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.

• Dental Communications and Marketing Consultant
• Northern Dental Alliance Member/Co-Founder

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The Niche Strategy for Dental Practices

The extensive Dental CE credits you've racked up. The copious quantities of new dental technology you've installed. And substantial team training hours you've undertaken are about to be accessed by an onslaught of new dental patient.

How do you achieve this "big line at the office door" result? It is actually very simple: just start doing LESS. The consumer is overwhelmed by everyday life. You need to standout by simplifying what they need to know about your dental services and dentistry expertise.

Everyone needs a dentist. Sadly, many people put it too far down the priority ladder because they are human like us. Procrastination, denial and fear keep everyone of us from getting things done. A well defined niche gets the message across in a value building way, encouraging a proactive response.

Most dentists offer dental services to the "masses". Some get a new technology and standout for a couple months. Others promote "general" cosmetic dentistry. But overall it is a wide focus. And the consumer puts you in the same boat as every other dentist. More importantly, the value of your dental expertise is lost at sea in this generic fog.

Pursuing a niche practice strategy is a powerful advantage when coupled with consistent, repetition of your core messages.

Narrow the conversation to improve brand recall. Build value with connective, comprehensively integrated communication. Be proactively repetitive to prevent dental care priority decay.

It's time! Wipe generic dentistry images and ideas from their eyes. Put your expertise out where they can see it. Define your dental niche. Refine your dentistry communication.

Schedule a consultation with dentist coach and dental marketing consultant Dick Chwalek. 

Call: 866-453-1026

Email: consult@nichedental.com

Dentists Need to Get the Word Out: PR 'Stimulus Package' Makes It Possible

If dentists really want to make it in this economy, at any time - they need to make their value known beyond the dental chair. As a Northern Dental Alliance member, I wanted to start the ball rolling with a promotion that makes it easy for dentists to get started on building dental care value awareness...

Northern Dental Alliance Member Provides Dentists with Public Relations Stimulus Package

Niche Dental marketing consultant and Northern Dental Alliance member Dick Chwalek has developed a Dental PR Stimulus Package for dentists in Minnesota and surrounding states. The promotion was developed as a way to introduce dentists to the benefits of connective communication and enhancing public awareness of their services.

The economy has changed how many consumers view dentistry. Have they stopped wanting smile makeovers? Do they want cosmetic dentistry less? Are dental implants placed in a 'some other time' file? The answer is not really. For example, the savings rate has jumped from 0% in 2005 to 5% in January 2009. That means many people have more money “waiting in the wings' than they did before. What are they going to do with that money if dentists hide out?

The PR stimulus package promotion gives one dental practice each month a quick, no cost way to get the word out about their dentistry by simply signing up for a newsletter. Plus dentists who attend Northern Dental Alliance seminars for business CE will have the chance to receive a written and distributed press release as well.

According to dental coach and consultant Dick Chwalek, “Dentists who have zero public relations will get zero percent of the dentistry those patients need and want. Consumers are spending their money right now, but only when they see value. If dentists are not communicating online and off, consumers will find another dentist or another service if dentistry has not been presented to them in the interim as the place of value for that money.”

There are two ways dentists can get a no-cost press release.

• First, sign up for the Northern Dental Alliance email Newsletter

 > One press release given away each month with sign up

• Second, attend a NDA sponsored dental seminars and/or a seminar presented by a NDA member

  > One press release given away after each seminar

Northern Dental Alliance members work with dentists to improve their businesses, enhance clinical skills, protect their investments, and increase their personal financial security.

Contact InformationDick Chwalek
Northern Dental Alliance Member
> Dental Communication Coach
> Dentistry Marketing Consultant
Northern Dental Alliance

Chwalek@northerndentalalliance.com866-556-6213 ext 252 Niche Dental
11765 Bishop Ave NW

Online Patient Communication Systems

Keep in touch. Stay connected. Communicate for success: yours and your patients. Online dental practice communication systems are all the rage. The dentistry marketing secret you will only hear here. Listen close... They work!

Oh yah, most communication works. Is online any better? In some ways, maybe. The lack of conversing with your patients is what does not work. Internet and cell phone based communication is just how many of get our information now. Humans need communication to do anything. Technology merely adds a digital layer to it.

Use the telegraph if it means you will present your dental brand and health information consistently. Just converse and then converse again whether it is tooth-saving root canals in Traverse City or dental implants on Long Island. Communication will heal many dentistry problems. Including being filling out another pillar of your dental marketing strategy.

Find out more at - Read Dick Chwalek's Dentist Coaching Blog (the first entry)

Main Dental-Dentist Marketing Coaching Blog

What Will Happen To Dental Marketing in 2009?

The economy has changed in a dramatic way. Even if you had a good year, the ground has shifted and consumers will react. Dental practices that follow the crowd could end up heading off the cliff of generic malaise or getting little to drink at a very dry lake.

Recently, a client sent me a newsletter from a dentist who helps practices make decisions about their strategies. The consultant's idea was to start focusing on insurance patients and family dentistry. Basically, because money will be tight for consumers dentists should find ways to do dentistry that costs less. Sounds like a common sense business and dental marketing strategy in these tough economic times.

The problem is NOT that it won't work. It will work very well for many dentists. But what you need to consider is: are you 'many' dentists? Or look at it this way, would it make sense to tell all businesses to become Wal-mart when the economy goes down hill?

The dental practice management consultant also said that cosmetic dentistry as an overriding focus would be a problematic strategy in this environment. While I agree, cosmetic dentistry has never really made huge inroads - staying around 3-5 percent of overall dental treatments in the U.S.

Unfortunately, dentistry as a service has hardly moved at all in its utilization by the public even with the exciting elements of cosmetic or aesthetic enhancement. From 1996 to 2004, there was no change in the percentage of consumers with a dental visit (SeniorJournal.com). This dental care statistic, while seemingly problematic especially in this economy, offers a good perspective in determining how to market YOUR practice (not every practice).

Things will change but not everything will change. Here are some realities you want to consider as you decide on what direction your dental marketing and business strategy will go in 2009...

First, the consumer is still stuck in a rut of dentistry tradition and dental fears. Their needs and wants are often conflicted because of this dilemma. While it can be frustrating for dental professionals who want improve public health, it shows how the economy has little to do with when they will go to the dentist. When they have significant dental problems, the economy has almost no impact on them. Historical memory, human emotion and dental pain are recession proof.

Second, the general consumer thinks about health when dentistry is brought up. Everything else is sidelined in some way. Cosmetic dentistry is marketing icing. No matter how ugly your smile is dental fears are not removed. The nice smile on your advertisement gets people to look and consider dentistry more so than a diagrammed root canal. Yet one look does not equal a dental visit. Your dental marketing needs to have reality infused in it so it does not look too unfamiliar. Most everyone would like a beautiful smile - just like most would like to have a hard body. But getting it done is another matter. 

Finally, the money is out there, just look at the numbers. Even if the employment goes as high as 11% (what most see as the high end) there are still 89% who will still have a job. While there will be areas that get hit very hard, overall there are people who will find the money to get it done. Those who have a lot less - will probably just hold off unless everything is paid, and go to the real Wal-mart--not practices that resemble them.

That means you won't make it up on those who rely solely on insurance or the family dentistry group with a big dental treatment plan or a couple crowns because more of them will just sit on their hands. And think about it, who is hit harder in this economy, those with kids or those without? People without kids have the money to spend, and will do it if the value is evident.

Conclusion

What would you do with extra money right now? Buy and flip some houses? Pile it into the stock market? Open a restaurant? Buy a new car? It might be 12 months to 5 years before at least some of these things seem more palatable. 

Yet, if you had money - like most people 45 and older who are in the upper 25% of incomes and household wealth - and your teeth were falling out, oral pain was a daily issue or your smile was yellow and worn - would you wait 12 months to stop the pain and the embarrassment?   

You can follow the dentistry marketing herd towards the watering hole that is quickly drying up or run off the cliff with a generic dental practice strategy. Take your pick. 

However, I suggest you survey the 'reality geography' more closely as it relates to the dentistry you want to do. Then find YOUR dentistry-plush savannah to graze in and avoid the fall into dwindling returns. Or dig a well to create YOUR dental care oasis. 

What exactly do you do to make it happen? That requires a phone call and a some reality time to make it work for you.  

866-453-1026 ext 251

•  Generic and magical-thinking dentists and dental practices apply elsewhere.

Dentistry Marketing Commentary by Dick Chwalek 

• Dental Marketing Coach and Communication Consultant

Remember just like all politics are local - every dental care decision is personal with a good dose of tradition - not about family, insurance or cost.