Dental Relationship Marketing

Posts Tagged ‘dentist marketing consultant’

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

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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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