Dental Relationship Marketing

Archive for the ‘Dental Marketing’ Category

With traditional media like the Yellow Pages and newspapers waning, and online advertising clearly on the rise, many practices are wondering if social media marketing would be a good fit for their practice.

In this short program, I summarize the key reasons why your patients are on social media sites like Facebook (over 15 hours per month on average!) and how you can connect with them there, including:

• Why social media matters and how online behaviors are changing
• How social search may change Internet search
• If sites like Facebook are a good fit for your practice
• Where to focus your social media efforts to get results
• Ways social media marketing can fit into your overall marketing plans.

Is Social Media Right For Your Practice (25 minute audio)

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In helping practices with marketing, I often hear doctors say, “I wish I could get my team to help me with this”. Whether tasks are marketing, management, or clinically related—despite this “poor economy” we’re in—sometimes doctors have a difficult time motivating employees to go that extra mile for the practice.

Check out several motivational methods my friend, Kim McGuire, suggests …

4 Ways to Motivate & Inspire Team Members

by Kim McGuire

As coaches, we are often asked, “How do I motivate my employees?”  This is an important leadership skill that is not taught in Dental or Medical school. While we might think it’s intuitive, there are some concepts that when used, can create immeasurable results!

First off, let’s get one thing clear:  work IS about the money.  Yes, people who work in your office are fulfilled by taking care of patients, they are inspired by being healers and they love achieving goals.  However, people do work for the money.  Money provides funds to live well and pay the bills.  As Dan Pink outlines in his book Drive, pay people enough to take the issue of money off the table.

Once you have set up salaries and benefits that are competitive in your area, here are 4 areas that will create motivated employees that are inspired to do great work:

1. Let people be in control of their work: When team members have the ability to set goals, impact decisions and decide on tasks performed, they are more motivated.
2. Communicate important information: When team members receive timely information, participate in team meetings and understand progress made on goals, they are more motivated.
3. Give them opportunity for growth: Training, coaching life skills, increased communication skills and team participation will help them grow as people and stay motivated.
4. Ask them what motivates them: A simple question of “What would motivate you to achieve these goals?” can elicit some surprising information.  Pay attention; everyone has different ideas of how they want to be motivated and knowing that information can be priceless.

Always give each employee personal time and attention and acknowledge publicly a job well done, no matter how small.   And remember, the doctor’s attitude in the morning huddle can set the tone for the day – manage your state for maximum team performance.

Want to de-motivate your team?  Simple:  keep negative and non-performing people in the team.  When you let non-performers go, the rest of the team respects you more and is motivated to perform.  Keeping those folks on the team is demoralizing and brings about negativity.

The Fortune Management philosophy is you don’t grow the practice, you grow the people.  Try some of these ideas above and let Kim & Rene´ know how it goes!

Kim McGuire

Executive Coach, Fortune Management

As an Executive Coach for Fortune Management, Kim McGuire brings over 12 years of leadership experience in sales and marketing to the Dental community. Kim coaches Dental teams to understand and prioritize ‘what’s most important’, create accountability, as well as incorporate the financial policies and office procedures necessary for the practice to run smoothly and efficiently.

http://www.fortuneofcolorado.com/kim/

Popularity: 38% [?]

You have a new patient sitting in your treatment chair.  What is the conversation you’ll have with that patient?   Masters at small talk will tell you they can use open-ended questions to open the door to trust with patients at their first visit.  While small talk still has its place, consider a new patient who found you via Facebook …

Rather than a new patient waiting for you to open conversation, the patient may say, “I saw on Facebook that you are an avid fisherman.  My husband and I both love to fish too!  Have you ever been to … ”.  Practices who use social media to share a bit of their authentic selves will begin to notice deeper relationships (that also grow faster) than those who do not.

Small talk has been defined as conversation for it’s own sake, or making comments about what is perfectly obvious.  Which has more meaning, conversation about the weather or sharing your favorite fishing spots with a fellow fisherman?   When practices (dentists and teams) share what hobbies they enjoy or what they are passionate about—outside of the office—they open the door to a whole new world of conversation, “social talk”.  Social talk is not only more meaningful than small talk, it’s also more fun—and more effective!

Will you and your team continue to rely on small talk or have you already ventured into the social world of Facebook?  Once you begin sharing what’s meaningful in your life, you will begin to rely less on small talk and experience more social talk, trust, and new—ideal–patient referrals.

Popularity: 38% [?]

Are you using discounts or free offers to recruit clients to “like” your Facebook Page?  Many businesses are—as well as dental practices.  While offering something such as teeth whitening for free or as a “special offer” may be fine in some instances, it pays to be thoughtful about offering these promotions over the long term.

A “special offer” utilized over and over again will eventually become “not so special” …  My friend, Kevin Rose, is a dental business consultant who explains this risk as “Sofa Sale Dentistry”. Kevin is a thought leader for the business of dentistry.  He is based in England, however his core principles apply in the U.S., as well as internationally.   Read Kevin’s article which he wrote and posted on his blog earlier this year:

Sofa Sale Dentistry

The natural reaction to the traditionally quiet first quarter in Dentistry and retail generally is to have a promotional offer. Right now many dental surgeries are offering promotions in order to attract new and existing patients through the door and this should be a win win for both parties.

However, whilst promotions have their place in the short term, have you stopped to consider what impact they have on your business in the medium and long term? Promotions should form part of an annual marketing strategy and contribute towards the overall direction that the business and patient message is heading.

Promotions inevitably involve reducing margins in the short term, so make sure that you consider what the over all payback will be. Buying market share is a proven strategy outside of dentistry, but it is not sustainable and can reduce business longevity if it is not carefully planned.

There are some companies that constantly market themselves on short term promotions. The TV adverts are full of them at the seasonal peaks such as Christmas and New Year. The “sofa sale” companies are very succesful but only because their pricing and strategy is designed around having a “sale”.

If you are looking to compete in the long term in the style of a “sofa sale” company then maybe that needs to be a conscious decision rather than a short term reaction?

Learn more about Kevin Rose here.

Popularity: 26% [?]

What is your primary objective for being on Facebook or Twitter? Are you interested primarily in link-building, solely for “SEO” purposes? Perhaps you are interested in acquiring as many friends and people who will “like” your Facebook Page as possible, because we’ve always been taught that more is better …

A traditional marketing mind-set was to acquire more.  Let the numbers show how effective our direct mail piece was.  How many patient phone calls we got from our phone book ad.  How many hits to our website.  However, without quality none of those numbers really matters.

It is our intentions that drive our actions.  If we intend to build up a certain number of fans, whether it be 500 or 2,000 fans, we are focused on the numbers. On the other hand, if we focus on winning the interest, praise, and appreciation of our followers, we are bound to win.

Remember that social media marketing is unlike any other marketing tool we’ve ever had access to.  Discard your old marketing mind-set.  Be thoughtful about your objectives.  Consider what is more important to you—a high quantity fan base or a high quality fan base.  I’m not saying you can’t have both, but in social media, typically numbers as a primary goal can sabotage quality.

Set your intention to first and foremost build trust and relationships with your followers.  Strive to make your social media platforms a place you can talk with your patients and followers. Imagine when patients come into your office.  What is the social conversation you have with them?  It is that type of exchange that can make your social marketing efforts a success.

It may take more time and energy to consider what your ideal social media community could look like.  The easy way out is to set a number as a goal and walk away.  A better objective—that will return more positive word of mouth and referrals—is to put interaction, authentic “liking”, and relationship building at the top of the list.

What are your social media goals and objectives?

Popularity: 37% [?]

Can social networking really mimic an in-person connection in our brain?   It seems science has now shown, at least in this experiment, that oxytocin levels spiked and cortisol was reduced while tweeting.

Below is an excerpt from Fast Company’s “Social Networking Affects Brains Like Falling in Love”. The article goes on to say that should these experiments (by Neuroeconomist Paul Zak) prove to be the norm, this should serve as a wake up call for every business …

While tweeting … my oxytocin levels spiked 13.2%. That’s equivalent to the hormonal spike experienced by the groom at the wedding Zak attended. Meanwhile, stress hormones cortisol and ACTH went down 10.8% and 14.9%, respectively.

Zak explains that the results are linked, that the release of oxytocin I experienced while tweeting reduced my stress hormones. If that’s the case, says Zak, social networking might reduce cardiovascular risks, like heart attack and stroke, associated with lack of social support. But there’s even more to our findings.

“Your brain interpreted tweeting as if you were directly interacting with people you cared about or had empathy for,” Zak says. “E-connection is processed in the brain like an in-person connection.”

Read the entire, very interesting, article.

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This week’s Featured 2 Minute Audio Snippet: Dentist Social Media Tool of Choice

Or listen to the entire interview:

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Each week, we’ll feature a 2 minute snippet / excerpt from Rita Zamora’s recent podcast interview “Social Media & Referral Marketing for Dentists” conducted by JB Brathwaite of DentistsSOS.com.

Featured 2 Minute Snippet: How has Social Media Changed Marketing for the Dental Practice?

Listen to the 45 minute podcast:

Popularity: 26% [?]

Can social media marketing be outsourced?  That’s a common question I hear from dentists and practice managers.  The answer is yes—except not entirely …

For example, I recently overheard a dentist asking his assistant to check his personal Facebook account and respond to any new comments.  On Facebook there is an expectation that you will interact on your own “personal” behalf. Unless you are a celebrity, whereas, it wouldn’t be uncommon to have assistance.  Keep in mind, every situation is unique.  However, in general, where is the best place to draw the line?

A best practice would be to manage your own “Personal” Facebook account yourself.  Why? Consider your colleagues or friends that likely assume it’s you they’re befriending, sharing, and interacting with.  Had your colleagues, friends or potential new friends knew it really wasn’t you participating, would they still want to be friends with you? Again, every situation is unique … In general, personal accounts are best handled personally.

On the other hand, a “Business” Facebook Page may be delegated or co-managed. However, keep in mind, social media is meant to be social—and people expect your efforts to be authentic and genuine.

Most importantly, be sure at least one person within your practice always knows the following:

• What is posted (or tweeted) on the doctor’s or practice behalf.
• What patients or people who “Like” your Page are saying on your Page.
• What is being posted as comments on your behalf.

In order for your social media efforts to succeed, at least one person in your practice should be fluent and up to date with your social media efforts.  Hopefully that one person is 1) excited about social media. 2) interested in patient relations. 3) motivated to interact and listen to patients, alliances, and online networks.

Outsourcing your social media efforts 100% can be risky. It’s almost like telling someone to answer your phone, but “don’t bother telling us what you or our patients talk about”.  In this situation, you may want to consider whether social media is a good fit for you.

An effective way to outsource is to appoint someone in your office to co-manage your social marketing with a professional social media marketing service provider. This allows your team to participate, interact, and enjoy the benefits of this type of marketing, without having to shoulder the entire responsibility.

Whether handled internally or co-managed, remember keys to success in social marketing are being authentic and social.  Genuinely enjoying socializing, relationship building, and having fun while doing so are a plus!

Who manages your social marketing efforts?

Popularity: 19% [?]

Video for healthcare marketing is hot, hot, hot!!  I spent yesterday morning at the RockyMountain PBS studio at the Colorado Healthcare Communicators meeting. This months meeting topic was “How to Integrate Multimedia into Your PR Campaign”.

The speakers showed great examples of how organizations like Kaiser Permanente are leveraging “home-made” style video for PR and marketing purposes.

A few interesting points from the meeting are:

1. Video doesn’t have to be professional grade. In fact, Kaiser sometimes uses a “Flip” style camera to make video—which is getting picked up by major news media such as ABC.
2. Be creative, show your personality. Have fun!
3. Be brief.  2-3 minute length is fine.
4. Don’t hesitate investing in professional editing. It can make a huge difference in the overall polish. Although, again, they stressed that today’s video does not have to be commercial grade. Candid, YouTube style videos are fine.
5. Remember video and social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) go hand in hand …

The explosion of video popularity may soon evolve to consumers expecting video of you (like websites were years ago).  It’s becoming clear that video marketing, when done right, can give healthcare providers a competitive advantage.

Will video be a part of your marketing plan?

Popularity: 16% [?]