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We hear so much news today about infl ation, mortgage defaults, layoffs, and other disruptions, that it can raise concerns about an IMPENDING ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN. Such news can make dentists anxious about new-patient flow and case acceptance. In times of economic uncertainty, marketing the practice effectively becomes the critical success factor. What are concerned dentists to do, you ask? I will tell you first what not to do.
We at Pride have seen too many examples of what I call "spray and pray" marketing. In this scenario, dentists do little or no formal marketing -- until they experience a production plateau or shortfall without knowing why. This causes them to feel a sudden, urgent need to market the practice. In a panic, they spend large sums of money on hastily conceived marketing events, and then cross their fi ngers, hoping something sticks. For fact-oriented, objective clinicians, dentists too often seem to approach marketing in an emotionally-driven, seat-of-the-pants, subjective manner.
What is a better approach? It"s called evidence-based marketing. According to Paul Herreras, a seasoned dental marketing strategist who recently joined our team, the timetested, proven way to ethically grow a practice is through an objective "systems" approach to marketing. This approach is firmly rooted in two basic principles:
When you apply these two principles to your practice, all your marketing efforts will solidly place you on a path to long-term prosperity.
After more than 25 years of consulting with dentists, Paul and I have observed the following seven biggest mistakes of practice marketing. On average, the bulk of these mistakes can cost you more than $87,000 each year.
The right location is in an area with a healthy professional to-population ratio, plus maximum outdoor signage opportunities. Choose the wrong location and you"ll have to substantially increase your marketing budget (or soon become the best-kept secret in town). For example, one suburban dentist proudly chose office space that was a real bargain in price per square foot. However, one needed a treasure map or global positioning system to find the place.
The average dental practice loses up to 67 new patients every year on the phones. Doctors and their staffs must have a time-proven protocol that is created specifically for their phone specialists so that they can convert prospects based on patient need. If I had a quarter for every time we"ve detected serious fl aws in a practice s telephone skills and screening system when our consultants posed as secret shoppers, I d be retired in Tahiti. To ensure that your phone communication systems are all that they should be, design an effective protocol, invest in staff training to implement it, and then be sure to "inspect what you expect."
You must have a system that stimulates additional patient referrals, loyalty, and retention. (Note: By using time-tested internal marketing communications, you can generate more than 60 percent of your practice growth each year.) Whenever I ask a doctor if he or she has a system for asking patients for referrals, invariably, the answer is "yes." When I delve deeper, I fi nd that most do not correctly apply this critical verbal skill, so they are not asking the right patients nor are they asking in a manner that is a call to action. (And asking for referrals is only one of a dozen proven internal marketing tools that you can use.)