What Demographics Should I Mail To?

In the case of Dental Marketing, there always seems to be a strugle over what demographics to choose for a mailing program.

If you are looking for an answer like "you should focus on 25-50 year old women who have an annual income of $40,000, live in a house valued over $200,000, and like to golf and travel," you won't get it here.

In the case of dental care, instead of demographics, you should first consider psychographics, in other words, what makes a patient decide to go to YOUR practice? For a dental practice, it has been proven that a vast majority of dental patients choose their practice mainly because of its convenient location. It's a sad but true reality that comes from a lack of public education about what constitutes great dental care.

Also, when creating a mailing list, you need to ask yourself what your practice needs. Many times that doesn't come down to 25-50 year old women who like to golf; it comes down to patients with money to afford your services.

In both of these cases, the data points to a simple geographic list. There are many things you can get in a simple geographic based list. You can eliminate "unfavorable" neighborhoods, eliminate transient apartment dwellers (not to be confused with condo owners), and not waste money mailing to those who live far out of your area.

If I were to set one demographic parameter, it would be household income. If they make above average income in the area (usually $50K and above), and live within 5-10 miles of my practice depending on population concentration, they would be on my list.

By creating a demographic selection of list by age and personal interest, you not only are limiting your target audience, but also you are going to pay more money per name and receive less targets. In turn, you will also receive fewer responses. In this case too, we are not figuring in design and copywriting costs for a targeted marketing piece. (If you specifically target your market, you need to take the same care to target your message, and your media as well.)

You also mentioned that you are in an insurance heavy market. Do you take their insurance? If not, do you offer programs as viable insurance substitutes? Many practices I deal with are in a location that does not support who the dentist wants to target. Some are fee for service practices in an insurance market like yours, and get beat to death by the "Do you take my insurance?" question.

In a case of demographics, keep it simple. If all you want in your practice is 33-year-old men who own BMW's, you can have all of them and still have a very small practice. But what you really want is patients in your chairs who have the means to afford the best care you can possibly offer for them. My suggestion would be to go with a radius around your office and an income qualifier.

Third Party Endorsements

Many times in marketing, we get caught talking about ourselves. Promoting yourself is a great way to get the message out about what you do, and whom you help. As Donald Trump says, “Brag about yourself and your accomplishments because no one else will.

I disagree with Mr. Trump. Although promoting yourself and your practice is important, there are plenty of people out there who will talk about you, your practice, and how you have helped them. In this case, I follow the Dan Kennedy creed: “What others say about you and your service is at least 1000% more convincing than what you say, even if you are 1000% more eloquent. The following are three of these 3rd parties:

Current Patients: You have hundreds, if not thousands of people you help each year. Every one of them should have something good to say about you and your services. Collect testimonials from every patient at every visit. It’s just as simple as having your front office person give them a form and ask them to fill it out regarding their experience that day. Get their ok, and use these to promote your office.

In an insurance office I recently visited, there were 2, 4” thick binders full of testimonial sheets. With some quick math, I figured there were over 2000 in all. I wouldn’t have to read all of them, but it was a great way to display these testimonials for customers to read. For a sample testimonial sheet to use in your practice, just fax a request to 503-371-1299.

Celebrities: When people think of celebrities, sometimes they get caught up in A-list names like Brad Pitt, or Jennifer Aniston. These people would be great to endorse your services, but they aren’t needed. Think of local people who have some recognition in the community. Find someone like a local news anchor, musician, or maybe the mayor or a state representative. These people are a bit easier to find than Tom Cruise, and sometimes they will be willing to promote your services on the cheap.

News Media: This is the one endorsement you can control. By creating publicity through the local news media, you create an endorsement from them. This is news from your practice produced by you, but rewritten and printed for thousands of people to read. It does not look as if you wrote it yourself, so it appears as a third party endorsement. This is a great deal because this endorsement is delivered to thousands of people daily.

Let these third parties tell your story, and they will have a big impact in your practice.

Have a profitable week!

Online Publicity

Google has become a household name over the last 5 years. If you were to say “Google it” to someone in the early 90’s, they would have looked at you like you were crazy. Now, Google.com has become THE online gateway for online information.

How do you get listed on Google? Well, you can go through their adwords program where you actually bid to have your name at the top, OR, you can take advantage of the little known free ways to be listed on Google.

First, lets see how Google works. Every day and night Google has “bots” or “spiders” that crawl around all of the code on the internet picking up on certain things that rate a website. These things can range from key words to links, to mentions in a blog article. These go into the google computer and out comes a score for a website based on how many links it has from other sites, and how many relevant key words it has on the site itself.

This is the short version of how Google gets its information.

Now that we know how it works, we can look at how to get listed without paying big for a listing.

One of the easiest ways is through Google News. In order to be the top Internet news service in the bunch, the Googlebots crawl through news websites daily in looking for relevant content.

The easy way to get listed on these searches is through your local paper. These newspaper articles, if written correctly, will not only appear on the Google news page, but can also appear as top ranked content on the main Google search page. This is an easy, FREE way to get your practice mentioned and attract new patients through the Internet.

Of course, this is not the only way to promote your practice on the internet, There are still many options out there that are very passive and can lead to great new patient acquisition strategies.

ACTION TO TAKE: Browse the Internet and especially Google. Check local bulletin boards (www.craigslist.org), Local city sites (www.citysearch.com), and especially your local media sites and see what it takes to get listed.

The more you are mentioned on the Internet, the more you are likely to be found.

Have a profitable week!

Give A Gift Of Publicity

Being the Holiday season, it is a time for giving.

Many of you in your practices create some sort of giving program. Maybe it is a giving tree, or perhaps you have a barrel where patients can drop food or toys for less fortunate families or children.

This is a great idea, a great program and shows your heart and the true meaning of serving others. But have you taken every possible step you can to ensure that your barrel gets filled?

What if you could promote your charity collection for free? What if there was a way to collect more food from the public to fill your barrel? And, what if there was a side benefit of possibly drawing some new people into your practice…and maybe they become patients?

Well, never fear, there is a simple way to do this.

ACTION TO TAKE: Create a press release promoting your food/toy/whatever collection and send it to the local media. Make sure you include details like where the goods go once they are collected, how long you are taking donations, and how much you are hoping to collect.

News outlets (especially newspapers) love these feel good stories. If anything, you will get a mention in the calendar of events section. It will hopefully draw new people into your office to drop off food, and they may turn into patients of your practice.

Don’t feel bad asking for these donations and possibly getting a patient or two out of it. Many charity organizations have ready-made programs designed for this purpose. These are free to anyone willing to collect donations, and often include everything you need including a fill in the blanks press release.

When Bill Gates makes a $1 Billion donation to the World Aids Awareness Association, he knows that the media will eat it up. He’ll make sure to create publicity not only for the charity, but also himself. The charity doesn’t mind his promotion because they get $1 Billion as well as the publicity.

If you do run a charity giving program in your office, it is to the charity’s and to your best interest to promote it to everyone you can. This includes press releases as well as announcing it in your newsletter to your current patients. This will draw in more gifts to the charity, and possibly create some patients for you too.

Email Rules Of Engagement

The following story has been posted by many if not all of the major news companies around the world including Yahoo, AP, Reuters, BBC, and many websites (including this one) have also reprinted the story.

For those of you that haven't seen it yet, here is the run down:

Lawyer Paula Brosnahan, 33, and her fiance Steve Hausman, 36, who will marry in April next year, sought a quote from The Great Marquee Company for their Whangaparaoa cliff-top wedding. They viewed photos on the company's website and arranged an appointment to inspect a marquee in Devonport.

But when the Mt Albert couple decided the marquee would not be suitable and sent a polite email to the company saying they would look elsewhere, they were shocked to receive a reply from the firm saying their wedding wasn't posh enough for its tents.

The couple, who met 17 years ago, had written a polite letter saying: "Paula and I went and viewed your marquee setup at Devonport ... unfortunately we did not like it ... thanks for your assistance and we are sorry that it turned out this way."

Two hours later the firm's office manager, Katrina Jorgensen, replied to the couple: "Your wedding sounded cheap, nasty and tacky anyway, so we only ever considered you time wasters. Our marquees are for upper class clients which unfortunately you are not. Why don't you stay within your class levels and buy something from Payless Plastics instead."

The email response from the office manager has now been sent the world over by email forward and has been printed both online and in paper by many of the major newsgroups. AP, Yahoo, BBC, and Reuters to name a few. It's surely been read by tens if not hundreds of thousands of people.

The response has destroyed the company, and the owner has since fired the office manager (which happens to be his wife).

What to learn: TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY! With the invention of the internet it allows anyone to communicate anything to any number of people INSTANTLY.

What was supposed to be a "private" email has now been spread worldwide, and has destroyed a business, all because an employee got a little snappy with a customer and documented it in an email. Just imagine if this was your employee and your business.

If you say "My office staff would never do that." Reread the above example, and remember...the office manager was THE OWNERS WIFE!

ACTION TO TAKE: If you don't have office rules of engagement for email communications, do it now. ANY employee you have on the internet has the immediate power to create a problem just like the above one.

Also, realize that email is solid documentation, if you aren't willing to have it broadcast to the world, don't put it in an email. That [forward] button is to close to the send button to risk putting anything out there that could compromise your business.

Even though there is no standard set for email and it is still considered "informal," make sure you and your staff communicate in a professional manner at all times through email, or otherwise, because you never know who is going to see, read, or hear your message.

Here Comes the Holidays

It’s been a generally accepted myth that the holidays (Thanksgiving to New Years) is a bad time to do any marketing. All types of businesses find their marketing doesn’t work, and because of that, December is their slowest month of the year.

In Jerry’s SofTouch managed practice, we have found the opposite to be true. The practice opened to a full schedule the week of thanksgiving, The Christmas postcard pulled in patients, the letter to the current patients for a the chance to buy Whitening certificates for their friends and family also pulled well.

See, the holidays are not a bad time to market, however, they are a bad time to market badly. Here are some simple rules for your holiday marketing:

1: Go with who you know. Your patient base is loyal, and has a relationship with you. What can you offer to them to make their lives less stressful during the holiday season (think Christmas gifts for friends)?

2: Don’t try and compete with “big business.” Doing a newspaper ad or insert during the holidays is almost marketing suicide unless it is huge and colorful and offers a great deal. The newspaper is so full of Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Sears it is ridiculous. Sure the newspaper people will tell you the paper has the largest readership during the holidays, but many of those “readers” just look at the advertisements.

3: Make sure to be in the office. Many offices send a postcard or mailing only to have shortened office hours or vacation weeks when they are out of the office. If you plan to be out the week before Christmas, don’t send out a mailing that gets delivered that week. You’ll get calls, but nobody will be there to answer them.

4: Allow time for your mail. Allow a couple of extra days for your mailings to get delivered. Local mailings should not take much longer, but plan for a delay.

5: WHAT TO DO: Take advantage of opportunities. Be a bell ringer, have a canned food drive, adopt a family, have a “giving tree” in the office. Make sure to promote these to your patients and the local media (if you need help, call us).

6: WHAT TO DO PART 2: Hit the ground running on New Years. A little thing called a “TAB ON” ad netted almost 40 patients on New Years day of 2005 for the SofTouch office. The phone began ringing off the hook at 6 AM on January 1st. That is a good start to a year for any practice.
Christmas mailers, and New Years celebration offers to current patients and neighborhoods have both been great producers for the SofTouch practice here in Salem.

"I will prescribe regimen for the good of my patients..."

First of all, don't skip this article thinking you have heard this before. Yes, you do know the patient truly pays your bills, but I still, time and time again catch examples of mixed messages going out. Are you trying to draw new patients, or draw the glorious attention of your peers.

I don't know how you practice, but I have yet to see a dentist get a check from their competition with a note saying "Great ad, here's $500."

Now, down to business, In browsing through a marketing trade journal I caught eye of an ad for an internet printer.

I have not posted the ad online due to copyright and internet-sharing rules, but the picture shows an upscale beautiful building surrounded by palm trees with the granite company sign out front for a company called Modern marketing. The headline reads “You Come First.”

So, what’s wrong with this ad?

Well, at first sight it is an attention grabbing ad. Beautiful building, bold headline, pretty colors, etc.

But supposedly at this company, I COME FIRST. If I come first, why do they need an office on the beach with palm trees and a big granite logo? Their supposed concern is about my business, and me, right? If they were that concerned, they should buy me a building. (Keep in mind, this is an internet printer, not a retail store. No customers actually go in the building.)

All to many times I see dental offices make the same mistake. They claim to be about the patient through and through, but their office, marketing, and sometimes attitudes reflect the best interest of the doctor and staff, rather than the best interest of the patient.

Take one simple example, the dental chair… this is built with the comfort of the doctor in mind, all tools within reach, stainless handles, 400 different adjustments, etc… What about the patient? They get an “ergonomic” vinyl banana seat to lay in. (A friend of mine had a root canal recently, and her only complaint was back pain from laying in the chair. No root canal pain, just pain from the chair. She complains about it to this day.)

Action to take: Look at your practice, take every aspect and ask yourself, what am I doing to run my practice for best interest of the patient? Then take your marketing and ask, “What am I doing to convey my patient benefits? Remember, the patient ultimately signs your check.

"No Thanks, I'm just looking"

Business owners in general hate “tire kickers.” Those people that call, or even come in just to check out prices and see what special deals they can get.

The main problem with “tire kickers” is how you deal with them. Once they ask for a price or are tagged as a price shopper or tire kicker they are written off as a lost cause. You think to yourself “they are just shopping, they won’t buy,” and before you know it, you have treated them so badly they don’t buy, and then you just say, “I knew it, they never buy.” The perfect self-fulfilling prophesy.

The next time a tire kicker calls and asks for a price, don’t shut them out. Tell them the price and treat them well. Give them details and benefits and explanations of why your prices are what they are. Something like “We treat our patients with the highest quality materials and care, and we wouldn’t want to have low cost prevent us from giving you the best possible treatment.

Pour it on, the more details and benefits you give, and the nicer you are will make the practice stand out to these shoppers. Present the practice and price with pride, but also build value in it.

If a person calls and asks for the price of an exam, tell them, but also tell them the 17 different exams you do…oral cancer, pocket depth, etc. This will show them that you go the extra mile. Now they pay $120 for several exams, rather than $120 for just a regular, plain old exam.

Our society is based on competition. For that reason, there will always be “tire kickers.” Treat these tire kickers in a way they have never been treated before. Take them through the steps you take with your best patients, and watch how many of these “tire kickers” actually purchase based on the value of your practice rather than the price.

November 10, 1775

Today was the birthday of The Marine Corps.

I say this for two reasons:

#1: I am a former Marine myself,

#2: Every year, Marines everywhere celebrate this birthday of one of the greatest military forces in the world.

When I was on active duty, the biggest event of the year was the Marine Corps ball/birthday party. A huge celebration, usually within your 3500 person unit that involved everyone from the newest Marine and his girlfriend, to the most Senior Officer and his long time wife. We celebrated, talked war stories (some had more than others), and danced the night away to show our love for the Marine Corps.

What can a dental practice learn from this?

#1: Events like these bring together Marines everywhere. To this day, I still get emails from my Marine buddies wishing me happy birthday on November 10th. The comraderie and experience of celebrating a landmark occasion is the best team building excercise you can do.

In your practice, celebrate the practice birthday, or an employees aniversary at the practice. Even just set aside a time to gather all the practice staff together away from the office. Get to know your staff as people rather than as hygienists and assistants. These "events" will help them work together as a team, and create a better, more efficient workplace.

Don't limit yourself just to staff parties, patient events can create comraderie and a sense of community as well.

#2: An event like the Marine Corps Birthday, celebrated yearly is a newsworthy item. The Marines have been around 231 years now, and every year, the news media announces it on a national scale.

In your practice, an anniversary, or "birthday" of the practice, if celebrated right can become a very newsworthy event that can gain you notariety ain your community not to mention free publicity and new patients. Make it a point to have and promote events in your community with the purpose of celebration for the community.

Celebrate your practice. There is no doubt it is a big part of your life. You celebrate birthdays and anniversaries of your friends and family, why not your practice?

Have a profitable week!

Welcome, but Expected Surprises

There are those things in life we come to expect. Simple things like the car starting in the morning, the light turning on when we flip the switch, or our coffee to be hot when we buy it.

Then sometimes we get unexpected surprises. Events like a power outage, or finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk.

One of the above surprises is an inconvenience, but the other is great, and can make a persons day. Finding $20 of “free” money on the sidewalk…that could make anybody’s day.

Two days ago, I purchased a package of Hostess Ho Hos. Chocolate snack cakes, which come 3 to a package. I returned to my desk to hammer out some work, and opened the package to find there were 4 treats inside the package rather than 3.

I was rather excited to get 33% more snack for my dollar, and it put a smile on my face. Was I expecting it? No, but it sure put a smile on my face.

How can you apply this to your practice? Create a system to randomly reward patients for using your services. Maybe at the start of the week, you pick a number, say 14. Then, patient #14 for the week gets a $10 Starbucks card, unannounced and unadvertised. If you don’t think that makes someone’s day, try it.

The same works for staff. Show up one day with a box of muffins and look at the smiles on their faces. Don’t tell them you are doing it, or make it a regular thing, just do it randomly. They will enjoy the little surprises.

These little unexpected surprises will help to keep patients coming back, and keep your staff productive as ever.

Just imagine the word-of-mouth you will create when patient #14 goes to work and brags about how here dentist surprised her with a free Starbucks gift card.

Repackage Your Practice

There are truly many ways to innovate in your practice.

You can create a new procedure, or invent a new piece of equipment, but sometimes, the easiest way to innovate is to create “packages” of services.

These packages offer convenience for the patient, and if put together and priced right, can really help to grow a practice and lock in patient loyalty.

These packages can be either developed within your practice, or they can involve some joint ventures with other businesses.

Consider a package that offers teeth cleaning and tooth whitening. A cleaning is $129, and a “cleaning plus” option may be $199. Many people seeing a normal option and an upgrade will go for the upgrade just out of fear of being normal.

Or, take it a step further and have your “new patient beauty special.” This one takes a beauty spa, and offers not only teeth whitening at your practice, but a facial, manicure, and a tanning session at the spa. A “mini-makeover.”

Now, you have taken your practice from a simple health maintenance solution, to a true health and beauty solution. People will opt for the package because you offer all that service and value at a competitive price.

Do some research on your current patient base, and ask a few questions of them. What would they like to see you offer? If you offered _______ would they take advantage of it?

Then, put a package together. Maybe start with a limited number, and really commit to selling them. Make sure every staff member mentions the package, mention it in your patient newsletter, and place signage around the practice.

Action To Take: Look around your area and see what types of business you could team up with to create a patient beneficial package. Hint: Think Spa, Hair Salon, Tanning, Health Food, etc.

Maximize Your Mailing List

What is the most important asset in your practice?

If your answer was anything but patients, you are dead wrong.

You see, everything else in your practice, the x-ray, the chair, the staff, and yes, even that DDS or DMD degree on the wall is useless without patients.

Over the life of your practice, you have developed a list of these patients that are current in your practice, and you also have a list of those that USED TO BE patients, but for some reason have not returned.

This list is your most valuable asset in the practice. Make sure you have a backup copy of it in a very safe, fire resistant place.

IF you showed up to your practice tomorrow and the whole place had gone up in flames, what would you have left? The only thing that could not be replaced easily is your patient list.

Also, true Marketers would pay hundreds of dollars to have a list of dedicated and loyal consumers of a specific service. These consumers are known to be health conscious and committed to having the best health possible.

I’m not suggesting you sell your list, in fact, it’s illegal to do so, but you do have the option to send communication to them yourself. You should be sending newsletters, postcards, appointment reminders, and Thanksgiving cards to your current list to keep them coming back.

Action To Take: This November, consider sending your patients a simple Thanksgiving card. Include a message that thanks them for being a patient. After all, without them, you have no practice.

Why Your Patients Leave

I just finished an article in the latest issue of Dental Economics regarding building trust in your patients.

The article cited a survey of 1000 consumers in which 25% of the respondents said they stopped seeing a physician due to communication problems.

You say, "But I talk to my patients all the time, my communication with them is great!"

OK, point taken, but we have to remember, (and your spouse will tell you) communication is a two way street. It doesn't mean just talking, but LISTENING.

Case in point, this morning I was at the dentist, and had just began a prophy when my worst fears came to realization...

Grape flavored prophy paste...YUCK!!!

Now, I have been at the same dental office for the last 3 years, and every time I experience this little bit of discomfort. I am not a big fan of these "flavored" pastes at all, and prefer either the regular mint, or the No Flavor paste. (Who taste tests these anyway?)

I have let the office know this every time I have been there, and yet every time I go it seems I have to tell them again. And usually I am the one left with a bad taste in my mouth.

Being in the industry, I know there are places in the practice management software, or special "alert" stickers that can be placed on a file. These are usually reserved to alert the dentist to any allergies, or special conditions. In other words, the best interest of the practice.

Now, in my case, there is no alert sticker, note in my file, or even a yellow sticky note alerting the hygienist to my request for flavorless paste.

It is almost as if my likes/needs were not documented for sake of practice efficiency.

All it takes in this instance is a little extra step from the hygienist or dentist (who also noted my flavor choice aloud) to write this in or on my patient file, or make a note in the fancy computer system, and next time I won't be surprised by the newest sensation in flavored prophy paste.

It's small things like this that make people leave the dentist. You may have done your cleaning and checkup to perfection, but when I taste grape in my mouth by surprise, that is what I will note.

So, when communicating with your patients, make sure the patient gets a chance to talk, and make sure you take the opportunity to listen.

Don't leave a bad taste in their mouth.

Have a profitable week!

Remind Your Patients What Time Of Year It Is!

Yesterday, I was browsing through the local paper looking at all the advertisements from the national retailers. These are your normal weekly ads from Lowes, Target, and Sears showcasing all of their fall special prices.

Everything was targeted at fall savings. Reminding me to buy the gutter cleaners, lawn rakes, and Halloween decorations that were all featured.

I couldn’t help but think of how nice it was for these huge stores to remind me what time of year it is, and what I should be doing with my money. I broke my lawn rake last year, my gutters do need a good cleaning, and I could use a little decoration for the season.

These guys have a smart plan to advertise what is needed, when it is needed. Do I need a swimming pool… not now, but a lawn rake? I could use two.

It’s the same way with your patient’s insurance benefits. Many of them have leftover benefits that they will forget to use because it is not on top of their list (like gutter cleaning is not on top of mine). Once December ends, many of your patients will find the benefits they could have taken advantage of have now gone, and they now have a huge deductible to overcome putting them further away from getting prescribed work done.

So it’s up to you to remind them. Not so much for your benefit (although it is beneficial to you), but as a service to your patients. You have worked hard to build a relationship with your patients, and by taking a small extra step to remind them what time of year it is, and to use their benefits; it will help them, and in turn, help you.

Action To Take: Send your patients an insurance letter soon. If you need a FREE example, Fax us at 503-371-1299.

P.S. A doctor we sent insurance letters for reported 5 scheduled appointments within one week of sending the letters, and booked all 5 for prior undone treatment!

Follow Up Systems

I receive a lot of questions asking me what kind of follow up systems that we recommend here at Jerry Jones Direct. This month I figured I would cover a couple of ways to follow up with those patients that scheduled, as well as those new callers that may not have scheduled.

First things first…You cannot follow up with people if you do not collect their name, address, and phone number! This is very important. Even if the caller does not appoint, collect all of their information. This will let you follow up with them to see if their needs have changed.

Also, I don’t know what it is, but I even talk to practices that don’t even collect address and phone information when a new patient appoints, they wait until the patient actually shows up in the office. This is practice suicide. This also leads to many no shows.

That being said, there are many ways to follow up with both those patients that schedule, and those that do not. I will break them down into those two categories.

For patients that schedule…

Immediately send them a reminder card. Something for them to hold in their hand. A simple Thank You card that says “Thank you for calling and scheduling an appointment on Saturday, February 12th at 3pm. We look forward to seeing you then.” And make sure to personally sign it.

Have a letter from you go out with all the new patient forms. The letter from the doctor should say something to the effect of “Thank you for appointing, we realize that you have a lot of dental care options and we are glad you chose us. I have enclosed our new patient forms for you to fill out and bring to your first appointment; this will ensure we get you in on time.” Have the doctor sign it IN BLUE INK. This is a very important step. Blue ink shows that the signature is not a photocopy, and the doctor has actually taken time out of his day to sign these letters. Also, hand address these envelopes!

Also, the day before the appointment, call the patient and remind/confirm their appointment. This is a simple step that will decrease no-shows quite a bit. Your office staff should do this, not you.

Remember, all of these follow up methods rely on getting the patient’s name, address, and phone number. Failure to get any of those will eliminate at least one of these follow up methods, if not all chances for follow up.

For a new-caller that does not appoint…

If the caller chooses not to appoint, BEFORE the call ends, add this line, “you can visit us at www.yourwebsitehere.com for more information.”

Also, IMMEDIATELY send them a thank you card (handwritten and signed) that says “Thank you for calling us, we realize that you have many dental options, and we would be privileged to have you in our practice.” Or something similar.

If the patient asks a question about whitening, send them a ZOOM brochure, with a short handwritten note.

Once again, the above options all depend on collecting the name, address, and phone number of the caller.

These are just a few of the methods available to follow up with patients and new callers, but there are plenty more. Get creative. Remember, human nature follows the rule of reciprocity, meaning, if you do something for them, they feel compelled to do something for you. Whether that is showing up for their appointment, or calling back to schedule an appointment. The more creative and thoughtful you are, the more rewards you will reap.

If you need some help putting together a follow up package, or need to design a brochure to use for follow up and other reasons, please give us a call at 1-800-311-1390.

Have A Profitable Week!

How to increase your PPC

It’s almost like hitting the lottery.

You’re sending postcards out, and you get a call that turns into a whole family worth of new patients. Maybe the woman of the house called and scheduled herself, her 2 kids, and her husband!

GREAT, 4 patients in one call! That’s like getting two toys in your Cracker Jacks!

What if every call could net you more than one new patient?

Well, why not take the steps to bring up your Patient Per Call (PPC) average.

Every office should have a PPC of at least 1. I would argue it should be at least 2. That means for every call you get to the office, you should net 2 new patients.

How do you increase this percentage? The same exact way you get more referrals…ASK!!!

While I was at Jerry’s SofTouch managed practice, I overheard a new patient call come in to Ann, the front office specialist, and she answered a question or two, and booked the new female patient.

Before she hung up the phone, she asked, “Are you married?” I am assuming the answer was yes because Ann then followed up with “We could get your husband in to see Dr. Zachary at the same time you come in…should I go ahead and schedule him too?”

The conversation continued until Ann had booked the wife, the husband, and 1 child. Three total patients from one call.

Ann could have easily hung up the call after the wife booked, and celebrated the single new patient, but she took it a step further…and asked a simple question, “Are you married?” These three words led to an additional 2 new patients.

On this first call, almost everyone will have someone they know, even if they are not married, that will need to make an appointment at the dentist. TO take advantage of this, add these statements to your new patient call script:

“Are you married?”

“Do you know anyone else that would like to take advantage of the offer?”

These two statements alone will help set the stage for referrals, and increase your PPC average, not to mention your marketing ROI.

Have a profitable week!!!

Creating a "WOW" experience.

Hello again, for this entry, I have decided to include video I discovered on the World Wide Web.

The video depicts a pediatric dental office. I don't know where, or who the owner is, I merely know that even as an adult, I WANT TO GO THERE!

This video takes the Walt Disney theory to heart, "Do what you do so well that people can't resist coming back for more and telling their friends to do the same."

The amazing thing about the following videos is they were uploaded to the net by a patient. The doctor possibly has no idea they are floating around. Think about it, this patient liked the office so much, s/he took a video of it, AND uploaded it for the world to see.

Do you think this person talks about this office often. I bet they do, every time s/he gets a chance.

So, action to take tip for this entry: watch the video, and think of how you can provide this type of experience for your patients.



and

PR Nightmares

In a recent issue of The Dental Profit Report, I talked about word of mouth and how negative word of mouth spreads much quicker than positive word of mouth.

This brought me to two somewhat humorous, but very true examples.

The first comes from two regular guys and their stay at a hotel. Be aware, this presentation has not only made the rounds of the corporate office of the named company, but also has seen many millions of views on the internet, and IT IS A TRUE STORY. Click on the titles on the left of the page to advance slides.

http://www.snopes.com/business/info/badhotel/frame.htm

And, the article testifying to the truthfulness of this from Snopes which is a website that proves or disproves viral content and urban legends.

http://www.snopes.com/business/consumer/badhotel.asp

Ok, for our second example that may hit a little closer to home. Someone has actually taken the time to create and maintain a website at www.baddentist.com.

This has become a nightmare for this dentist, and due to the displeasure of the creator of this website, continues to haunt him to this day. The website picks apart every minor move this particular dentist makes and even gets additional press from the dentist himself. For you law minded doctors out there, there is no libel or slander here, because all of the information provided on the site has been proven.

Here's another to note: www.worstdentist.com.

Now hopefully, for your practice, the examples above will never happen, but that doesn't mean the negative word of mouth does not spread. There are steps to combat this negative spread, and promote positive word of mouth. I have listed a few below:

1: Treat all of your patients as if they are your only patient. They do pay the bills. Also, they do know at least 10 other people that could use your services.

2: Communcate with them often. Send a monthly newsletter or even a handwritten thank you.

3: Take care of problems immediately! Try to avoid problems, but when there is a problem, dedicate quick personal response, it will lead to happier patients.

4: Take surveys. Verbal, writen, or by phone. A simple "Id there anything we could have done to make your visit better?" is a good way to know how the patient feels about their treatment and care. It will also provide great feedback as to what you could do in the future for all your patients.

For now, that is all. Remember, your patients perception is your reality.

Have a profitable week!!!

First AIDA (The timeline of Direct Response)

In direct respose advertising, there are 4 things (Acronym AIDA) you should consider both when putting a piece together, or planning your method for handling the response. I'll take you through these 4 steps, and cover both the design, and response considerations...

A = Attention

Design: This is the first thing you need to get when someone looks at your direct response piece. THis is why the Headline and USP are so important to your practice. IT will grab the correct prospects attention, and make them respond...or move onto the next step.

Response: Some prospects will respond just because your piece grabs their attention. What this means is your team will have to explain much of the piece to them. The offer, your office, and really work at selling the appointment. This makes it important to have everyone on your team know the marketing piece.

I = Interest

Design: After you have their attention, you need to build a connection with the prospect. Use benefits in your copy to build interest in your practice and why the prospect should respond. This is where you can include testimonials and credentials (years in service).

Response: If someone responds after their interest has been gained, your team may have to answer a few specific questions to sell the appointment. They want your services, but are not yet sure if your office is the right fit. This makes it important for your team to know all the specifics about your practice, and the proceedures.

D = Decision

Design: You really need to make an offer, and have a deadline. This will help to speed the prospects decision to take advantage of your services. The offer and deadline are the nail in the coffin of the decision making, and serve to lead into the final phase of response.

Response: If a person responds at the decision stage, they may be sold, but unsure. They will need to be keyed in on the deadline of the offer, and the exclusivity as well. This person wants your services, but is hesitant to make a commitment. This makes it important to have a team that is not afraid to ASK for the appointment, and close the deal.

A = Action

Design: TELL THE PROSPECT WHAT TO DO. If you want them to call, tell them. If you want them to email, tell them. Don't simply print a phone number, and hope they figure it out. Tell the prospect what they need to do.

Response: These are the respondents everyone loves. They respond and are already sold, and need no questions answered. At this point it is important for your team to create a bond with the prospect making sure they are tied into the practice. Always collect name, address, and phone number from EVERY prospect whether or not they appoint. It helps ensure the bond with your patients.

As you can see above, there are many differnt ways for someone to respond to your advertisement. Also note that only one way requires no sales skill from your staff. 3 out of 4 ways require your team to know more than just how to answer a phone.

Take these into consideration when mailing a postcard, advertising on the web, or producing a letter, and ALSO, when hiring staff. IF you need help, or have any questions, as always, give us a call at 1-800-311-1390.

Have a profitable day!

The Key To A Referral Program

For most doctors, when I say referral program, their first thought is of a patient newsletter. Now, there is nothing wrong with acknowledging that a newsletter is a great (and essential) part of building patient loyalty and referrals, but it is by no means a comprehensive part of your referral "program."

To get to where I am going with this, let's first define the word "program":

program (n): a system of projects or services intended to meet a need

In this instance, your need is referrals, and lots of them. Let's face it, without patients, there is no practice. And in the case of referrals, it is very often the place where you find your best and most loyal patients.

But now let's move to the first part "a system of products or services." The key word in this case is system. Once again, we define system as: "A functionally related group of elements." In other words, the elements all combine to create one thing...more referrals for your practice.

There are many of these elements and below I have put together a list of these pieces that should all be included in your comprehensive referral program:

Referral rewards (gift cards, gift certificates, complimentary services)
Staff referrals
Professional relationships (not only with other doctors, but why not with your real estate agent, insurance broker, and your health club trainer)
A patient newsletter
In-office signage
YOU
Patient Communication

This is far from a comprehensive list of services, but all of these are included in a referral PROGRAM.

Example CUTCO Knives: A popular job among college students in the summer, their program is based solely on referrals. At the end of the sales presentation, whether the customer buys or not, the sales person lays a sheet out in front of the buyer with 10 blank lines on it and says "I am sure you know of some other people that would be interested in hearing about the knives you saw today. If you would be so kind as to write down their name and phone number, I would appreciate it."

Usually, the customer will give 2 or 3 leads (or more) to the sales person who then calls each and makes an appointment with them. Leading to more customers, and more sales.

The above example may not translate directly into your dental practice, but it shows the power of a PROGRAM. Cutco has it laid out, scripted, and developed that there is no way the customer could not provide a referral.

The same applies to your practice...How developed is your referral program? Do you send a newsletter every now and then, and hope the patient is getting asked by one of your staff? Or does your monthly newsletter go out like clockwork, and your referral wording is such that every patient gets asked for a referral at every appointment by a specific member of your staff.

Action to take: Sit down some afternoon and put your referral PROGRAM down on paper. Figure out all the details down to whose responsibility it is to ask for the referral at the appointment and when the patient gets his/her reward (right away is best). Also figure out how to communicate your PROGRAM to your patients (newsletter, in-office signage, staff). Then, the biggest key is to implement the program, and SUPERVISE the implementation. And of course, watch your referrals grow.

Then you will truly have "a system of projects or services intended to meet a need."

Have a profitable week!!!

Are the inmates running the asylum?

It disappoints me a little that I even have to write a blog with the following content. In the past 4 years, I have seen dentistry as one of the industries making the most strides in its marketing and overall brand management.

But a call last week really reversed my outlook and made me realize that there are still some doctors out there that allow their staff to dictate how the business is run, and it is costing them dearly.

A "front office" member from a new dental client of ours called and expressed her discomfort with a part of the new client agreement we review with each doctor that uses our service. Basically, the line said "You agree to keep a log of all incoming new patient call activity..."

The front office member in question explained that she did not have the time to collect the callers name, address, and phone number over the phone, and that she waits until they come into the office. It would really "cramp" her schedule to have to collect and spend that time with every new caller that is interested in the doctors services.

Let me state that again... It would really "cramp" HER schedule to have to collect and spend that time with every new caller that is interested in the doctors services.

Im sorry, but is dentistry not about the patients anymore? Is it so wrong to spend a little time explaining your offerings to a new lead in order to make them a patient?

There is no doubt in my mind, if asked, the doctor would say how they care so much for their patients and they would do anything to make them comfortable and healthy...

Like make an appointment reminder phone call, or even mail the new patient forms to the patient so they don't have to sit in the office and fill them out, or even call a no-show. I bet this doctor leads the city in no-show first appointments.

The worst part about this whole scenario is that the doctor has no idea what is going on, and exactly how much money he is losing. He has let the FO designate his practice style, and in doing so is losing money hand over fist.

Its not a matter of micro-managing, but a matter of just managing. Put some standard operating proceedures in place, and stick to them. Keep your front office staff accountable for their actions, and make them aware of the vision you have for the business. That is part of owning a business.

As for the dentist, make sure to collect the NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, AND SOURCE of every call into your office from a new lead whether they schedule or not. You would pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for a list of people interested in your services, so take advantage of the ones who come to you (after all, you pay people like me to drive call to your office). Ask for the appointment, and if they do not appoint, or no-show, you have a backup plan, and a name of a person you know is interested in making their mouth healthy.

Have a profitable week!

Who's Doing It Right?

For this entry into the JJD blog, I figured I would share some stories from the "real world" and let you know who is doing things right in the areas of marketing. I have a couple of local examples, and then one very big national example that anyone in business can learn something from. A big key to each of these is not only doing something right, but just doing something!

Sip

Sip is a small deli type store that offers "bubble drinks." What are bubble drinks? Well, if you don't know, google it, because I am sure that I couldn't explain it correctly.

Walking by sip on at least a weekly basis, I had always wondered what a bubble drink was. I had never stopped in because I was unwilling to risk $3 of my own cash trying one, when I could go to Starbucks down the street and buy something I knew I liked.

Well, in walking by on Monday, there was a nice young lady outside of Sip passing out FREE samples of bubble drinks. Try one? Of course I would, and what I found out was bubble drinks are absolutely delicious, and the banana creme frappucino at Starbucks fell far short in taste comparison.

Whats the lesson? A free sample, and a little bit of customer education has turned me on to bubble drinks. As a person, I was very leary, and uneducated on the taste of them until I was offered a sample for FREE. Best part, no commitment for me, and a new weekly customer for Sip. (They probably gained a few new customers that day.)

Woodhams Eye Clinic

"Atlanta's only 20/20 or FREE Lasik Guarantee"

Pretty strong stuff in that above statement, especially for a huge city like Atlanta, but let's look closer at what they have done...

USP: Atlanta's ONLY - talk about a strong diferentiation statement. They not only have a guarantee, but they told me that no other Lasik clinic does in this city. Makes the consumer decision easy.

Guarantee: Risk free to me...I see better, or I don't pay. That simple. No risk for me at all.


Billboard: 7 total words, a telephone number, and a website... They've said everything they need to in SEVEN total words. Thats the power of a USP...it sums everything up quickly and easily.

Website (woodhams.com): Focused on selling...Testimonials, FREE evaluation, and some patient education. Focussed on getting the patient.

JEEP 30 Day Return

Jeep has taken the risk out of purchasing a vehicle by offering a 30 day return on any Jeep vehicle purchased.

Now i'm sure the other companies will follow suit eventually, but right now, they are all screaming "ARE YOU CRAZY?" They envision thousands of returns, and people buying cars, driving them for 29 days, and returning them. (Jeep will profit from being different and the first to offer this.)

Chances are, there will be some returns, but Jeep also realizes it has a superior product and they are not scared to show it. They will gain a ton of customers that feel relieved they get to drive a vehicle for 30 days before they need to make a final decision. After 30 days, the buyers will have already seen the comfort and superiority of a Jeep vehicle.

I know some of you read the small print as well, and all the fees that are associated with the return. That won't scare anyone away from buying a Jeep, or from returning it. People know there are fees associated with a vehicle, and it still will dramatically lower the risk from being stuck with a $30,000 vehicle for a few years, or paying $400 to get out of a contract.

Learn from all three of these examples, and notice one thing...they all reduce the risk of the new consumer.

Have a profitable week!

Don't Blame It On The Media

As I was talking to a future client of ours yesterday, he brought up a semi-valid argument against any marketing out there...

"James, I've tried postcards before, they don't work for my practice."

This is a common reason for resistence to any marketing. You can replace "postcards" in the above statement with anything. (websites, new movers, newsletters, newspaper ads, etc.)

Here at Jerry Jones Direct, we realize that there is more than one way to make a postcard, and many variables that go into it. Variables like: headline, offer, copy, postage, and color just to scrape the surface. Add pictures, and benefits in there just for good measure.

You see, just because one postcard doesn't work, doesn't mean all postcards are flawed and won't work.

Don't blame the media...blame the message.

It would be similar to saying... That toothpaste tasted horrible, i'll never use toothpaste again. Toothpaste (like postcards) isn't bad, it is whats in the toothpaste (or on the postcards) that affects the taste (and results).

Take a look at your mail, and each postcard you receive, notice how different the message/design is. And yet they are all postcards.

Same goes for new movers, newsletters, and any other advertising. If you don't have the right message, the marketing will fail no matter what media you use.

This is the big key to success behind our Simple Green Postcard Marketing Program. Yes, it is a postcard. But it's not the media, it's the Simple, Direct message and offer that makes it so effective.

So instead of "James, postcards don't work in my practice." say "James, my last postcard was a dud, but I would like to hear how yours is different and how it will draw patients to my practice."

Have a profitable day!!!

JAMES

Patient Education and How Your Marketing Suffers

In reviewing some Yellow Pages ads for clients today, I noticed one thing common to them.

They both listed CEREC as one of the features of their office.

CEREC One Day Crowns/Onlays

Before I go any further, let me say that I love CEREC, it really provides a great service to the patient, and I think that no dental practice should be without one.

With that said, the general public wouldn't know the difference between a CEREC and a Subaru.

Just because I am in the dental industry, I know CEREC stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. I also know that because I just checked the website...

But ask any person off the street what CEREC stands for, and they will just give you a blank look. Heck, most people don't know what LASER or RADAR stand for, or even that they are acronyms.

The fact is, if you are going to promote CEREC, you need to make sure to break it down into its pieces. Make it so simple, a 5th grader could understand it (thats the method USA Today uses). Don't trust that your patients know what you know. They don't spend years in dental school, attending CE courses, or even subscribe to DentalTown Magazine. They know little if anything about dentistry and the technology that accompanies it.

"Crowns in one visit" is a good start, but remember, how many people out there know what a crown is, and more importantly, what problems it solves. That's the key, and here is the advertisement.

Do you experience or have:
Pain when chewing?
Sensitivity to cold or hot food and drinks?
Chipped or cracked teeth?

Then you may need a dental crown. Come in and experience the convenience of our ONE VISIT crown service with the help of our CEREC aided design. With CEREC, we take pictures of the broken, chipped, or cracked tooth then design, construct, and attach the permanent restoration to your tooth, many times in one visit. At other dental offices you'll have to wait sometimes up to 2 weeks for the restoration to return, but with our CEREC technology, we'll have your smile bright, healthy, and pain free in ONE VISIT.

Ok, so it is quite a rough example,. but you get the picture. With the advancements in dental technology nowadays, you need to really educate your patients on how your services can benefit them.

ATTN: This is a very focussed advertisement, targeting only those with dental pain. It will not draw those in that are simply looking for a general dentist.

And most importantly, remember, 99.9% of your patients have never been to dental school.

15 New Patients in 8 Hours!

I have to share our most recent "home-run" patient attraction strategy with you!

It hit yesterday ... 15 NPs in 8 hours!

I tried to call Rachel (My Front Office) several times during the day, and every timeI called, I got, "Can I call you back, I have two people on the other lines!"

THAT is an excellent response to an ad!

The best part: $1,100 total investment!

Wait though...I do have one other thing I want to add:

Each patient will have an initial value of $99 to the practice.

Based on the last time we ran this ad (we run it two-times a year,and every time we've ran it, results have been this good orBETTER!), each patient will have a value, by the end of their 3rd month in the practice, of about $1,110.00.

Every patient responding also has potential for major cosmetic work.

If you woke up in a 5 mile radius of my office and picked up the paper, here is what you saw...


One last thing: Please, PLEASE do not copy this ad verbattim. This is a copyright protected ad and I'm providing it to you as an example only. The media choice is obvious, so take advantage of being...FRONT PAGE NEWS!

Good Luck...And to YOUR *Profits*!

~Jerry

How To Achieve A 1:1 Return On Investment

In my daily contact with our dental partners about their practice marketing, I tend to recieve a lot of questions, many come more frequently than others, so today, I am going to talk about one simple question that I get from almost every client out there.

How many patients should I expect?

Well, #1 it depends on the type of marketing...are we sending postcards for you, or are we doing our RARE newsletter system?

For this example we'll use the Simple Green Postcard Program. This external marketing program produces 1500 cards every three weeks, and averages 6 to 8 patients per mailing.

Let's say, however, you are like Dr. H from Michigan. His first mailing in the postcard system brought in 4 patients...OH NO, 4 patients! That's below average for what you usually get!

Now hold on, let me continue, if those 4 patients come in and each spend $250, that is $1000 that you have made. This more than covers the $993.27 you paid for the mailing.

"But James," you say, "That doesn't include overhead or anything, and that is only a 1:1 R.O.I."

Well that is correct doctor, but let me tell you this, is dentistry a one-time transaction business? Or is it a business where you can create and develop relationships with people, locking them in not only as lifetime patients, but also, lifetime friends?

Knowing how any business operates, I would take a 1:1 R.O.I. anyday because I know that:
A: I will show on that first visit that I am the best at my craft.
B: I will prove that the new patient will get treated better than they ever treated before.
C: I will make sure to dedicate some time/money to keeping them around as long as possible.

With those 3 things I can not only keep this new patient around, but also build word of mouth.

As Walt Disney once said, "Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends. "

If you do that, you will never need more than a 1:1 R.O.I.

Think And Grow Rich

Some of you may recognize the above title as a book by Napoleon Hill about your mental state and how it impacts your wealth.

In watching one of my favorite television programs, Inked, the other night, I was reminded of how destructive a persons negativity can be.

The owner of the tattoo shop featured in the show, Carey Hart, was in the process of getting an online store up and running to sell his logo merchandise. He was at his wharehouse with the merchandise manager when the first shipment came in, so Carey pulled out some hats.

Carey was quite bent out of shape because the hats were white with a pink logo. Immediately he targeted the merchandise manager who claims that the pink logoed hats were not what he ordered. Carey was mad because he knew guys would never buy a pink logoed hat, and the hats were to big to sell to women. 12 boxes of hats no one would buy.

As time went on, Carey kept complaining about the hats, while the merchandise manager set into action. He immediately made it mandatory for the front staff at the tattoo shop to wear the hats and mention them to everyone through the door.

Two weeks later, Carey was back in the wharehouse looking around, and the merchandise manager reported to him that he had sold all of the hats except for one box. Carey was more than relieved.

The moral of the story is...If Carey's attitude would have gotten the merchandise manager down and discouraged, the hats would not have sold, contributing to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Carey could have then said "I told you so."

How does this effect you? When you go into an op to present treatment, assume the answer will be yes. Be surprised when someone turns down treatment, and watch your confidence and acceptance rates soar. Watch the attitude of your staff improve as you see more of the glass half full.

Don't get stuck with the hats.

Have a profitable week!!!

Fuel Up To Drive Your Practice

Guest Column By Hillary O’Callaghan

Apparently, the oil industry isn’t the only one cashing in on the skyrocketing gas prices. In South Dakota, Dr. John is taking advantage of the soaring gas prices; while his patients are cashing in at the pump, his referrals numbers may be increasing at a rate faster than that Exxon Mobil sign down the street.

Dentists are often baffled at how to reach their audience in a way that will excite them. After all, everyone has teeth, so the audience is pretty much everyone in your area. How are you going to reach all these people, from all different walks of life, in a personal and relevant manner? The answer is usually through a lot of market research.

So how did Dr. John fashion this win-win situation? Using his monthly patient newsletter as the vehicle (no pun intended), he is announcing his new referral rewards program: For every friend or family member referred to his office, Dr. John will award his referring patient with a $30.00 gas card. We’ll be sending this announcement to his best referring patients (those most likely to refer to him) to elicit the best response to the promotion.

You too can generate more referrals AND help your existing patients with this ever-increasing burden. Simply offer an incentive that will hit home with your patients. The response just might be enough to fill your tank.

How To Sell Your Practice

Many of the articles and marketing tips that we write here at Jerry Jones Direct come from our clients experiences, and this one is no different.

In talking to a new client of ours yesterday, we'll call him Dr. O, I found out that he was planning to sell his practice within the next year or two.

We discussed the fact that many new dentists nowadays prefer to start their own practice rather than purchase an established practice. I pointed out many examples that I had come to know of doctors that are quite successful in starting up vs. some that I know struggle upon purchasing a practice.

That is when Dr. O started telling me what he has going for him in his practice... The first thing out of his mouth was not his patient base, equipment, or location...

...it was his staff!!!

Dr. O talked so highly about his staff and the great job they do for him every day. How they never complain, and are one of the major reasons he will be able to retire next year. He said if anyone were to start a brand new practice today, there is no way they could ever find a staff that was as loyal and as hard working as his. He considered it one of the major selling points of his practice.

Look at your own practice. Do you consider your staff an asset that raises the value of your practice? Or do you have a "good enough staff" that does just enough to get by? If they aren't the type that adds anything...then why are they there?

One other tip about selling your practice... Dr. O has just started the RARE newsletter program with us. The reason is, he can ease the transition between himself, and the partner he brings in that will own the practice within a year. Great idea, and it really shows that there are many more benefits to a monthly newsletter than just the referrals.

Have a profitable week!

Word Of Mouth

Once again, a popular marketing publication inspires a blog posting. And no, this isn't a dental marketing book, or even health care related. Just another great source of information floating out there.

Word Of Mouth marketing is growing in popularity. Over 43% of U.S. Executives cite word of mouth as a top strategy for the coming year.

Notice the functional word in the above sentence is STRATEGY. Word of mouth is not a one time effort, single promotion, or even a project. Its an all-encompassing strategy that makes word of mouth a daily conscious piece of your practice marketing strategy.

The key to any word of mouth program is frequency. You need to develop a program that makes word of mouth a part of your everyday business life. Make it visible, and participatory to everyone involved...this includes staff as well as consumers.

Below are a few pieces to the word of mouth puzzle...

1.) A Monthly Practice Newsletter: Why don't you do one? This is the easiest way to promote your practice, yourself, your office, and develop your brand in the community. 12 points of contact per year with your patient base in their home can be nothing but good for your practice.

2.) Professional Referrals: Im not talking about the endodontist down the street, i'm talking about lawyers, accountants, tow truck drivers, real estate professionals. People that have a loyal customer base. (What better way is there to target new movers than have a real estate broker tell them about you? Talk about first contact.)

3.) Your staff: If you don't get referrals from your staff, get rid of them. Joe Girard (Guiness' World's best salesman) came up with "Girard's Law Of 250" which says, "Everyone knows 250 people in his or her life important enough to invite to a wedding and to the funeral." The 250 people each of your staff members know should be coming into your practice.

4.) Your business card: How many of these are sitting in a drawer in your desk? These should be mini-postcards handed out each and every moment you have available. Leave one with the tip at dinner, give one to the bus driver, the mailman, anywhere and everywhere you can. You know 250 people too. They should all be your patients. (Bonus: Put a New Patient offer on the card!)

5.) The most important part... supervise and track! Make word of mouth a part of your daily operational proceedure. In the morning huddle, ask..."Who did you talk to about our practice yesterday?" Somedays your staff will have no leads, but it will keep it in their mind, and is a non-threatening way to remind them.

There are plenty of ways to promote word of mouth in your practice, but be aware that if you let the systems and proceedures fall by the wayside, the referrals and word of mouth in the community will drop as well.

Have a profitable week!

The New Mover Market

We've had a lot of inquiries lately about our new mover market domination program, and frankly, it's a great program.

But, what are your true goals when attacking a new mover... The number one answer I receive from dentists is...

"I want to be the first dentist in the area to introduce myself to these new move-ins."

Good point, however by your statement, you have just turned your profession, dentistry, into a commodity. You are basically saying that your dental practice is the same as the one down the street, and the only difference between scoring a new patient or not is the ability to mail your brochure to the new mover's house before the other guy.

What heppened to differentiation being a competitive advantage? Making yourself and your practice so much better than the other guy's that the new mover can't help but hear about you.

Referrals are always overlooked as a great way to get new move in patients.

When people show up in a neighborhood, they'll ask their neighbors and co-workers who a good dentist is. Hopefully your patients are so impressed by your personal, caring, clinically superior treatment that when someone asks them what dentist to choose, they will recommend you.

If your only advantage is mailing a brochure before the guy down the street, maybe it is time to find a new advantage.

A Box Of Nickels

Most of you have seen the Jerry Jones Direct Wooden Nickels we use to help make our mail lumpy to generate that curiosity that works to get the envelope opened.

We use them a lot for clients in their New Mover Marketing Programs, too. I think the Wooden Nickel is one of the most impressive pieces of added material in a direct marketing campaign, period. They’re relatively inexpensive and they get people talking.

We were talking today about Wooden Nickels and we brought up an idea we are going to use at the SofTouch office. I was bragging about the fact that I had been dropping off four or five of the nickels at different businesses in town and the reactions people give me when it occurred to me that I should be getting even more of these out into the community…

After all, they work and people really do associate some real value with them. (Dr. Koultourides LOVES the Wooden Nickels and gets a great response from referrals.)

So here’s my idea: Buy about 20 or so little boxes – about 6”x6” or so. Fill them with Wooden Nickels, and send out a letter.

The letter says...

Dear Fellow Business Owner, [better still, personalize it!]

As you can see, I’ve sent you a box of Wooden Nickels. These aren’t ordinary Wooden Nickels. In fact, there’s over $8,000 worth of wood inside this little box!

That’s right! Each Wooden Nickel is worth $100 towards a New Patient Exam at my office at 3470 Liberty Road in South Salem.

I’m sending you these 80 Wooden Nickels because I know how it is when you have a great client or customer you would love to Thank for being such a great person to do business with, but you just don’t have anything handy (or cost-effective) to give to them.

I’ve solved that problem for you!

Feel free to give those people you really enjoy one of these Wooden Nickels…with your compliments!

And, we of course welcome you and all of your employees, too, and will be happy to extend this same offer to you!

Just call the number on the Nickel and we’ll see you here!

Best, Dr. David Zachary

P.S. When you call, mention this Wooden Nickel so we’re sure to give you the $100 credit. We also will bill your insurance for you and offer in-office, affordable financing for everyone!

(Check back for updates on this experiment!) For Wooden Nickel information, check here www.123-logos.com

Joint Ventures For Dentists

Back in December I began a little project with the local Lincoln/Acura/Mercedes dealer, Valley Motors. Klaus, my sales guy, has always been great to deal with. Let me give you some background:

Klaus is absolutely first class in every aspect. The first car I ever bought from him gave me quite a shock. About 15 days or so after I took possession, I came into work one morning and a huge basket of goodies was waiting.And, about nine months later he sent me a photo of me and the car, and a calendar with the photo enlarged. It was all laminated and very first class. The food basket had to have been $100 at least. But, he recognizes the cost of a sale, the profit from a sale, and so on. In short, he knows how to run his business.

So, back in December, I visited with him while the oil was being changed (You do have someone change your oil for you don’t you? It doesn’t pay for you to spend an hour under your car when you can pay a guy to do it for $29.99! Besides, what if the car fell on you or you got oil in your eye or wracked up your hand somehow?) and asked him if I could give him a few certi.cates he could send or give to his new car buyers.

He jumped at the chance!

Now, just over a month later, the mailing has gone out and on Monday, we saw our first patient – $313 production and collections right off the bat (plus whitening, which with this offer is free, but $750 in production, just no collections).

He’s scheduled for about $1100 MORE in treatment later this week. If that is the only patient we get, it’s a home run!

(Update: This program ran through the beginning of 2005 and pulled in many affluent patients and a lot of production. If you would like a copy of the certificate and letter, FAX us at 503-371-1299 ATTN: Mercedes Certificate!)

Developing a USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

Each day we receive dozens of phone calls from Dentists all over the United States asking for advice. We get different questions ranging from "When is my next postcard mailing?" to "What are the benefits of the patient newsletter?" and everything in between.

Lately we've come across a trend of questions such as, "How do I develop a Unique Selling Proposition?"

For those of you that don't know, a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is that one thing that makes you different, or unique, from everyone else in your profession. It takes the commodity of dentistry, and gives you that advantage that the dentist next door doesn't have.

Ask yourself, "What do I do to make myself different from the dentist next door?"

If you said you are kind and gentle, scratch that, 99% of the dentists I talk to in a day give that same answer.

With that said, there are 3 ways to differentiate yourself from your competition.

1. Stop copying what everyone else is doing!
This is a trend in dentistry that needs to stop. Sure, there are services out there that everyone will have, but then there are options that will make you better. If you are saying, "I'll wait to see what everyone else does, and i'll copy that." It is too late. 'Everyone else' will beat you to the punch (and the patients).

2. Be the best at your craft (dentistry).
Don't settle for the top 10%, be the best. Have the best equipment, the cleanest office, the kindest staff, and do the best dentistry possible on every patient. Don't worry about new innovation, just perfect greatness...perfect dentistry.

3. Do something different.
What if you were not the "one stop shop" for dentistry, but only offered fillings? The best fillings, done by a filling specialist. Don't be someone that dabbles in fillings, be the expert. Amalgym, composite, front, back, top, bottom. Know everything about them, and soon you will become the filling expert. This one seems crazy, but there are other options...finance every patient...give away a car...the sky is the limit.

Three ways, all extreme, or tame depending on how you take it. If you want the same results, money, and recognition as everyone else, go ahead and be like them. If you want more money, recognition, and results...be different.

Reasons People Don't Buy From You

In reading DM News, a marketing trade magazine, I came across an article titled "10 Reasons People Don't Buy From You." by Peter Fogel, a copywriter and marketing expert.

One of the reasons, and one that I hold to be very important is 'You don't let folks know anything about your business.' I'm not talking about electrical bills and staff costs, I'm talking personal stuff.

As Peter puts it, "People feel more comfortable once they know whom they're buying from... Let people get to know you, which then lets them feel comfortable buying from you."

This means telling them your interests. If you are in a bridge club, talk about it. If you have a German Shepherd, tell your patients. You could create a common interest, and the fact that you share an interest or hobby with your customers can do nothing but help your business.

So, in your next newsletter, (You do send out a monthly newsletter right?), put an article in about a staff member with a new baby, or a short blurb about your horse or whatever it is you like. Your patients will look at you as more of a friend rather than just some guy with a drill.

One last note, if you only keep your eyes focussed on dental pubs all the time, you are doing nothing different for your business. Try picking up other trade publications. Try Sports Business Journal, or Entrepreneur. Take the ideas and see how they can apply to your business.

Resources For Finding & Recruiting Dentists

Due to (get this) marketing, we currently have a dentist in Wisconsin that is looking for an associate to help him in one of his practices. We get this question often, and wanted to give dentists out there a resource of where to find help.

Listed in no particular order:

· I Hire Dental
· Monster.com
· DentalTown Magazine Classifieds
· American Dental Association Classified in magazine (JADA)
· Dental Jobs
· www.dental.washington.edu
· www.dentalworkers.com
· www.worktree.com

The best method is to visit the schools’ websites and look for an ALUMNI section and information along the lines of Practice Opportunities. Most of these are free of charge whereas some of the above sources charge for ads. Paying a few hundred bucks to place an ad shouldn’t be a big deal. After all, you’re looking for someone who will put a few grand a week in YOUR bank account.

Feedback…It’s Important to Know How We’re Doin’

Well, in case all the evidence I’ve provided in the past still brings doubts to mind…Here’s a recent comment from Dr. Busby:

The response to our “Green Card Mailing” has been exceptional. To date 31 people have made appointments. There have been no failures, patients have been receptive to treatment plans and have followed through with dental care. The ROI can’t be determined because it is still rising. We plan to add 2 more Zip Codes. –John Busby, DDS

Not bad. Not bad. What I didn’t include here, due to space constraints, is Dr. Busby’s print-out from his Dentrix software SHOWING the proof that he had seen 31 pts so far.

Have a profitable week!

Welcome To Jerry Jones Direct

Thanks for visiting my blog…and Congratulations on making a decision to take your practice to the next level.

I like to keep things simple. In order for my staff and I to assist you in your journey to maximum practice income, below are three areas we focus on here at Jerry Jones Direct.

The three core issues we can help you with are:

• Fine-Tune Your Practice By Providing Practice Management & Advertising Coaching via my Personal Dental Coach™ Program
• Getting New Patients (external marketing strategies)
• Retaining Your Existing Patients (internal marketing strategies)

To make your visit and experience fast, enjoyable and profitable, please visit my site at www.jerryjonesdirect.com