The marketing rules have changed for small businesses, specifically dentists. See, we were taught in dental school that as long as we joined a church and were nice to people we would have all of the new patients we needed. Then we thought that if we were the best clinical dentists out there, we would be able to promote ourselves and the patients would be knocking our doors down!
Well, it’s all a lie. The sad truth is that the dentists who are expert marketers are winning, not the expert clinicians. Yes, obviously you need to be an excellent clinical dentist. That’s a given. But you should be balancing your time between the two in order to succeed.
It’s All about Marketing
Marketing is not about the features of your dentistry. Patients don’t want to buy crowns or root canals. However, they DO want the benefits that are provided as a result of the dentistry that you offer. How well do you market the benefits and emotional aspects of what you provide? Do you get too caught up in the technical process? Most dentists make the mistake of trying to build value for their patients by selling the features and focusing too much on what we call “The 3 P’s” (parts, process, and procedure). The problem with this approach is that education doesn’t sell.
Yes, you do have to actively market your practice. If you’re not promoting yourself, your practice is dying. Here’s the deal: You already have a marketing message whether you know it or not. Have you Googled yourself? Do you have any idea what your online reputation happens to be, or if you can even be found online? You just might be surprised.
Developing your marketing message and setting up the proper systems to support your message is first and foremost. You can market and attract all kinds of new patients, but without proper systems, you will never have enough new patients. Retention suffers until you can close the back door.
We help you get the “biggest bang for your buck” by making the most of your marketing dollars. The Brady Group partners with experts that understand relational reputation marketing and how to get patients to call your office. Effective marketing, coupled with the proper systems to maximize the new patient opportunities, results in retention and a more loyal patient base. You’d be surprised how profitable you can be when you achieve the right balance.