Thursday

Lacking It Dental Brands: When New Patients First Question is "Do You Take My Dental Insurance?"

Dentists who provide high value care should not routinely hear as an initial question from new patients something similar to, "Do you take my dental insurance?”

Achieving a consistent, positive presence in a local dentistry market is crucial for a dentist to realize long-term success. This is especially true of dentists who, to be viable, must attract a higher percentage of patients who want and expect more value, and will accept more comprehensive  recommendations.

Unfortunately, many consumers have a generic, if not more negative, view of dentistry. Therefore, without evaluating the marketing environment and the strategies needed to pursue that market now, and upgrading how the dentist presents him or herself to fit the new landscape, each marketing action can lead the audience to form the wrong impression about the dentist's service, and back to the future.

Successfully changing perceptions requires more than in-office pronouncements about quality or search advertising that links to a promotion of free teeth/smile whitening, a new technology or cosmetic dentistry technique.

For example, Invisalign 'clear braces' have a great dental technology concept, but every other dentist uses it or a similar product.

Taking a proactive, pragmatic, strategic approach is necessary to change this impression. The educative value of this tightly focused approach is much greater than the sum of its parts. Understanding the basic components of effective marketing will keep the focus on long-term results.

Evaluating these components offers insight into the effectiveness of your strategy. Achieving synergy in marketing makes it more likely that people are not only made aware of the dentist's image and message, but that patients also react more appropriately to the dentist's recommendations.

Each dental marketing component – high value branding, a consistent neighborhood conversation, and assertive public presence – will be examined to develop a synergistic dentist, dental office brand identity.

In this first installment, I will look at what is the type of high value image dentists should strive to present.

High Value Image

The FOUR components of a high value image include design, message, logo, and presentation, which constitute the overall dental brand.
  • Design:  It includes colors, style of interior, external, patient, and public presented elements, and a cohesively projected image
  • Message:  It involves what is said, how it is said and how often it is being said, how congruous it is between dental team members, and in public advertising
  • Logo: The look should fit the message, service style, services presented, team, doctor, and decor presentation.
  • Presentation: Distribution of the logo/message must be done throughout the environment, not merely on a website and/or letterhead. The promotion of these elements should make them synonymous with the dentist's name and/or practice name. 
Combining these four elements means the brand is able to interact effectively, succinctly and purposefully in the fashion and manner each dentist expects.

Unless dentists create this type of impact, their marketing becomes part of the clutter. With the success of this new level of influence, the dentist can create a better atmosphere of dental treatment acceptance.
The design of each dental marketing piece should make an impressive visual statement that catches the eye. However, the design must also effectively influence and work with the logo and message to uphold the brand.

Few dentistry office brands will thrive or even survive in this economy without a cohesive packaging of these elements. For example, many people have watched an entire television show, even when entertaining, have difficulty remembering the identity of any of the sponsors.

While the dental logo is part of design, in the context of the context of dentistry promotion, it has another vital purpose. Those who develop online advertising campaigns, dental postcards, brochures and other media need to think of how the logo influences the consumer in the marketing, as part of the brand and within every design element.

One basic strategy in design structure is logo placement. Placing the dental logo is very important to building the design brand. The design needs to accentuate and point to the logo. Without this design quality, the dental logo becomes just another element on the piece, like the area coder, rather than the flag bearer of the dentist's marketing.

Online images, advertisements, direct mail and the dental practice's websites will confuse the dentist's audience unless the design components are coordinated and memorable. Synergy of design, message and logo give the brand the ability to speak to the dental services consumer audience with clarity. This clarity has to be present or high value, a consistent tactile, visual conversation, and public presence are more difficult to elevate, raising the awareness high enough for consumers to see dentistry differently .

CONCLUSION


Practices that wish to sustain an effective level of marketing engagement need to find the right balance, but without engaging the branding issue, dentists will lag behind competitors. Approaching the audience in this refined way will increase the likelihood new patients will demand the dentist's highest level and most healthy appropriate treatment plan.

The competitive environment will continue in various ways because other dentists are making this upgrade, and of course, how the local economy is affecting each and every dentist in their area. The challenge is to move ahead as quickly as possible with a plan that makes sense for the individual dentists.

Yet, like the patient who is skittish about all the costs, and changes in their life involved in this choice, many dentists will put off what is needed till 'a better time' and they miss out on the benefits doing it today would have done for them.

Dental insurance, rather than being something disliked by dentists, or scorned, should be placed in the area as a supplement to the reality of what is possible, not an impediment to getting there, or even thinking about get there. High value branding is a foundation for changing perceptions, and then moving towards success for all parties involved!

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This has been the basics of high value branding, next up a consistent neighborhood conversation, and then the last topic in this dental marketing consulting series will be activating an assertive public presence – will be examined to develop a community aware, synergistic dentist, dental office brand identity.

Dental Marketing Consulting Blog Entry,

Produced, Induced, Written and Posted by

Richard Chwalek
NicheDental.com
Dentists , For More on My Unique Social Media Program or...
  • Contact me via Online@nichedental.com or...
  • Call 1+888.380.0020 and schedule a consultation with my Co-consultant Oli Gonsalves.

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Wednesday

Tactilely Impressive Dental Postcards, Attracting New Patients to Your Office!

Express Dental Marketing Tactilely Provides...




Value boosting dentistry, high-impact, personalized dental postcards and direct mail are a powerful way to interact with the consumer, neighbors, a specified audience. Postcards are almost unavoidable communication, and can be better targeted than most other marketing for dentists strategies.

Express Dental Marketing creates the most appropriate and effective campaigns for family, general, cosmetic dentistry practice and specialty orthodontic office.

While direct mail isn't magical, dental postcards and other mailers are best used in way that complements the consumer reality. Dentists need to gently but regularly nudge consumers out of  avoidance, delay and denial habits. A consistent direct mail campaign will keep consumers from remaining complacent and staying away from the dentists office even longer.

Success Achieved by Focusing On A Refined Audience and Ideal Patient



A targeted demographic list will often greatly influence the dentist's or orthodontist's success rate. A consistent dental postcard campaign sent to consumers who are most able to access dentistry services (using demographic criteria such as income and location) will create more cost effective results.

Express Dental Marketing Helps Determine The Best List

Dentists and Orthodontists should realize that high-value services are more likely to have success in this or any economy. People who need a lot of dentistry and/or want a total cosmetic smile makeover, or want to straighten their smile are looking for the right dentist, orthodontist and will pay whatever it takes once they find him or her.

Rather than waiting on the consumer to come around to your way of thinking by happenstance, dentists and orthodontists need to be out there, uncover and 'create' healthier and happier people today.

CONTACT Express Dental Marketing Now!

At Express Dental Marketing Oli will create the type of campaign that best suits your practice and service strategy. Choose from many ready to go postcard designs and budget-simplified campaigns or ask him about other options for your dental office.



Sales@ExpressDM.com

CALL 1+888.380.0020

Find out more at ExpressDentalMarketing.com

Posted by
Dick Chwalek

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