By Christopher Hall / PRDent Ltd
Over the years I have met hundreds of Dentists and very few had a true understanding of Marketing!
Most Dentists want more business but seem to think providing patients is like a tap that you can turn on and off at will.
An ad in the Thomson directory or a leaflet drop is the whole extent of Marketing for some dentists. Often poor results would leave a bad taste in their mouth.
Dentists are very bright people but need to understand the benefits of marketing and make it part of their business. Some dentists know enough about Marketing to understand that it is an essential element of their business and they do well from it. There are also Dentists that are doing nothing in terms of Marketing which is hurtful to their business.
Every day some dentist is fighting for survival, scrabbling for new business. The patients that walk through the door are mainly down to sheer luck which gives the business just enough to survive another day.
For some Dentists, Marketing is the Holy Grail of their business! How can they find it if they do not know what they are looking for? This is perhaps where a professional can help but don’t think that an input from the Dentist is not needed.
Marketing is not a DIY activity and doing it yourself is as bad as your patients getting involved in DIY Dentistry and pulling there own teeth with pliers bought from B&Q.
Just in the same way as patients brush their teeth and do a little flossing, you can execute one or two segments of marketing yourself if you wish but let a professional supervise.
On the other hand you may wish for us to execute everything for you.
Marketing is all about your customers. Unfortunately, it is not about what you want which can be the biggest mistake.
A need a marketing strategy and a formally trained consultant canidentify your target market in depth. Just proclaiming that the over 50's is your TM!
Do you want to aim your efforts at the over 50's with money or without?
You need to find out who will buy from you and why they will buy!
As previously mentioned, Marketing is all about your customer. You need to find out who your customers are and clearly target your message towards them.
Get your marketing right at the beginning of your business or you will be constantly back tracking once you have hit that brick wall.
Don't take a punt on marketing unless it is part of your overall strategy. If you do then you will be constantly chasing after the short term results. Your business needs to gain financial strength which means you need to play out some long term strategies as well. More importantly they need to be the right strategies.
This is just the beginning of what Marketing is all about. Let me tell you that the world is your oyster if you get your Marketing working correctly for you.
This is not the whole story. This is an insight into Marketing!
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Willful Disinformation
By Christopher Hall / PRDent Ltd
I am a big fan of Michael E. Gerber, the author of the E-Myth series of books. I cannot recommend enough that you read his books.
In E-Myth Revisited he talks about some well known theories which have been my Mantra for years but obviously he has a unique way of getting these thoughts across in a practical and easily understandable way.
He states that most small business owners (I know this does not exclude Dentists) think of Marketing as just good old common sense. Dentists are the same as any other business owner in the fact that they suffer from "Willful Disinformation". This is where you decide what you want to do without any researched information to guide you. You just go ahead and do it without any interest in what is true!*
I have been guilty of the same thing myself several years ago. I can now see my mistake!
Your stationary may be designed by the local printer with a logo thrown in for free. Colours are picked by your wife, husband or neighbour and signs are designed by the local sign writer who's experience is sign writing, not determining what colours and shapes are psychographically correct.*
If I can add one of my own here, this happens to be my biggest gripe! Web Developers who are really web builders who know a bit about Marketing and a bit about Graphic Design but not enough. This takes me back to an old saying which is that people should stick to what they are good at and not try to be a jack of all trades.
Before you know it you will be sending a whole lot of mixed messages out there which may or may not get to your target market and if it does could confuse them.
If you are a business owner you must take a serious interest in Marketing but you do not necessarily have to be sensitive to the science of marketing. An interest is good enough!*
The entire business process by which your company does what it does is a Marketing Process!*
"It starts with the promise that you make to attract patients to your door.*
"It continues with the sale you make once your patients are there.*
"It ends with the delivery of your promise before they leave the door.*
Dentists really must see the Marketing process as not only how to attract patients but how to deal with them when they call you or visit you in person or via your website. This is where the branding and customer experience comes into it which is all Marketing. Finally, you want your patients to leave with a positive experience that will surely be passed by word of mouth.
The Lead Generation, Lead Conversion and Client Fulfillment is an essential key process.*
The whole process should be seamless and totally connected. How well you do it will determine how successful you will be at making them come back to you for more. Getting existing patients to come back to you is a lot less expensive than finding new ones all of the time, although new patients are the life blood of any dental practice.
Marketing never stops!
* Michael E. Gerber, E-Myth Revisited (New York: Harper Collins 1995), p.230-232.
I am a big fan of Michael E. Gerber, the author of the E-Myth series of books. I cannot recommend enough that you read his books.
In E-Myth Revisited he talks about some well known theories which have been my Mantra for years but obviously he has a unique way of getting these thoughts across in a practical and easily understandable way.
He states that most small business owners (I know this does not exclude Dentists) think of Marketing as just good old common sense. Dentists are the same as any other business owner in the fact that they suffer from "Willful Disinformation". This is where you decide what you want to do without any researched information to guide you. You just go ahead and do it without any interest in what is true!*
I have been guilty of the same thing myself several years ago. I can now see my mistake!
Your stationary may be designed by the local printer with a logo thrown in for free. Colours are picked by your wife, husband or neighbour and signs are designed by the local sign writer who's experience is sign writing, not determining what colours and shapes are psychographically correct.*
If I can add one of my own here, this happens to be my biggest gripe! Web Developers who are really web builders who know a bit about Marketing and a bit about Graphic Design but not enough. This takes me back to an old saying which is that people should stick to what they are good at and not try to be a jack of all trades.
Before you know it you will be sending a whole lot of mixed messages out there which may or may not get to your target market and if it does could confuse them.
If you are a business owner you must take a serious interest in Marketing but you do not necessarily have to be sensitive to the science of marketing. An interest is good enough!*
The entire business process by which your company does what it does is a Marketing Process!*
"It starts with the promise that you make to attract patients to your door.*
"It continues with the sale you make once your patients are there.*
"It ends with the delivery of your promise before they leave the door.*
Dentists really must see the Marketing process as not only how to attract patients but how to deal with them when they call you or visit you in person or via your website. This is where the branding and customer experience comes into it which is all Marketing. Finally, you want your patients to leave with a positive experience that will surely be passed by word of mouth.
The Lead Generation, Lead Conversion and Client Fulfillment is an essential key process.*
The whole process should be seamless and totally connected. How well you do it will determine how successful you will be at making them come back to you for more. Getting existing patients to come back to you is a lot less expensive than finding new ones all of the time, although new patients are the life blood of any dental practice.
Marketing never stops!
* Michael E. Gerber, E-Myth Revisited (New York: Harper Collins 1995), p.230-232.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Should Dentists Bother With Branding?
By Christopher Hall / PRDent Ltd
I recently visited “The Dentistry Show” at the NEC,
During one such lecture I listened in astonishment when I heard a Dentist tell the audience that Branding was a complete waste of time. I discovered that the reason behind this bold statement was because Dentists do not have the same budgets as the likes of Coca Cola, Heinz and Walkers Crisps so there is little point in branding.
I do agree that Dentists generally do not have the same budgets as the big names but that is just about all I agree with. The large corporate companies gain brand recognition with a wide audience so therefore the cost is higher. Dentists should be appealing to a smaller audience so therefore the cost is proportionate.
Branding is incredibly important if you are a Dentist in private practice and you must get it right if you want success.
With Branding there are two aspects to consider. Firstly, there is the “experience” aspect of branding whereby your patients associate each point of contact that they have had with your practice. The patient experience is so important in private practice, especially if you are offering cosmetic procedures and you must identify the friction points and address them.
Secondly there is the psychological aspect of branding which is called the “brand image” whereby people create an impression in their minds about your dental practice based on the information and expectations that they have about your service. Again, this is important if you are offering cosmetic smile makeovers.
Whether your brand is the dentist, the dental practice, a product or service it shows what you are able to offer in the marketplace which means that your brand is a valuable element of your business. Maybe you want people to associate a certain quality or characteristic with your brand. If your prices are higher than your competitors you need a strong brand to make people want to pay a higher price.
First you must create your brand and then maintain it so that you can create value in the service that you offer to your patients. This is called “Brand Management”. Your brand identity will differentiate you from your competitors and will help you sell your service, especially if you do not want to be the cheapest in town.
Maybe you do not have the funding to compete with
Today consumers are looking for a complete experience so that they can realise dreams and achieve the lifestyle that they desire. This is never truer than in private dentistry.
Has branding worked for you? I would appreciate your comments....
Saturday, 7 March 2009
The Best Form Of Advertising?
By Christopher Hall / PRDent Ltd
Most people are aware that the best form of advertising is "word of mouth" but do you really know the power that this can bring to your business and why it is so important? I would hazard a guess that you know little more than the basics which really is not enough if you want your business to survive and get ahead of the competition.
Most of us think that if we do a good job with Mrs Smith then she will go and tell Mrs Jones how good the experience was. It is natural to think that if you treat several people like Mrs Smith and they go and tell several people like Mrs Jones then the word will spread. This theory is not totally untrue but word of mouth is far more powerful and diversified than this and is something much under utilised by dental clinics.
Why is word of mouth powerful? Unlike advertising where your audience subliminally undervalues your message, word of mouth is a testimonial from other people who may have used, researched or read about your business. The value of this to a prospective patient is considered much higher than a straightforward advertisement. The power of this message is so strong that communication can pass between people who do not even know each other!
Techniques utilising the word of mouth principle can be adopted in your marketing plan, on your website, in publications and in literature. In fact, it can change the way you do business all together!
Imagine if one of your patients featured in a well known magazine and she told her story about how she spent many years alone and without the prospect of finding new love. Then one day she visited your dental clinic and had a smile makeover which gave her the renewed confidence to improve her social life and find new love. Although many readers will not know that patient personally, many will be able to relate to her and some readers will be totally inspired to find you and commission you to give them a new smile. Now that is word of mouth on a mass scale!
There are many ways in which this principle can be adopted in your clinic and working with a marketing company can lead to success whilst you focus on being a dentist.
First of all, remember that learning about the principles is one thing but adopting those principles in your business takes knowledge experience. Secondly, bad news travels faster than good news so you have to work that much harder to charge good news into your marketplace.
I would love to hear from anybody who has experienced the power of word of mouth and how it has helped them increase business.
Most people are aware that the best form of advertising is "word of mouth" but do you really know the power that this can bring to your business and why it is so important? I would hazard a guess that you know little more than the basics which really is not enough if you want your business to survive and get ahead of the competition.
Most of us think that if we do a good job with Mrs Smith then she will go and tell Mrs Jones how good the experience was. It is natural to think that if you treat several people like Mrs Smith and they go and tell several people like Mrs Jones then the word will spread. This theory is not totally untrue but word of mouth is far more powerful and diversified than this and is something much under utilised by dental clinics.
Why is word of mouth powerful? Unlike advertising where your audience subliminally undervalues your message, word of mouth is a testimonial from other people who may have used, researched or read about your business. The value of this to a prospective patient is considered much higher than a straightforward advertisement. The power of this message is so strong that communication can pass between people who do not even know each other!
Techniques utilising the word of mouth principle can be adopted in your marketing plan, on your website, in publications and in literature. In fact, it can change the way you do business all together!
Imagine if one of your patients featured in a well known magazine and she told her story about how she spent many years alone and without the prospect of finding new love. Then one day she visited your dental clinic and had a smile makeover which gave her the renewed confidence to improve her social life and find new love. Although many readers will not know that patient personally, many will be able to relate to her and some readers will be totally inspired to find you and commission you to give them a new smile. Now that is word of mouth on a mass scale!
There are many ways in which this principle can be adopted in your clinic and working with a marketing company can lead to success whilst you focus on being a dentist.
First of all, remember that learning about the principles is one thing but adopting those principles in your business takes knowledge experience. Secondly, bad news travels faster than good news so you have to work that much harder to charge good news into your marketplace.
I would love to hear from anybody who has experienced the power of word of mouth and how it has helped them increase business.
Friday, 6 March 2009
Why Dentists Should Not Cut Back On Marketing During A Recession
By Christopher Hall / PRDent Ltd
Dentists who own their own practice are primarily health care providers who also happen to be business people. Some Dentists are exceptionally good business people whilst others clearly need support.
It is common knowledge that during a recession the smaller bespoke practices and the cosmetic clinics are hit hardest. The temptation to reduce business overheads has never before been more tempting. Whilst reviewing your business is always a good idea, hastily reducing your expenses is a natural knee jerk reaction during a recession and one that may not be totally necessary.
Please remember three things:
1) Restorative dentistry is more of a need than cosmetic procedures and wants are always fi0rst to go during tough times.
2) It may get a bit tougher to find but the new business is out there if you are prepared to work a bit harder
2) Expenditure is more controllable than income when push comes to shove but do not stop or cut back on your marketing.
The marketing that you do is a key component in your business and making sure it is still working for you is a high priority now that the recession is firmly influencing the economy. This is essential for business survival and unless you take control soon your business may not live to tell the tale or it will take years to recover.
Reviewing your marketing plan with your consultant, making absolutely sure it is still relevant and that you are still executing the tasks set out in your plan properly is business basics. I cannot emphasise enough that marketing is the tool for bringing in new patients to your dental practice and that taking your eye off the ball is potentially business suicide.
During a recent exhibition at Earls Court I engaged with several people who had severed ties with their marketing company in an attempt to reduce business expenditure. After a little digging it became obvious that the marketing companies in question were resting on their laurels and simply collecting in monthly retainer fees and giving little in return. The result was obvious in that the client did not see the value anymore and the financial contract was duly broken.
Your marketing activity is essential to raising profit within your practice, lifting the profile of the dental clinic and perhaps the key people within by using a variety of techniques. If you do not have a marketing plan (dentists often don't plan in this area) then get one. If you do have a marketing plan then ensure that it is still working for you. Industry changes and you must ensure that you are not courting the wrong target market. If you are then you are wasting resources. Perhaps your target market has changed now that we are in a recession or maybe you’re not identifying consumer demand. Unless you like going to work everyday and working hard without enough benefits then keep a lifeline going with your marketing consultant.
Toothache won’t go away just because we are in a recession which means that basic dental care is always needed.
Consumer spending maybe down but I cannot emphasise enough that the recession is not affecting everybody and some people are in the market for private cosmetic and restorative dental treatment. You just need to make sure that you are reaching out to them.
During hard times we all need to take a good look at ourselves and if necessary adapt to the changing environment. Ensure that what you are offering is what your target market wants / needs and make sure you drive home the message using a variety of methods.
Consider offering finance to patients to make treatment more affordable. There are specialist finance companies that can help you offer finance packages to your patients. In recent years the 0% finance phenomenon has taken the dental industry by storm which has increased profit and improved cash flow for the dentist. Consider offering orthodontic, endodontic and periodontal treatment if that is what your target market needs. Offering teeth whitening solutions can also increase profits for your clinic but please research before jumping in feet first.
Here at PRDent Ltd we keep in contact our clients and ensure that the marketing plan is still effective, especially if a major event such as recession changes the face of things. As a minimum our clients appreciate the call and at best we stop resources being wasted.
Before cutting back on marketing think about reviewing what you have or even increase your marketing activitiy to see you through hard times. Id done right it should pay dividends.
Most importantly we take the hard work out of marketing so that the Dentist can concentrate on patients who are king and queen.
Dentists who own their own practice are primarily health care providers who also happen to be business people. Some Dentists are exceptionally good business people whilst others clearly need support.
It is common knowledge that during a recession the smaller bespoke practices and the cosmetic clinics are hit hardest. The temptation to reduce business overheads has never before been more tempting. Whilst reviewing your business is always a good idea, hastily reducing your expenses is a natural knee jerk reaction during a recession and one that may not be totally necessary.
Please remember three things:
1) Restorative dentistry is more of a need than cosmetic procedures and wants are always fi0rst to go during tough times.
2) It may get a bit tougher to find but the new business is out there if you are prepared to work a bit harder
2) Expenditure is more controllable than income when push comes to shove but do not stop or cut back on your marketing.
The marketing that you do is a key component in your business and making sure it is still working for you is a high priority now that the recession is firmly influencing the economy. This is essential for business survival and unless you take control soon your business may not live to tell the tale or it will take years to recover.
Reviewing your marketing plan with your consultant, making absolutely sure it is still relevant and that you are still executing the tasks set out in your plan properly is business basics. I cannot emphasise enough that marketing is the tool for bringing in new patients to your dental practice and that taking your eye off the ball is potentially business suicide.
During a recent exhibition at Earls Court I engaged with several people who had severed ties with their marketing company in an attempt to reduce business expenditure. After a little digging it became obvious that the marketing companies in question were resting on their laurels and simply collecting in monthly retainer fees and giving little in return. The result was obvious in that the client did not see the value anymore and the financial contract was duly broken.
Your marketing activity is essential to raising profit within your practice, lifting the profile of the dental clinic and perhaps the key people within by using a variety of techniques. If you do not have a marketing plan (dentists often don't plan in this area) then get one. If you do have a marketing plan then ensure that it is still working for you. Industry changes and you must ensure that you are not courting the wrong target market. If you are then you are wasting resources. Perhaps your target market has changed now that we are in a recession or maybe you’re not identifying consumer demand. Unless you like going to work everyday and working hard without enough benefits then keep a lifeline going with your marketing consultant.
Toothache won’t go away just because we are in a recession which means that basic dental care is always needed.
Consumer spending maybe down but I cannot emphasise enough that the recession is not affecting everybody and some people are in the market for private cosmetic and restorative dental treatment. You just need to make sure that you are reaching out to them.
During hard times we all need to take a good look at ourselves and if necessary adapt to the changing environment. Ensure that what you are offering is what your target market wants / needs and make sure you drive home the message using a variety of methods.
Consider offering finance to patients to make treatment more affordable. There are specialist finance companies that can help you offer finance packages to your patients. In recent years the 0% finance phenomenon has taken the dental industry by storm which has increased profit and improved cash flow for the dentist. Consider offering orthodontic, endodontic and periodontal treatment if that is what your target market needs. Offering teeth whitening solutions can also increase profits for your clinic but please research before jumping in feet first.
Here at PRDent Ltd we keep in contact our clients and ensure that the marketing plan is still effective, especially if a major event such as recession changes the face of things. As a minimum our clients appreciate the call and at best we stop resources being wasted.
Before cutting back on marketing think about reviewing what you have or even increase your marketing activitiy to see you through hard times. Id done right it should pay dividends.
Most importantly we take the hard work out of marketing so that the Dentist can concentrate on patients who are king and queen.
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Cost of Advertising vs Value of Publicity
by Christopher Hall / PRDent Ltd
Some dental clinics do amazingly well with little more than a listing in the local telephone directory, whilst other dental clinics need a wide and varied mix of marketing to achieve the desired results. It very much depends on a number of factors!
As a business owner I once shared the illusion that marketing companies had large advertising budgets to bring in new business. Several years ago I realised that this was a two dimensional approach after seeing what marketing can do for a business.
Many companies unfortunately have the same illusion and I regularly see new companies using brute force by throwing large amounts money at advertising campaigns with marginal success. Sadly, a lot of these companies go to the wall without really knowing where it all went wrong. Advertising has it’s place but it should be part of the marketing mix.
For you to really believe how marketing can work for your dental clinic you need to understand the difference, work at it and start getting positive results.
Advertising is generally referred to as “paid inclusion” which means that you pay the publication to print your message which is aimed at your target market. So far so good but few realise that readers will subliminally under value your advertisement. Why? Well those who pay rarely point out the negatives about their service.
This is where the other elements of marketing come into the equation or more accurately, Publicity! If something goes to print which has been impartially written by another person such as a journalist and it is positive then readers are more likely to become patients. The downside is that negative comments are hard to control but good PR account executives like me can keep on driving home positive messages to the media.
If you want your dental clinic to stand out amongst the crowd then consider other forms of ammunition and do not solely rely on advertising and leaflet drops to get random traffic through your dental practice.
I will be glad to receive your comments and experiences with advertising
Some dental clinics do amazingly well with little more than a listing in the local telephone directory, whilst other dental clinics need a wide and varied mix of marketing to achieve the desired results. It very much depends on a number of factors!
As a business owner I once shared the illusion that marketing companies had large advertising budgets to bring in new business. Several years ago I realised that this was a two dimensional approach after seeing what marketing can do for a business.
Many companies unfortunately have the same illusion and I regularly see new companies using brute force by throwing large amounts money at advertising campaigns with marginal success. Sadly, a lot of these companies go to the wall without really knowing where it all went wrong. Advertising has it’s place but it should be part of the marketing mix.
For you to really believe how marketing can work for your dental clinic you need to understand the difference, work at it and start getting positive results.
Advertising is generally referred to as “paid inclusion” which means that you pay the publication to print your message which is aimed at your target market. So far so good but few realise that readers will subliminally under value your advertisement. Why? Well those who pay rarely point out the negatives about their service.
This is where the other elements of marketing come into the equation or more accurately, Publicity! If something goes to print which has been impartially written by another person such as a journalist and it is positive then readers are more likely to become patients. The downside is that negative comments are hard to control but good PR account executives like me can keep on driving home positive messages to the media.
If you want your dental clinic to stand out amongst the crowd then consider other forms of ammunition and do not solely rely on advertising and leaflet drops to get random traffic through your dental practice.
I will be glad to receive your comments and experiences with advertising
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