those who were on that previous plan,

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00:17:36,870 --> 00:17:40,920
they're walking back in the door due to
that heavy marketing and promotion of

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00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:44,280
this new and improved plan.
Um, and the teams are engaged.

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00:17:44,310 --> 00:17:46,120
It's almost like they've
been like, you know,

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00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:49,880
a fire's been lit under them because
they had this new plan to offer. So, uh,

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00:17:49,940 --> 00:17:54,040
it, it's kind of been like this perfect
synergy, as cheesy as that sounds. Um,

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00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:58,450
and it, it's really worked out and I'm,
I'm really excited for their growth. Um,

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00:17:58,590 --> 00:17:59,570
any questions about that?

324
00:18:00,550 --> 00:18:01,890
No, no, no questions.

325
00:18:02,110 --> 00:18:06,210
And you gave some really good
insight and a lot of benefits,

326
00:18:06,210 --> 00:18:10,730
which I think could be beneficial
for people to hear. Um, and, and to,

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00:18:10,950 --> 00:18:13,370
you know, the audience listening in, I,

328
00:18:13,450 --> 00:18:16,210
I bet people are wondering
on how to do that, <laugh>.

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00:18:16,590 --> 00:18:18,450
So my next question for you is,

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00:18:18,750 --> 00:18:23,290
how can dental practices
begin to implement their own
membership plans for you?

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00:18:23,470 --> 00:18:26,130
Can you give us the best first step? Um,

332
00:18:26,270 --> 00:18:31,170
and what factors or best practices should
dental leaders consider when starting

333
00:18:31,170 --> 00:18:35,450
this journey? Um, whether it is in
regards to structuring, pricing,

334
00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:38,690
marketing, the patient,
onboarding, any of that?

335
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,530
Yeah. Uh, great question.
So in my opinion,

336
00:18:42,890 --> 00:18:47,810
I think the best first step is to
figure out what your goal is with a

337
00:18:47,810 --> 00:18:52,370
membership plan, a k a, what's your
focus? Are we attracting new patients?

338
00:18:52,430 --> 00:18:53,850
Are we just trying to fill the schedule?

339
00:18:53,990 --> 00:18:57,050
Are we trying to increase
treatment acceptance?

340
00:18:57,190 --> 00:18:59,850
Are we trying to get dormant
patients door? Whatever it is,

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00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:03,930
once you know your why, um, and
then say you meet with, you know,

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00:19:03,930 --> 00:19:06,890
one of our group, um,
our sales managers. Um,

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00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:09,490
once you go through that process
and you understand your why,

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00:19:09,490 --> 00:19:13,010
implementing clear is super easy.
Um, you know, like I said, you,

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00:19:13,030 --> 00:19:15,610
you transition and then you end up
working with like an account manager,

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00:19:15,610 --> 00:19:17,490
like I said, much like myself, um,

347
00:19:17,510 --> 00:19:21,770
who truly takes what you want and
what your focus is into consideration.

348
00:19:21,790 --> 00:19:24,690
So when it comes to pricing, the
structure, the rollout, et cetera,

349
00:19:24,830 --> 00:19:29,690
we are taking what you want and making
it happen. Um, and typically, you know,

350
00:19:29,690 --> 00:19:33,610
we see practices up and running in about
two to three weeks from that point. Um,

351
00:19:33,950 --> 00:19:36,850
you know, as far as,
you know, factors, uh,

352
00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:40,730
that can help in starting
with that journey, that
journey, like, like you said,

353
00:19:40,930 --> 00:19:42,890
structuring, pricing, marketing, um,

354
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,530
when it comes to structuring
your care plans, um,

355
00:19:45,530 --> 00:19:48,650
that's what we call 'em here
as at clear as care plans. Um,

356
00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:50,970
your plans can and will be
customized, like I said,

357
00:19:50,970 --> 00:19:54,890
based on your ultimate goals. It's
not a one size fits all. Um, you know,

358
00:19:54,890 --> 00:19:57,450
you gotta think about your demographics,
right? Who are we catering to?

359
00:19:57,470 --> 00:20:01,930
Is it senior citizens? Is it families?
Um, is it a pediatric practice?

360
00:20:02,430 --> 00:20:05,490
Uh, also look at the location,
right? Are we in a low income area?

361
00:20:05,590 --> 00:20:09,450
Are we in a highly affluent area? Are
we in the suburbs versus the city?

362
00:20:10,390 --> 00:20:14,370
Um, and eventually that's
gonna determine what, you know,

363
00:20:14,370 --> 00:20:16,850
your hygiene and and treatment
protocols are. Like, again, what,

364
00:20:16,850 --> 00:20:20,130
which can be different for every
office if you've got a group. Um,

365
00:20:20,430 --> 00:20:22,610
so it really come, that's how you
can structure your plans, right?

366
00:20:22,610 --> 00:20:26,370
Like figuring out your why, and then
who are we, who are we appealing to? Uh,

367
00:20:26,370 --> 00:20:29,850
when it comes to pricing, you know,
once you've identified your demographic,

368
00:20:29,850 --> 00:20:32,650
obviously that's gonna really
determine your price and the, you know,

369
00:20:32,650 --> 00:20:37,210
the of the plans. Um, when you partner
with someone like Claire, you know,

370
00:20:37,210 --> 00:20:40,050
you ultimately have control
over your plans. Um,

371
00:20:40,630 --> 00:20:43,450
we will guide you and we
will give you, you know,

372
00:20:44,010 --> 00:20:48,040
research-based recommendations to
set you up for long-term success. Um,

373
00:20:48,580 --> 00:20:50,280
if you don't succeed, we don't succeed.

374
00:20:50,420 --> 00:20:53,800
So there's always a balance to make sure
there's incentive for the patient to

375
00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:58,600
sign up, but also making sure that like
your practice is profitable as well. Um,

376
00:20:58,660 --> 00:21:02,520
you know, when it comes to marketing,
you know, once you get rolled out, um,

377
00:21:03,020 --> 00:21:07,680
my biggest advice as far as marketing
goes is don't make assumptions about your

378
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,680
patient base, right? And
have a plan to promote. Um,

379
00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,640
when you're starting this journey, it
can seem a little overwhelming. Um,

380
00:21:13,780 --> 00:21:17,720
but the easiest way to do it is to
promote it to your entire patient base.

381
00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:21,520
And I don't just mean your cash patients,
I mean even your insured patients. Um,

382
00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:25,400
I hear it more often than not that
patients get referrals from their insured

383
00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:27,920
patients, their mom, their
neighbor, their friend.

384
00:21:27,950 --> 00:21:32,040
They might not have insurance, but
they got an email and they said, oh,

385
00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:32,660
you know what?

386
00:21:32,660 --> 00:21:35,520
My dentist has this great membership
plan for honest your patients.

387
00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:40,130
Why don't you go there? It's a
no-brainer. Not to mention it's 2023. Um,

388
00:21:40,190 --> 00:21:40,850
as we all know,

389
00:21:40,850 --> 00:21:45,290
employment and coverages are a constant
revolving door for a lot of Americans.

390
00:21:45,950 --> 00:21:48,770
If they've lost their coverage,
they might be like, oh man,

391
00:21:48,850 --> 00:21:52,570
I can't go to the dentist. Now, they may
never come back to you, but say they,

392
00:21:52,830 --> 00:21:55,410
you sent on an email six
months ago saying, Hey,

393
00:21:55,410 --> 00:21:58,170
we have this new membership plan.
You've gotta retain patient.

394
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,130
They could j choose to jump on your
membership plan even if they don't have

395
00:22:01,330 --> 00:22:03,170
coverage anymore. Not
to mention, you know,

396
00:22:03,250 --> 00:22:05,370
patients who are approaching
retirement, right?

397
00:22:05,370 --> 00:22:08,690
They're considering every single
option. They might not want it now,

398
00:22:08,710 --> 00:22:10,850
but they might want it in six months. Um,

399
00:22:10,850 --> 00:22:12,930
your dormant patients
are enticed to come back,

400
00:22:13,070 --> 00:22:15,730
or that patient who needs
$10,000 worth of work,

401
00:22:15,730 --> 00:22:18,970
they may end up scheduling
that appointment finally.
So, like I said, don't as,

402
00:22:18,970 --> 00:22:22,410
don't make assumptions and don't assume
patients don't want something like this

403
00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:24,210
just because they haven't asked for it.

404
00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:27,490
They don't know like what
they don't know. Um, you know,

405
00:22:27,490 --> 00:22:31,050
and one of the things that Clear
provides when you partner with us is, uh,

406
00:22:31,210 --> 00:22:34,090
a plethora of marketing
resources, right? So, um,

407
00:22:34,090 --> 00:22:37,650
it allows you to segment your demographics
and we give you like fun and easy

408
00:22:37,890 --> 00:22:41,650
creative ways to do it. Um, we essentially
take the guesswork out of it for you.

409
00:22:41,870 --> 00:22:42,490
So you know,

410
00:22:42,490 --> 00:22:45,650
internally you've got your typical
things like posters and brochures,

411
00:22:45,650 --> 00:22:49,930
that sort of thing. But we also provide
email templates, text messages, flyers,

412
00:22:49,930 --> 00:22:53,610
social media. Um, our creative team
and our marketing team is phenomenal.

413
00:22:53,910 --> 00:22:57,090
We have, um, really cool
seasonal pieces, you know,

414
00:22:57,370 --> 00:23:01,690
material geared towards open enrollment,
your end of year reminders, retirees,

415
00:23:01,940 --> 00:23:06,530
pediatrics. It really allows you to
cross promote as you see fit. Um,

416
00:23:06,670 --> 00:23:10,690
we also offer, um, employer
care, which is basically, um,

417
00:23:10,690 --> 00:23:14,650
it allows local small businesses to offer
membership plan as a dental benefit.

418
00:23:15,070 --> 00:23:18,250
So something like that is really
helpful when it comes to marketing.

419
00:23:18,710 --> 00:23:21,690
And then I would say, you know, when
it comes to like, patient onboarding,

420
00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:23,650
your team is your walking billboard,

421
00:23:23,690 --> 00:23:25,330
I think I've said it three
times on this podcast,

422
00:23:25,630 --> 00:23:29,170
but if they're not excited about it,
the patients won't be excited about it.

423
00:23:29,170 --> 00:23:32,090
And I know it sounds kind of
silly, but it's true, right? Like,

424
00:23:32,430 --> 00:23:34,610
if your entire team
isn't pumped about this,

425
00:23:35,030 --> 00:23:38,650
it will show and it's gonna be a
struggle. So patient education is huge.

426
00:23:38,790 --> 00:23:42,490
Making sure the team is
engaged in understanding how
to educate those patients,

427
00:23:42,790 --> 00:23:44,130
um, it all goes hand in hand.

428
00:23:45,650 --> 00:23:49,600
Thank you so much for that answer.
And Mallory, before I let you go,

429
00:23:50,060 --> 00:23:54,640
the last thing I wanted to ask you is,
where can our listeners go to learn more?

430
00:23:54,860 --> 00:23:57,560
And do you have any final thoughts
to share with the listeners?

431
00:23:58,190 --> 00:23:59,760
Sure. So, um,

432
00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:03,600
patients or any listeners I
should say can go to clear kl,

433
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:08,440
e e r.dental/becker 23,

434
00:24:08,700 --> 00:24:13,320
and they can click there or go there to
learn more. Um, and as far as, you know,

435
00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:15,840
final thoughts, you know,
implementing a membership plan,

436
00:24:16,310 --> 00:24:20,760
frankly is the first step to your freedom
from insurance agencies. Um, or sure.

437
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:22,040
Insurance companies rather, you know,

438
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:26,120
I think we all got into this industry
with the purpose of wanting to help

439
00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:30,280
others, right? This is your business
as a, as a dentist or an owner, right?

440
00:24:30,710 --> 00:24:34,400
Take back control not only for your sake,
but for your patients. And you know,

441
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:38,200
when you do partner with someone like
Clear, we're not just a software company.

442
00:24:38,270 --> 00:24:42,760
Like you actually have a real, real live
success team behind you. Like I said,

443
00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:46,440
like myself, my colleagues, um, I
pick up the phone, you're not having,

444
00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:49,240
there's no robots, you're
not being passed along. Um,

445
00:24:49,260 --> 00:24:52,120
and we generally do wanna see your
practice grow and be successful.

446
00:24:53,170 --> 00:24:55,100
Wonderful. Thank you so much Mallory,

447
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,580
for your time and a great discussion
today. We truly do appreciate it.

448
00:24:58,650 --> 00:25:00,540
Yeah. Thank you so much for
having me. It's been a pleasure.

449
00:25:01,190 --> 00:25:05,360
Wonderful. And I'd also like to thank
Clear as well for sponsoring this episode.

450
00:25:05,820 --> 00:25:09,680
You can also tune into more podcasts
from Becker's Healthcare by visiting our

451
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,520
podcast page. And again,
thank you so much, Mallory.

452
00:25:12,730 --> 00:25:13,960
Thank you. Appreciate it.