Medical and Dental Demographics Analysis Report

Knowing Your Patients Is the Key to Success

Finding competitive locations for your practice is equal parts art and science. Learn how Demographic Data, Competitive Research, and Procedural Data can impact your success. We offer several report types depending on where you are in the process of locating and securing real estate for your practice.

Dentistry Competition Map from Demographics Report

Invest wisely in growth using Research and Data Solutions from Practice Real Estate Group

Finding the perfect location for your medical and dental practice starts with knowing the market. Before you jump into a property tour, you’ll first want a report of medical or dental statistics in your area. Oftentimes, this data is compiled into what’s commonly known as a Demographics Analysis Report. This report will include:

Area Income Demographics
Location Analysis
Area Population Demographics
Competition Analysis
Traffic Count Maps, and
Dentist to Population Ratio by Zip Code

Area Income Demographics

new york medical real estate map Area income demographics are an indicator of what kind of market you’re entering. For example, if you’re hoping to serve Medicaid clients, you’ll want to seek out lower-income areas than if you specialize in cosmetic dentistry or plastic surgery. (You can find more about who qualifies for Medicaid here.)

The three main Area Income markets are:

Medicaid
Mix of Medicaid and Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)
Mix of Fee for service and PPO

Area income targets are just that – targets or estimates – but overall, they can accurately predict client behavior.

This data can also help with marketing efforts, as you will want to target the exact population you want to serve instead of everyone in town. Using Area Income Demographics, you can select recipients for direct mail campaigns or craft a targeted marketing mix of newspaper and radio advertisements. Using Area Income Data, you can market your message where your ideal clients are likely to see it, whether it’s on a billboard or in the senior living section of a newspaper.

Site selection is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ when it comes to a demographics report. Any marketing company you hire or marketing strategy you craft in-house will lean on demographics to determine who to market to and how to market to them. Once you’ve determined who your audience is, you can decide which media platforms to use – direct mail, email marketing, or billboards. Finally, by knowing your client base through in-depth demographics data, you can test different messaging that resonates with them.

In summary, there are uses far beyond site selection for the demographics report. Demographics reports can also be used to guide your marketing efforts once you open practice.

Contact Our Dental & Medical Demographics Team

Location Analysis

Practice Real Estate Group’s Location Analysis examined the following data points for an orthodontist client in the one, three, and five-mile radii surrounding a specific site of interest:

Median household income
Population
Population 19 and Under
Population 14 and Under
General dentist locations
Pediatric dentist locations
Orthodontist locations
Population to General Dentist Ratio
Population to Pediatric Dentist and Orthodontist Ratios

This is merely a sample of the data we deliver when a general dentist, physician, or specialist partners with us. When determining a location, our Location Analysis Demographics provide multiple must-have data points to consider before selecting a specific location.

Medical Real Estate Demographic Information from Basic Site Report

Area Population Demographics

Area Population Demographics simply show the number of people living within a particular area. The analysis of this information is highly significant. The existing population and expected population growth of an area can impact its potential site as a location for a dental clinic. Furthermore, you’ll need to know if your site can sustain another doctor.

As with each section in a demographics report, you’ll want to keep all of the data in mind before making a decision. For example, while expected population growth is a factor (and generally a good sign), it’s not the biggest factor. If an area is already underserved but not showing growth, it may still be a good option.

Conversely, if an area boasts a large population but the ratios are still low, then it’s likely not a strong choice.

Corporate dental offices may open in saturated areas because of the strength of their brand. Smaller start-ups need to find areas with growth and a current population to sustain the office.

Competition Analysis

A Competition Analysis maps one, three, and five-mile radii also, but this time shows where similar practices are located in relation to a site of interest. Dots on this map will distinguish types of practices that may compete with yours. In addition, the section lists the exact practices that correspond to those dots on the map with their business names, addresses, and distance from the site.

Traffic Count Maps

Traffic counts refer to the actual number of cars passing by a space. Traffic count is incredibly important for retail tenants because it affects how many people drive by your signage each day. The idea is that the more you see something, the more likely you are to remember it. Brand marketing comes into play when there are more people sitting in traffic at a busy intersection near your retail location.

General dentists used to lease office building space because they wanted to offer a professional experience. However, when agents began breaking their clients into retail areas, their clients started seeing greater returns; simply put – they made more money. Now, the trend is more generalists in retail spaces.

Take a General Pharmacy, for example. They’re only at lighted intersections because when someone driving by needs something but doesn’t want to stop at the supermarket, the customer can pull in easily and quickly.

High car volume passing by a space doesn’t necessarily equal more clients unless there is signage. Tenants in office buildings don’t generally get signage on the building unless a large portion of the available space is leased. Retail spaces typically come with multiple signage options including:

A pylon monument, the sign at the front of a shopping center
Signage above the entrance to the space
Signage on the side of the building if the leased space is on an end cap and
‘Coming Soon’ and ‘Grand Opening’ banners

Again, the more times a passer-by sees a business sign, the more likely they will remember the location. An office building location with no signage is simply harder to discover.

The increase in visibility does impact rental rates, however. In general, the more visible an office space is, the more expensive it is. A tenant pays more to be in a premier retail spot with more visibility.

How do you choose the perfect mix of affordable and visible?

Not every type of doctor needs high visibility. A specialist who wants to focus on surgeries or implants doesn’t require as much visibility, because their customers typically come from referrals. However, signage is the number one referral for general dentists, whose customers come from word of mouth and insurance networks.