Despite the internet, social media and all of the wonderful technologies we enjoy in dentistry, it’s the soft skills that still reign king.  Dr. Barry Polansky, author of the book “The Art of the Examination“, explains that people skills are a prerequisite to a successful private practice and that trust is the highest form of human motivation.

Read more in Dr. Polansky’s “Ask the Expert” column in Dental Economics. Explore Dr. Polansky’s coaching services in his Academy of Dental Leadership.

The first thing to consider before investing in marketing is, “How well are you doing with the patients you already have?”  If you cannot answer this question, then you may be making a mistake by marketing.

For example, let‘s say you have a case acceptance rate of 35%.  Wait. Before you criticize this percentage, can you say exactly what your acceptance rate is?  Many practices have no idea how to begin to track and determine this crucial marker.  Instead they look externally for solutions that will “Bring new patients in the door and solve everything”.

When practices pull in new patients, without fully treating the patients they already have, the result is wasted marketing dollars.  In contrast, it’s a win-win when patients accept treatment … Patients get healthy and dental practices flourish.

So what happens in situations with low case acceptance and continuous numbers of new patients?  The practice stays busy, yet many times is unsuccessful.

Remember, “The fortune is in your follow-up!” Don’t wait for down-time to do your recall.  Call patients, and continue to follow up with them over many months. In today’s economy, follow up needs to be extensive.

-          Follow up with the patients you already have in your practice.

-          Track your case acceptance and learn your conversion.

-          Make sure you are fully optimizing the practice you already have before launching external marketing of any kind.

The only way to determine if you are a good candidate to proceed with marketing is to currently know:   1)  How many of your patients accept treatment?  2)  For patients that didn’t accept treatment, where are they with their decision?  3)  When was the last time you followed up with patients?

Where does your case acceptance stand today?  Are you a candidate for dental marketing?

To thrive in these economic times it’s best to focus your marketing dollars on retention, case acceptance, word-of-mouth and referral strategies. Concentrate your efforts amongst those who already know and trust you rather than attempting new patient acquisition from unknown and potentially skeptical audiences.

What’s hot: Invest in improving the patient experience. Now is the time to impress patients, as more than ever they will scrutinize everything you do and say. Consumers are paying more attention to everything they spend their money on. Some may question whether they should keep spending their money with you or go elsewhere. Invest in training for you and your team and be sure your patient relations skills are finely honed. There has never been a better time to implement new techniques to increase your case acceptance rates.

Invest in referral marketing. If you don’t already have an organized referral program, get busy and create one. Actively promote your program- not just twice a year by word of mouth when patients are in your office. Be sure to promote the fact that you want referrals the whole year long. Ask verbally and in writing (No you won’t come across as a pest or seem desperate because most people are busy with life and won’t likely remember the last time you asked, even if you ask them many times per year). Make sure you invite referrals verbally, and also put your invitation in writing. Tangible forms of promotion help visual learners (about 65% of the population) to remember to refer. If you’d like to know more about this, check out my referral guidebook and learn step-by-step how to create a successful turn-key system for your practice.

Invest in your online reputation. Google yourself regularly and see where your website rates. Also be sure to police yourself… confirm the first few pages of your search come out clean, accurate and don’t contain any negative patient feedback. It makes no sense to invest in search engine optimization if you don’t even know that negative patient feedback could be found alongside your name.

Consider investing in social media. While not for everyone, when done well- and authentically, participating in sites like Facebook and other social spaces gives you an opportunity to get your name and face in front of potentially influential networks. Have fun with it. If you know nothing about social media, ask someone on your team who enjoys this to help you. Again have fun, but at the end of the day be sure whatever you or someone else posts about you maintains your personal and professional brand and represents you well.

In this economy, what’s hot now is the return you’ll get from marketing investments related to customers/patients who already know you.

What’s not hot: Investing in brand building or awareness marketing such as radio, television or expensive magazine ads. The first problem is that these mediums are not generally geographically focused. The second problem is they require much repetition and thus very large investments before they penetrate enough to work. Even in good economies these mediums can be expensive and risky investments. With a population scrutinizing every dollar, becoming more skeptical about who and where they buy from and holding-off unless it’s an emergency, it’s better to avoid these types of marketing vehicles for now.

Have a question or comment to share? Email rita@tangiblemarketing.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Lay-offs, rising grocery bills and a flood of bad economic news in the media are causing consumers to tighten their purse strings… How can dentists help to protect and even grow their practice in times like these? Here are a few smart recession marketing tips for dentists.

1) Be impeccable with the patients you already have. This includes phone, patient relation and case presentation skills. Need to know if you are impeccable or not? To diagnose your performance, try surveys, hire a ghost shopper or get an experienced consultant to observe.

2) Be REALLY impeccable with the patients you already have. How long has it been since you’ve brushed up on your case presentation skills or taken your team to a seminar or workshop about exceptional customer service. Now is the time to invest in learning everything you and your team can do to get more from the customers (patients) you already have.

3) Keep in touch. Follow up with patients- consistently and effectively. Patients will be putting off elective, cosmetic and non-emergency treatments, so make sure you maintain relationships with patients while they are saving up or waiting for some good economic news. Be sure you are top of mind when they are ready to buy dental again. This means calling patients to follow up (phone calls are quick, easy -inexpensive- and effective!), sending customized patient newsletters (consumers are now cocooning— staying home, nesting with family and they have time to read and learn more about you and your services), emailing (use email communication sparingly, make your notes brief and memorable).

4) Money, Money, Money- Make sure your fee quotes, insurance filing, payment options and related communication is flawless. People are more sensitive to money issues than ever before. Now is the time to be extra courteous, knowledgeable- and considerate of patient’s potential financial quandaries.

5) Internal marketing first, external second. Don’t spend thousands of dollars for a flashy magazine ad if you don’t have a patient referral system in place. Invest dollars to maximize internal marketing first (referral systems, sales training, newsletters, etc.), then look to external marketing tactics such as postcards, advertising, etc. This is even more important during a recession when external new patient acquisition becomes more challenging.

Need help? Or have comments to share? Email rita@tangiblemarketing.com

Where is the absolute best place to market your practice right now? The answer is inside. Before you venture outside of your practice with direct mail or advertising, be sure you are maximizing the business you already have. Start off by seriously evaluating your case acceptance numbers. How many cases of treatment are you recommending, and how many are being accepted? Some practices are busy today despite the economy, and it’s easy to think busy equals profitable. Unfortunately this isn’t always true.

There is only one way to confirm how successful your case acceptance is and that is to read your data. What does your data say? Plain and simple, your key data = how many cases were presented, and how many were accepted? It is very important to point out that low case acceptance does not necessarily mean poor case presentation… in many situations low acceptance can be a direct result of failure to follow up. One of my mantras is, “The fortune is in the follow up”. Especially in this economy when patients are holding off on treatment, and possibly holding off for longer periods of time, it’s critical to follow up with patients regularly. Keep in touch, show you care, continue to communicate benefits, make yourself accessible, etc.

Remember dental needs that don’t hurt are easy for some to defer; however when you are top of mind and someone’s budget finally allows for either a new TV or the crown they need, chances are higher they will think twice before running out to buy the TV (especially if they just read an article in your newsletter about how procrastination costs patients more…). The most rewarding part of case acceptance marketing and training is the win-win benefit. The better your presentation and follow up, the more patients will pursue treatment and gain health and/or beauty- and the more cases accepted, the higher profits you and your practice will enjoy.

Need help? Call Rita at 303-807-3827 or visit TangibleMarketing.com

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best, I rate Henry Schein® GURU a 10+. After years of personally presenting thousands of periodontal and dental implant cases to sometimes scared, financially challenged or “difficult” patients, I can say with confidence, “This consult tool is terrific and will begin to return on your investment from the moment you use it”. (No, I’m not employed by Henry Schein®. I just love practical solutions to long time problems).

A specific example of the power of GURU is… A patient is in need of a Sinus Augmentation. Ok, you can use all the good tangible visuals in the market and verbally explain it in succinct detail and still risk the patient not entirely understanding, or easily show the patient a brief animated program illustrating what happens to the sinus floor post tooth loss. GURU’s illustration is the best available in the market, I’ve already seen it cut down on the sinus augmentation explanation time and… bonus, the patient definitively “got it,” he understood exactly what his situation was and clearly saw what he needed to do about it- and scheduled surgery immediately post viewing the program.

There has never been a better visual of a sinus collapse or augmentation- at least that I’ve seen. Further, GURU’s visuals are friendly and professional, and the program is intuitively useful… there’s even an option to email the patient their personal treatment “program”. I love this tool and can’t wait to begin training my client’s teams to implement it in all appropriate facets of the practice.

What are your thoughts?

The correct answer is everyone should sell treatment in your office. By this I don’t mean you should have your entire team running about pitching and closing… Instead I mean your receptionist should be friendly and approachable, your assistant knowledgeable and inquisitive, your hygienist informative and compassionate, and the dentist a good listener with excellent questioning skills.

When it comes to treatment presentation, the best person to present treatment to patients is the person with the best people skills- technical skills are often only a small part of a successful presentation (this spoken from years of personal experience presenting hundreds of diagnosis and treatment recommendations to many times scared, financially challenged or “complicated” patients). In many cases the technicalities of treatment need not even be discussed. Most patients just want to the opportunity to ask specific questions and feel that they have been heard. Yes, there are some patients who absolutely need to see the doctor and learn about all the details. In those situations the doctor is best suited to see the patient. However many times I noticed patients felt more open to ask their “silly” questions and chit-chat with the team members- great trust building and bonding opportunities. It pays to remember the power of strong, healthy people skills when determining who will present treatment and fees for your practice.

Who handles case presentation in your practice?

A dentist recently asked if I thought using CD-Rom or video during case presentation was worthwhile… My answer, yes absolutely; however be sure to always ask the patient for permission first.

For example, ask the patient, “Would you like to see a brief animated video of the treatment? It is only about 3 minutes long however I think you’ll really find it beneficial?” By asking this way you inform the patient the program is animated (so they won’t say no thinking you might show them a horrible real life bloody surgical incision), you let them know it is only 3 minutes long (so they won’t think you’ll hold them hostage with a 30 minute video), and you also politely ask for their permission.

Introduce visual programs and ask for permission in this format- you’ll get patients motivated about their treatment, and help them to feel empowered as a part of their learning and decision process as well.

How do you introduce video programs to your patients during case presentation?

]]> http://www.dentalrelationshipmarketing.com/2008/07/22/video-during-dental-case-presentation-%e2%80%93-use-it-or-lose-it/feed/ 0