03.06.10
Posted in Dental Marketing Plan, Dental Marketing Tips, Direct Mail Dental Marketing at 2:56 am by amdco
There are seven steps, which must be completed correctly for any dentistry marketing strategy to be a success. Let’s illustrate this with a direct mail campaign.
Bear in mind that these principles are equally applicable to other strategies.
Your first step is to identify your objectives. There are two general objectives that are appropriate for the dental office. The first is to increase the volume of new patients. For example, if your office generates an average of 40 new patients per month and, based on your available capacity and other considerations, you could comfortably absorb an additional 50 percent per month your objective might be written: “Increase the number of new patients by an average of 20 per month.” We use “average” to emphasize that the actual increase will probably vary from month to month. It is the average increase over time that should be the relevant measure.
The second objective is a change in the composition of your patient base. For instance, you may want to change the patient ‘mix’ from 60 percent fee-for-service and 40 percent insurance-based to 30 percent and 70 percent respectively. Or you may want to attract more patients desiring a specific procedure, e.g. cosmetic or implants.
Whichever objective you choose, you’ll want to make it as specific as possible, and commit it to writing because, when you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there.
Stay tuned for your next step to success!
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02.08.10
Posted in Dental Marketing Tips, Uncategorized at 12:40 am by amdco
“White Noise” is the bane of effective marketing (I would, however, qualify that by saying “No Noise” is far worse).
For instance, if your practice is blessed with a great storefront location on a heavily traveled street, do not automatically assume that people know you’re there.
There is a part of the brain called the reticular activating system, whose sole function is to filter out stimuli that would otherwise so overload our consciousness as to render us incapable of distinguishing between what is important, and what is not.
Estimates are that the average American is exposed to THIRTY THOUSAND ADVERTISEMENTS PER DAY!
For years, I drove by a tire store and car wash without ever realizing it was there. One evening, my attention was drawn to it by a strobe light they’d placed at the front of the store. That got my attention.
Of course, as dental professionals, we must balance the need to get noticed with an equivalent need to communicate as caring, confident professionals. So maybe the idea of a strobe light is a bit beyond the pale. But, changing the color that illuminates your sign is not.
The challenge for practices that may not be blessed with so much drive by traffic is to consider how to apply these principles to its other outreach tactics e.g. an annual party with a different theme (like my friend Brad Engle does with his practice in Naples, FL) or an ad whose frame looks the same, but the offer and other content vary just enough to make readers want to take a look (think about those Vonage TV commercials and you’ll get the picture).
So take a look around the interior and exterior of your practice and see how and whether a simple rearrangement of displays, posters, updating your video education materials, etc. could help patients sit up and take notice. It’s one of the lowest cost forms of marketing there is, and can pay big dividends.
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02.06.10
Posted in Dental Marketing Tips, Direct Mail Dental Marketing at 2:54 am by amdco
We’re finding a good ‘hook’ to use in attracting new patients is to remind them how long it’s been since they’ve seen a dentist (not their dentist as we want to keep who they next see an open question).
We’re also finding success by breaking down the cost of a semi-annual checkup and cleaning ‘to the ridiculous’ as in mailing a piece showing a monthly budget that includes such “necessities” as: bowling with the guys, pedicures, cable t.v., pizza night, etc., then adding at the bottom of the budget your cost for a semiannual cleaning and check up divided by six months e.g. $204/6 = $34.
The Free White Smile Club offer is not pulling as was hoped, by the way.
db
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01.25.10
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:51 pm by amdco
Excerpt from Noah Levine’s Article with comments by Daniel Bobrow:
Searches for a dentist that include the term ‘review’ are being conducted nearly as frequently as just the name and location of the dentist, so these review sites are clearly a force to be reckoned with,” said Daniel A. Bobrow, MBA, president of American Dental Marketing.
Watching yourself online
“These alerts, while not perfect, are a convenient way to keep up to date on what is being posted…”
—Danny Bobrow
Bobrow recommends that his clients set up Google Alerts, a free service that sends them an e-mail whenever keywords such as the practice’s or the doctor’s name appears in news articles or recently posted online reviews. “These alerts, while not perfect, are a convenient way to keep up to date on what is being posted, which is especially important if a patient posts a negative review,” he said.
Most review sites will not remove negative reviews, but they will allow the business to post a response. Bobrow recommends reaching out to the patient who posted the negative comments to address the concerns, and then posting the results of those efforts to accommodate the patient.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 9:44 pm by amdco
Marketing Insider Article Posted in Dental Products Report Online 1-25-10
Learn to manage your online reputation.
Visit www.DPRWorld.com and search Marketing Insider
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01.06.10
Posted in Dental Marketing Plan, Dental Marketing Tips, Direct Mail Dental Marketing, Internet Dental Marketing at 2:54 am by amdco
Direct Mail
Each month print out an alphabetized list of all new patients who have enrolled in the practice. Include: Name, First Visit Date, Complete Mailing Address. Then compare this list with your Direct Mail List, and look for matches. You’ll be amazed at how this number differs from your “subjective” tracking system.
Radio, TV, Billboard
Assign a unique (ideally “vanity” i.e. memorable) telephone number to each advertising medium. You now have a reliable tracking source, namely, your phone bill. You can also track lead quality by e.g. determining whether the caller ultimately converted into a patient
Website
Likewise, assign a unique, vanity telephone number to your site(s) to distinguish calls generated via your website from those originating elsewhere. Also, most web service providers include a reporting utility so you can ascertain detailed information about who is clicking through, when, from where, and through what pages.
Your tracking may never be 100-percent accurate, but every dollar that is reallocated to a more productive use increases your average return on investment. Accuracy is Profit!
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12.23.09
Posted in Blogroll, Dental Marketing Coach, Dental Marketing Tips at 10:53 am by amdco
The fitness center, of which I have been a Member for years, has a locker room with both half and full length lockers. The lockers are for temporary use only, that is, Members may not keep articles in a locker overnight.
In the entire time I have been a Member, I’ve never been able to secure a full length locker, which is unfortunate, as the smaller lockers make it difficult to keep one’s business attire clean and unwrinkled.
Last month, the center was bought by another group. Immediately upon the transfer of ownership, it became easy to find unused, and full length, lockers.
What had happened?
Under the previous ownership, the center’s employees were either allowed to use the full length lockers for their own needs, or any policy restricting such use was not enforced.
Closer to (the dental) home, a client of ours owns a small parking lot adjacent to his practice. Notwithstanding our recommendations that these spots be kept open for dental patients, thereby offering a highly valued benefit, namely, convenient parking, the lot is consistently filled with employees’ cars.
Speaking as one who has both worked in a fitness club, and had to contend with difficult parking situations at work, I can sympathize with both employee groups. But, in an increasingly competitive marketplace (including those for fitness and dental services), it is incumbent upon management to promulgate and encourage adherence to a policy whose paramount tenet is Customers (or Members or Patients) First. It is the standard by which you should, and your patients will, gauge their satisfaction with, and loyalty to, your practice.
Being ever vigilant for ways to demonstrate that yours is a truly dental patient-centered practice is key to achieving and maintaining a rock solid practice whose foundation is happy dental patients.
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12.10.09
Posted in Dental Marketing Coach, Dental Marketing Tips at 8:14 pm by amdco
Some call it disruptive marketing. By whatever name, it means not assuming what worked in the past will work today.
Case in point.
A major manufacturer of fasteners (screws, nails, etc.) held its annual planning session. The CEO asked if anyone wanted to suggest where the industry was headed. The newest employee stood and said “Based on the fact that so much prefabrication involves the use of adhesives, I think glue is going to the direction we ought to be headed.” To this the CEO responded “We’re in the fastener business. We sell screws and nails. If you have nothing to contribute to this discussion, please be quiet.”
Often the challenge is even greater because your public may not know what it’s going to want, and therefore buy, any more than you do.
Dental marketing professionals need to understand what your patients want, often before they know they want it themselves. Witness the shift from emergency, to maintenance, to cosmetics, to systemic (diagnosis, prevention, and treatment) care. The dental practice that knows what its patients want and is equiped not only to deliver, but effectively convey what it offers, will excel.
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12.05.09
Posted in Dental Marketing Tips at 12:10 am by amdco
Whole Foods, the grocery store chain based in Austin, recently opened one of three Flagship stores just down the street from my office.
The grocery section is almost entirely encircled by just about every type of prepared food or libation you could imagine.
One day last week, I was having my lunch at one of the seating areas in the store. When the server delivered my food, I said ‘Thank you’, and she replied ‘You’re Welcome!’ While what she said may have been unremarkable, how she said it was not. It contained an inflection that caused me to sit up and take notice. As best I can relate in writing, it most strongly emphasized the “Y” in “You’re” and the “wel” in “welcome.”
It made me feel as though she was sincerely happy to have the pleasure of serving me. So impressed was I that I asked her if the store trained her to do that. Without hesitation her reply was “My mother taught us well.”
Notwithstanding the server’s ‘home field advantage,’ I believe we can all enhance our communication by the simple act of injecting enthusiasm and sincerity into our speech. The benefits from such a simple act far outweigh whatever effort may be associated with the enhancement.
If you are skeptical about the impact a slight change in inflection can have on one’s communication, consider the following sentence:
I didn’t say she stole the flowers.
Now, recite the same sentence seven times, changing only the word on which you place the emphasis. Amazing isn’t it? The same exact sentence can be spoken to mean seven different things!
The next time you answer the phone or greet a new patient in your dental office remember: every touch point with your patient represents an opportunity to create and support a positive impression of your office, and isn’t that what dental marketing is all about?
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11.21.09
Posted in Dental Marketing Coach, Dental Marketing Tips at 1:37 am by amdco
A client, who shall remain nameless, is promoting a service with a stack of post cards provided to him by her invisible braces vendor.
That’s great except, when I turned the card over, it read “…Get your teeth straight in 2008!” Problem is, it’s almost 2010.
I understand how it can hurt to discard a ‘perfectly good’ stack of cards. However, that needs to be balanced against the ‘need’ to consistently demonstrate that yours is a practice with a high degree of professionalism and attention to detail. If you cannot receive more current communications from your vendor, a ‘compromise solution’ is to have someone write “extended through 12-31-09!,” which also creates a bit of urgency.
While placed on hold at another client’s office, I heard their on hold message announce “2006 marks our tenth year serving the XYZ community.” This again sends a negative message to both current and prospective patients.
The routine of work can make it easy to become ‘blind’ and ‘deaf’ to things that may not reflect positively on your practice. So make a point of taking a fresh look at (and listen to) your practice. Keep your eyes and ears open to ensure all your “patient touch points” including: magazines in your reception area, information and photographs on your website, in your external communications, etc. convey accurate, relevant, and timely information.
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