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.