Cliff's Notes

Taxes Are UP & Patient Flow Is Down

I remember the first 5 minutes of my first marketing course. The professor started off by saying “marketing 101, packaging is 95% of the sale”. This is a very important concept to consider when addressing declining patient flow and new patient scheduling. The culture of your dental practice is your package and it needs to fit in with the patient base you want to attract.

 Dr. Omar Reed believed that your reception room should be as nice as your patient’s living room. That was 35 years ago and the only thing that changed since then are the decorative styles. Think about it, if your office looks old, no matter how great your dentistry is, the perception is old. If your office is clean, modern and bright the perception is that your clinical skills are also modern and bright. The average patient doesn’t know how good you are, they just know if they like you and feel comfortable. The passion for the patient’s overall health that you and your team exhibit is the bow on your package. When was the last time you repainted the office? What do your floors look like? What does your patient look like? Think about what you want people to think when they walk into your house?

Marketing your practice should be a coordinated effort across all medias. And what the patient sees on your website is what they expect when they walk through the door. I can’t count the number of offices that have great websites or Facebook pages and the physical location is a downgrade.

The patient market that your practice in is also a major factor. When was the last time you did a demographic study of the area you draw your patient base from?

 If you opened your practice 20 years ago and the area had a heavy Italian population, that may be shifting to other cultures. Addressing those cultures may require a different package. Bank of America Practice Solutions and Henry Schein offer real time demographic reports that include age, income, ethnicity, family size, etc. These reports should be considered so that you can realize the maximum ROI for your 2 year marketing program. That’s right, a 2 year plan.. The world is changing too fast to plan anything further out.

 What does your reception room look like? Remember, it is NOT a   waiting room because your patients don’t wait, or do they? When your patients are on line at the super market, they are seeing a flat screen with advertisements and current magazines. What do they see in your office? Sports Illustrated with last year’s Super Bowl round up? All the magazines and wall décor actually compete with your treatment plan acceptance so keep it current and dental health orientated. I see some beautifully decorated offices that keep well within the healthcare theme.

Marketing programs are not an expense, they are an investment, however, for the investment to produce a healthy ROI, you need an organized plan. Maybe it’s time to Brand Yourself and stand out from the crowd?

http://dentalbranding.com/

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

April 10, 2016 - Posted by Cliff's Notes Blog | Uncategorized