Dental Relationship Marketing

Posts Tagged ‘dental marketing expert’

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

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Most dentists and small business owners know they need to market… however where do you start? Do you invest a lot of time, money and energy into a comprehensive marketing plan? Should you hire someone to help or go it alone? So many questions arise and sometimes just the thoughts of marketing planning can be overwhelming. What if I told you it would be better not to invest too much time in planning? At least this is what some top consultants and coaches are saying…

A few months ago I had the pleasure of hearing, Douglas B. Reeves, Ph.D., internationally recognized consultant, entrepreneur and Harvard University Distinguished Author, speak at a local seminar. He said, “70% of strategic plans are never initiated.” Instead, he recommended a “One page strategy,” something that will inspire action. This concept seems to be a trend, just this week I heard a multi-million dollar marketing coach say she’s never had a marketing plan. Instead she evaluates her situation regularly and takes action as needed.

This by no means is meant to imply you should never plan or think ahead. If strategic and in-depth planning works for you, go for it. If it doesn’t work for you, if multi-page marketing plans stress you out or make you feel bad, then try the one-page plan strategy. Take at least one healthy action step at a time. One action step alone can be freeing and motivating. Then just keep going, just like riding a bike, if you want to get anywhere you need to keep pedaling and stay in action.

So, what are your plans for marketing implementation this January 2009?

Need help? Call Rita at 303-807-3827 or email rita@tangiblemarketing.com

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5 Reasons You May Lose Patients and What You Can Do About It

Today, more than ever, it’s important to retain patient loyalty, build strong genuine relationships and ensure patients know that you accept and appreciate referrals. Here are a few reasons why patients leave their dental providers and what you can do about it…

Feel like you don’t care (they don’t hear from you anymore and think you probably don’t want them as a patient – perhaps because they didn’t do that new crown you recommended last visit?)

Don’t get the attention they deserve (a friend keeps saying how great her dentist is… and your patient isn’t aware that you offer what her friend’s dentist does)

Think you are fee-motivated (they feel like your practice keeps “pushing expensive” implant treatment. Meanwhile they aren’t aware of the risks without this treatment.)

Keep getting solicited by other dentists (they keep getting postcards from other dentists in the area and begin to think it’s time to switch. Besides, they’re not sure you’d care if they left your practice.)

Never hear from you (They aren’t sure they’re getting the service they deserve… the only time they see you is when they remember to call for an appointment).

Today’s marketplace is crowded and challenging (not to mention our current economic situation), so patients require more attention than ever in order to remain loyal, accept higher quality/fee treatments and continue to refer.

Patient newsletter marketing, when done right, succeeds at:

Building authentic and loyal relationships.

Keeping patients informed with friendly, unique-to-your-practice messages.

Reminding patients about recall, treatment/relaxation options, payment/credit arrangements or end-of-year insurance expirations.

Motivating referrals – patients need to know that you, first and foremost, want their referrals, that you appreciate them and perhaps what they might expect in return.

Want to learn more? Contact rita@tangiblemarketing.com

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Some dentists use their new patient “numbers” as a gauge to determine how healthy their practice is. However they don’t always realize that in some cases marketing can attract the wrong type of new patient. Especially when marketing is rushed, it can sometimes cause businesses to throw their standards out the door. In other words some practitioners may just want people who need dentistry to flow into the practice as soon as possible -instead of considering the “qualities” of potential new patients, ie: do they live within your area, are they interested in the highest quality dental care that you offer, do they have a fairly high dental IQ, are they open to investing in cosmetic dentistry or whatever your ideal patient qualities are.

So, why does it matter whether new patients are ideal or not? Because your success and more importantly, your peace of mind ultimately depend on the type of patient you attract. When you attract patients that are less than ideal into your practice, you make it more difficult to harvest quality referrals – and worse, you risk attracting patients who may not have interest in the type of dentistry you offer, who only want to take advantage of a savings offer or who don’t trust you much. So, if you dream of someday having a practice filled with great patients, where you may not need to do external marketing because your referrals nourish the business… then start taking steps today to fulfill that vision. Step one is identifying your ideal patient, stay tuned for more about this later.

Want to learn more now? Get a copy of our dental marketing referral guidebook.

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