Relationship-Focused Dental Marketing

Posts Tagged ‘dental practice resources’

If you’re like most dentists today you’re probably wondering how you can get more quality new patients without having to invest thousands of dollars. In one of my most popular blog posts “Recession Marketing for Dentists, What’s Hot & What’s Not” I shared the following recommendation:

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.

But don’t just take my word for the uberpower of word-of-mouth marketing. Here are a few of my favorite experts, dental marketing gurus, thought leaders and a few non-dental related quotes to help inspire and motivate you today:

Have comments to share, questions to ask or need dental marketing help? Call Rita at (303) 807-3827.

The correct answer is both mediums used together is best. Why? You might ask, “With so many marketing companies now offering e-newsletters, isn’t digital the best option?” The answer is no, for several reasons. Digital or e-communication (as much as I love it) cannot yet completely replace all the benefits of hardcopy.

Tangible newsletters allow people to experience news in a much different way than e-communication. Most importantly, hardcopies allow us to get away with longer articles, more photos and richer content than digital formats.

There is just something more sincere and warm about holding a tangible note, card or letter in your hands rather than scanning it on a screen… For similar reasons, highly personalized hardcopy newsletters are still key relationship and trust building tools.

At the end of the day, you want to be sure your patients have seen and absorbed all you have to convey. Ensure your marketing communication is achieving every important objective by including both email and hardcopy news in your 2009 marketing plan.

Need help with dental newsletters for yourself or your practice? Email rita@tangiblemarketing.com or call Rita (303) 807-3827.

As consumers we are bombarded each day with thousands of advertising messages. This environment creates mind clutter which makes it hard for patients to remember to refer to you on a regular basis. In addition to providing exceptional service experiences, you can help your request for referrals to stick by making your message tangible.

Experts agree about 60% to 65% of the population are visual learners. These visual learners relate most effectively to written information, diagrams and pictures. Whether you illustrate your referral request in letters, postcards, business cards, CD’s, or emails, the moment you make your message visual or tangible you’ll help cut through the clutter, increase your effectiveness and your new patient referrals.

What makes your referral marketing memorable?

If you’re like many dental practices today you may be looking for ways to stimulate business… One tried and true tactic is a basic phone call. Placing courtesy calls to your existing patients for recall is one of the fastest, easiest and least expensive ways to get patients in the door.

Make it a fun challenge, get the whole team involved, and start placing calls to fill your schedule with healthy doses of production. Try using one of the following scripts:

Hello I’m calling from Dr Smith’s office as a friendly reminder that you are overdue for your cleaning/check-up/treatment, would you like to reserve an appointment… many of our patients are already reserving their appointments before years end to use their insurance benefits before they expire… Our schedule is filling up and I want to be sure we can get you in on time.

Let me know how this tactic works for you?

Many dentists realize the value of referrals, yet few communicate with their patients on a regular basis… This results not only in lost referrals, but also in lost case acceptance and sometimes lost patients.

Your patients are regularly receiving generic postcard offers from neighboring dental practices, each promoting a new special service, new technology or better location. The best way to ensure your patients are loyal, motivated and referring regularly is to keep in touch with them. Yes, excellent patient care is vital, but how often are you permitted to make someone’s day? Once or twice per year is not enough. Here are a few effective tips to follow up throughout the year:

• Email- few practices are collecting email addresses. While not every patient will elect to receive email from you, many will and this will allow you to communicate with patients inexpensively and quickly.
• Postcards- don’t bother sending patients a generic dental postcard- remember, they’ve likely already received dozens in their mailbox- instead, why not pick up colorful postcards from your favorite local town and have someone from your team write out a seasonal greeting (think summer destinations or great fall color drives).
• Newsletters- not your father’s newsletter! Despite our desire to interest patients in cutting edge dental technologies, most patients would rather read about you. More personal touch articles and less dental procedure will allow patients to feel like they have a real relationship with you.

The key to winning more referrals is to keep in touch with your patients, one quality follow up at a time.

Ever consider not answering your practice phone? Just let the phone ring and ring and you never pick up… this is similar to what happens when patient emails sit in your inbox. Many patients prefer and expect email service – with prompt response. An average response time is at most within 24 hours on business days. Today, email communication is just as important as answering the phone- especially when it comes to new patient inquiries.

Some offices I work with have at least one team member, a technology guru, who enjoys working with computers and the internet and they diligently check and respond to emails- which is great. Other practices consider emails a second or, even worse, a last priority.

Yes, I understand that not all emails are timely. However they all need to be checked promptly in order to determine their importance. Letting a new patient inquiry sit in your practice in-box is similar to ignoring your phone or locking your practice door. If you don’t have someone comfortable or motivated to check email, consider outsourcing it or don’t have it as an option at all. Remember no impression is much better than a poor one.

How often does your office check email?

Today I heard a dental assistant say she would really love to attend more CE and keep learning. I always love to hear someone ask to keep learning don’t you? The more we learn, the more we flourish- personally and professionally. One technique a doctor I work with used is to have the interested team member write up a short summary of why they’d like to attend a course and what they think they’d learn from it…

This technique forever changed the way I looked at CE seminars and programs. My mind shifted from “Wow, Florida will be a great conference location” to “Why do I REALLY want to attend this course and how will I use what I learn day-to-day.” Writing up pre-conference summaries committed me to learn the most I could, and to bring nuggets back to the office to implement and share.

So, the next time your team member asks if she can attend a course, first thank them for their interest and then ask them to write up their “Why and how” summary. It will positively change their perspective and your practice will benefit more from the investment.

How often does your team ask to attend CE?

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?