I value straight talk like what you see in this article. The author rightly advises that marketing strategy and tactics alone are not enough. Your ability to grow your practice also hangs on your ability develop relationships and make the most of the time the patient is in your office. -Rob
April 18, 2017
By Adam Smith
Co-owner, Oxford Dental Care
Just like your office building, your practice's marketing strategies need a foundation: a strong reputation, both in person and online. In this article, Adam Smith explains how you can build your reputation to support and reinforce your efforts at attracting new patients.
Having worked in marketing for several years and as an owner of part of a dental practice, I have had the fortune of seeing what works and what doesn't. I can't count the number of times that I have met with dentists who are discouraged because they can't find the solution to getting new patients in the practice. Almost every time, they tell me something like, “I have tried everything.”
I am going to share with you the key difference that I have found between those who have “tried everything” with little success and those who are massively successful at attracting new patients. Are you ready for it? Foundation!
When dentists sit down with me and tell me about their difficulties attracting new patients, I always ask what they've tried—and usually I hear mailers, Google AdWords, social media, and search engine optimization. Then I ask them to explain how each marketing strategy worked specifically. They typically tell me that they tried something for a few months with very little success and then jumped to the next thing.
But here's an interesting phenomenon: if I ask a dentist bringing in over 100 new patients per month what he or she has done, I'll probably get similar answers to those above. I have been able to observe each of these practices, and the difference has become extremely clear … foundation!
What is a marketing foundation?
I've used the word “foundation” twice now, so let me explain how it works. As humans, we look for affirmation that the choices we have made (or the choices we are about to make) are good ones. When we receive a piece of marketing material, we immediately look for validation as to why we should take advantage of that offer. Many of us turn to one of two places: our social circles or the Internet. This means that if we want people to act on the offers we are providing, we need to back those offers with our reputations. Your reputation is your marketing foundation.