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Squat practice marketing · UK
Open with a waiting list, not an empty diary.
The most expensive weeks of a squat practice are the first ones — full costs, no patients. Start marketing six weeks before you open and you can be booked out for opening week instead of waiting for word to spread.
The expensive mistake
Almost every squat starts marketing too late.
The fit-out overruns, the CQC registration takes longer than expected, and marketing is the thing that gets pushed back because it feels like it can wait. It can't — the map listing alone takes weeks to establish, and a website published on opening day ranks for nothing.
You've committed to rent, equipment, staff and a loan. The difference between opening with 200 registered patients and opening with none is the difference between profitable in month four and profitable in month twelve.
- Website live on opening day, ranking for nothing
- Google Business Profile created the week you open, with no reviews
- No brand, so the sign goes up before anyone's decided what it should say
- Relying on the leaflet drop and hoping
- Discounting heavily in month one because the diary is empty, then being stuck with those prices
- Paying full costs for three months while word gets round
The countdown
Eight weeks out to opening day.
Brand & foundations
Name, logo and identity signed off so the sign maker and the printer can start. Domain and hosting set up.
Website live
Published early so it starts being found by Google. Prices, treatments, the team, and a registration form from day one.
Listing & local
Google Business Profile created and verified — this takes time and can't be rushed on opening week. Local directories.
Waiting list campaign
Meta and Google running a "we're opening" registration offer. Every sign-up goes into the CRM with an opening-week slot.
Full diary, then reviews
Opening week booked from the list, and a review system running from the first patient so you build social proof fast.
Why it works
A new practice has one advantage. Use it.
"We're opening" is genuinely interesting. It's news in a way that an established practice's advertising never is. People who'd scroll past a normal dental ad will stop for a new practice opening on their high street.
Registering costs the patient nothing. The ask is tiny — a name and a number for a practice that isn't open yet. That makes it the cheapest enquiry you'll ever generate.
The waiting list de-risks week one. You open into a booked diary rather than hoping. That changes how you price, because you're not discounting out of panic.
Reviews compound from day one. Start asking with the first patient and you'll have a credible profile by month two — which is when the map listing starts working.
The checklist
Everything that needs doing, and when.
Useful whether or not you work with us. Print it, work through it, and you'll avoid the three mistakes that cost squat practices the most.
| Task | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Practice name & domain secured | 12 weeks out | Check the name isn't already trading nearby, and buy the .co.uk before you print anything. |
| Brand & logo | 8 weeks out | Sign makers and printers need lead time. This is the dependency that holds everything else up. |
| Website live | 6 weeks out | Published early, even if some content is "coming soon". Indexing takes weeks. |
| Google Business Profile | 5 weeks out | Verification can involve a postcard and can take a fortnight. Start before you need it. |
| Phone number & call tracking | 5 weeks out | One number, used consistently everywhere. Changing it later damages local rankings. |
| Registration campaign live | 4 weeks out | Meta and Google. Registering costs the patient nothing, so cost per sign-up is very low. |
| CRM & instant response | 4 weeks out | Registrations need an immediate reply and a slot booked, or they go cold before you open. |
| Signage installed | 3 weeks out | Passing trade starts before you open. A "opening soon" window graphic works hard. |
| Photography & video | 2 weeks out | Once the fit-out is finished and before it's occupied. You only get this window once. |
| Opening week diary filled | 1 week out | Work the registration list by phone. This is what the previous seven weeks were for. |
| Review system running | Day one | Ask from the very first patient. Reviews are the slowest asset to build, so start immediately. |
| Google Maps ranking ongoing | Month 1 onward | Area pages, treatment pages and content. Paid ads carry you while this builds. |
Before & after
A squat launch.
Prices
The launch package, published.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Launch package — brand & websiteLogo and core identity plus an Essential website, live six weeks before opening. The usual starting point. Saves — against buying separately. | Quoteone-off |
| Waiting list campaignGoogle and Meta registration campaign, campaign page, CRM and instant response. Run for the six weeks before you open. Minimum ad spend £500/month. | Quotefor the launch |
| Google Business Profile setupCreated, verified and populated, plus local directory listings. Start this five weeks out. | Quoteone-off |
| Photography & videoA half day once the fit-out is finished. Practice, surgeries and team — you only get this window once. | Quoteper shoot |
| Signage & print artworkFascia, window graphics, cards and a launch leaflet, supplied to your suppliers' specifications. | Quoteone-off |
| Ongoing from month oneGoogle Maps ranking and paid ads to carry you while the rankings build. Cancel any time with 30 days' notice. | Quoteper month |
Straight answers
Questions from squat owners.
How early is too early?
You can't really be too early with the brand, domain and website. The paid campaign is different — start the waiting list more than eight weeks out and people forget by the time you open. Six to four weeks is the sweet spot.
We're not CQC registered yet. Can we advertise?
You can market an opening and take registrations, but be careful how it's worded — don't imply you're currently providing treatment. We'd word the campaign around registering interest, and your compliance adviser should see it before it runs.
Should we discount to fill the diary?
We'd rather you didn't. Opening prices become your prices, and patients acquired on a discount are the hardest to keep when it ends. A free consultation or a registration offer fills the diary without setting a low anchor.
NHS or private?
If you have an NHS contract the diary fills itself and marketing is about the private side from day one. If you're fully private, the launch campaign matters far more and so does the brand.
What if the opening date slips?
It usually does. We build the campaign so dates can move without wasting spend, and we'd rather push a week than open into a diary you can't service.
We're opening a second site, not a first.
Then a lot of this still applies, but the catchment overlap matters too — see groups and multi-site.
Next step
Tell us your opening date.
We'll work backwards from it and send you a week-by-week plan — what needs doing, when, and what it costs. Free, and useful whether or not we do the work.
Opening a squat practice?
The earlier you talk to us the cheaper it is. Six weeks before opening is late.
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