Social Media Marketing - What Should A Dentist Do?

First,
My approach take it relatively slow - after watching others/seeing it mature somewhat - but to get in and start figuring it out.

Second,
Yes, there can be a negative result from getting into social media - but that is ONLY PART of the Reality...
> I have linked to some ARTICLES below from other sources
---- Dentists, you don't need to read all of them - read a couple - even couple paragraphs of a few - to get a broader perspective.

Third,
We can do some removal - however, that is only about 15% to 25% of the content you could get to.

Remember, people can post on their sites, create sites specifically to take out their frustrations on others/businesses, write up something in review sites that are not 'yours/the dentists', etc.

Finally...
The other problem is if dentists pull back too much when they hear about some negative potential pitfall or cliff jump - then whatever BAD there is out there - will start showing up higher THAN the dentist's GOOD reviews/etc.

To some extent Social Media marketing is the WILD WEST. Yet, dentists and dental offices either must go WEST (and try to disarm the BAD Guys) or pull back and the nattering naybobs of negativism take over - or at least KICK up enough dust that the GOOD dentists become virtually non-extistent...

From New York Times Web

"The Excel Phenomenon"

- Book By JAMES W. ROBINSON

http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/r/robinson-excel.html

Some Excerpts

> The invention initially had its doubters and cynics, though. The chief of the British Post Office was reported to have said: "The Americans may have need for the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys.

> Others reacted with fear and superstition. They were afraid to talk to a disembodied voice and worried they would be electrocuted. Still others felt the phone was simply another "gilded-age" toy for the upper crust--certainly not a development that would alter the lives of average people and society as a whole.

> Even the now universal method of answering the telephone went through several manifestations in the very early days.

> The early notion that the telephone would remain an extravagance for a small segment of society was quickly proved wrong. Communications technology spread like wildfire from day one, and it hasn't stopped since:"

(Obviously, social media helps to uncover those businesses that are not 'GOOD' but one person - going off the charts with 'facts' derived in some part through an "I'm upset filter" - can damage another person and/or business significantly more than we would agree with if we were the 'negative receiver' - ONE Wronged - Does NOT justify Sherman's March to The SEA into waves and waves of Virtual, Viral, Viciousness.)

---
Next...

> This 'Yelp' article shows why dentists need to take control - rather than expect their dental office image to be better by hiding from the new....

You've Been Yelped
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100201/youve-been-yelped.html

Social Media's Good, Bad, Ugly and Unexpected
http://technology.inc.com/managing/articles/200901/leary.html

==========

1) Blog not 'editor reviewed' - but the blogger provides a quick synopsis of some of the challenges in Social Media marketing/advertising.

However, it is too simplistic to categorize any marketing completely good or bad. Yes, it does not work for some dentists and it might not be worth in some cases. But like the telephone 100 years ago, fearing new just means dentists will miss the future.

>> 7 Reasons Social Media Is Bad for Marketing
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/6244/7-Reasons-Social-Media-Is-Bad-for-Marketing.aspx

==========
Similar Articles at BusinessWeek.com

> Debunking Six Social Media Myths
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2009/tc20090218_335887.htm

> Top Five Social Media Marketing Mistakes
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2010/ca20100617_480316.htm

==========
This INC.com articles goes another direction...

It Takes a Community to Raise a Customer
http://technology.inc.com/managing/articles/200911/leary.html


MORE SOCIAL MEDIA

You Can’t Measure Social Media ROI in a Silo
http://blogs.forbes.com/lisaarthur/2010/11/02/you-can’t-measure-social-media-roi-in-a-silo/

Future Success Depends on Analytics and Integration
http://blogs.forbes.com/lisaarthur/2010/10/12/future-success-depends-on-analytics-and-integration/#post_comments

This Forbes.com article compares online to off line marketing.

Chocolate, Vanilla, or Swirl: The Debate Between Online and Offline Marketing

By Lisa Arthur
http://blogs.forbes.com/lisaarthur/2010/09/08/chocolate-vanilla-or-swirl-the-debate-between-online-and-offline-marketing/

Excerpt...
> I am not debating that digital marketing offers tremendously valuable opportunities to reach out to and connect with consumers. In fact, when Aprimo polled hundreds of marketing professionals who attended Online Marketing Summit events over the past few months, we found that, not surprisingly, 62 percent are increasing their spend for online marketing. It makes great sense. Digital is more cost effective, easier to measure and satisfies instant gratification – for our online audience, as well as for us as marketers.

But –and here’s the KICKER –we also asked marketers, “What channel has yielded you the most success in connecting with customers?” And, here’s how they responded:
• Events – 49 percent
• Email – 29 percent
• Advertising –15 percent
• Industry publications – 4 percent
• Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) – 4 percent

========

Dick Chwalek

Dental Marketing Consultant and Dentist Communication Coach

NicheDental.com

Technology Gets Dental Treatment Right In Traverse City

Dentistry Technology has positively changed how dental care is experienced. However, it is interesting how much treatment is still done using 'guestimation' - to some extent. While basing treatment on expertise and experience is often all that is needed - 'really knowing' what is going on in the mouth is the leap forward we should expect today.

Basically, each person's oral anatomy is different - teeth, bone and the disease both will harbor like to hide. The type of scanning technology referenced in this Online News Release takes diagnosis and treatment to whole other level...

Northwood Dental Continues To Improve Dentistry In Traverse City Michigan Area

Northwood Dental, led by Dr. Brian Klym, is now equipped with the innovative Kodak 9000 3D imaging system, illustrating Northwood Dental's continuing commitment to quality dental care. Dr. Klym is the first general dentist in the area to acquire this state-of-the-art equipment, which benefits his patients for many reasons:

Improved Diagnostics: Traverse City Dentist Dr. Klym can now determine a diagnosis more accurately and more quickly, helping to minimize repeat visits, saving patients time and money. "Before I even start, I can see the whole three-dimensional anatomy of the root canal where before I could not." Dr. Klym said.

Comfort: Tailored specifically for a patient to sit facing outward, the Kodak 9000 allows patients to see their Northwood caregiver as the scans are performed-making it a more comfortable experience. "You stand up in the machine, and it's very open room, you don't feel confined, no sense of claustrophobia. The average scan is only 24 seconds."

Technology: The Kodak 9000 shows high-resolution images, allowing Dr. Klym to perform more informed and precise procedures. "I get a three-dimensional 'model' of the bone, and that allows me to see things that I can't see two dimensionally," said Dr. Klym. "I can take precise measurements."

Safety: The Kodak 9000 uses significantly less radiation than many other imaging systems. As Dr. Klym explains, "[Other] medical scanners acquire images that use radiation doses of 40-60 times that of the cone beam that we're using. Ours is even less than the typical cone beam, so it's more like other scanners are 80 times more."

The Kodak 9000 imaging system allows Dr. Klym to capture and view three-dimensional images of a patient's mouth, allowing for an unprecedented level of anatomical detail-and a comprehensive assessment of a patient's oral health.

The addition of the Kodak 9000 imaging system is the latest in a series of events illustrating the continued development of Northwood Dental. Dr. Klym and his team of professionals have provided a full range of dental care to the Traverse City area for years, including but not limited to:

General Dentistry
Hygiene/Preventative Care • Periodontal Therapy • Emergency Services

Restorative Dentistry
Dental Implants • Tooth Saving Root Canals • Mercury-free Fillings (natural looking) • Crowns/Bridges

Cosmetic Dentistry
Smile Makeover Veneers • Invisalign® clear 'braces' • Teeth Whitening • Cosmetic Tooth Bonding

Sedation Dentistry
Comfortable, safe alternative for patients in pain or anxiety

For more about these services, please refer to www.NorthwoodDentalTC.com.

The entire staff at Northwood Dental is hand-picked for their training and experience in all dental areas. Whether seeking a routine preventative visit or restorative implants, Dr. Klym and his team are prepared to give patients a positive and comfortable experience.

And according to Northwood's patients, they succeed. Their dental office website contains testimonials from real patients in the Traverse City area who explain why they prefer Northwood Dental: from complete health to natural-looking results.

Dr. Klym's passion for dentistry runs in the family. His father was an endodontic specialist, bestowing on him an appreciation for dental care at an early age. Now as a general dentist, Dr. Klym is capable and trained for a full range of dental services.

Located in Traverse City, Michigan, Dr. Klym and his team at Northwood Dental continue to grow and seek new patients to serve. They hope to expand their service to help new patients and make a positive difference in their lives.

To learn more about their local office and advanced treatments offered, contact Northwood Dental at (231) 947-7202, or visit them online at www.NorthwoodDentalTC.com.

Contact Information
Northwood Dental
Brian P. Klym D.D.S.
10748 E. Traverse Highway
Traverse City, Michigan 49684
www.NorthwoodDentalTC.com
(231) 947-7202

Original Posting on 1888PressRelease.com

Northwood Dental Continues To Improve Dental Care In Traverse City Area

Video: Nashville Dentist Discusses How Large Mercury Silver Fillings Split Teeth, Hide Decay...

It is not possible to x-ray through silver-mercury dental fillings - so dentists cannot see decay, disease, etc - underneath.

Plus the bigger metal fillings are - the more likely they are to crack or even split apart.

Dr. Kent White - a Nashville TN area dentist - approaches dentistry comprehensively - but starts wherever a patient is able to. Dentistry is most expensive when you wait - contact his office for more now.

www.WhiteSmiles4Life.com

Large Mercury Silver Fillings Split Teeth, Decay... - The best home videos are here

VIEW Entire Nashville TN Dentist Comprehensive Dentistry Approach Video Presentation Here. Dr. White is the 2nd half of this 10 minute presentation.

Dental Website Content: 4 NEW PATIENTS! NOT 4 YOU/ME...

Quick Navigation. Short Sentences. All about Style. Get in. Get Out!

And Of Course, That Pesky Call to Action! ZAP POW. Brown Cow! Mow. Wow.

Uuuh. Why? Who Told You DAT!

Web Designer? Your Team? A Patient Who Works On Website?

Or was it You - Dentist Person? Sneaky....

Everybody Wrong! Even me. Yes, difficult to believe I wrong. First time. Ever.

Actually, All Are Right.

I can't offend anyone - against my nature. At least not until I am paid my Exorbitant Fee for my dental consulting mumbo jumbo gums-bo.

I am only asking for all this money to help the economy grow - altruistic is my middle name.

Where is this all going - besides into my pocket? Basically, if you have read this far: case closed. Meaning - when something is important to you - you will read and search and click and do it again until you are done.

Nothing is TOO long. NOTHING is TOO much if you really need to make sure - which might be like patients who are afraid to come in and those who do not 'TRUST' dentists.

What works is what works not what we think works.

For examples... (not for - two examples.)

Dental Postcards don't work because they are junk mail. But, I can show where patients come in because of them.

Outdoor Advertising is too costly and I like online stuff - thingies. Yet, I can show how more money makes MORE money even in this economy.

Misperceptions about what works and what does not is common because we are quickly influenced by 'wrong experiences' - WE HAVE.

People who have the GOOD experiences like these marketing concepts. We are STUCK inside our brains of anecdotal likey, like. Experts in narrow aspects of any type of marketing believe their marketing works. They MUST think that way.

Otherwise their brains will explode into - doing what I do - NOT getting stuck in a rut of wrong way wilson.

Patients who already KNOW how much they will pay for dentistry or the size of treatment plan they believe is valid are doing the same thing.

What I do is look at what the consumer actually wants. I DO NOT GIVE A DAMN what experts in any part of the business believe WORKS! They NEED to SELL Their PRODUCT.

(And I will sell their product = but NOT at the level they might want or in the exact WAY they have pushed.)

YOU DONT GIVE A DAMN about marketing - you want NEW PATIENTS!

QUIT looking what for works. Nothing works except what WORKS.

YOU KNOW DENTISTRY. Patients NEED YOUR EXPERTISE - so stop trying to figure Marketing Out!

I have 14+ YEARS of looking away from the DISCO BALL of maybes and trinkets of marketing flop flip and focusing on REAL COMMUNICATION!

PPC, SEO, POSTCARDS, EMAILS, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, OUTDOOR and even WEBSITES are NOT WORTH a DAMN!

Communication is what you need to GET NEW PATIENTS!

Good Marketing is Communication without the 'works' - we see - but what patients need to see/understand.

Having worked at a pizza place for a few years - I know the works is $14.99 for a large - medium is $12.88.

You want MORE than what works - you want to do MORE than what marketers have NOT been doing for many years, which is getting more patients to do more, and some TO DO ANYTHING!

COST Is a RED herring. 40% of the people NOT going to the DENTIST are considered HIGH INCOME!

HALF OFF is HALF WIT MARKETING. (Except Whitening - which is Not expertise.)

NEVER LOP OFF YOUR VALUE.

WHO WANTS A DENTIST WITH HALF WIT EXPERTISE.

RED is WRONG. Half Off Never. Take THAT to the BANK.

If cussing a BLUE STREAK got you TONS of NEW PATIENTS, you would SIGN ME ON to BLUE THINGS UP, RIGHT!?

I do marketing supported by a passion for communication. Consumer health is NOT about CALLS to Action. PAIN, embarrassment and disease is the CALL to Action.

Dentists just need to BE IN THE ACTION - regularly, creatively and consistently - AND comprehensively.

Include a well researched plan. PLUS tracking to refine and enhance and get back out there with BETTER.

When it comes to developing your WEBSITE, don't develop it like YOU LIKE - develop it so it builds VALUE in a way that REAL PEOPLE who need dentistry need it to be developed.

Quick STRUCTURE/CONTENT Tutorial
> What I look for:

> especially when working with a Dentist that has extensive skills and at least a decent amount of content.

1st Level: quickly want address and/or phone#/email

2nd Level: want services/doc CV basics - look, design, feel of website/etc.

3rd Level: need to see/experience reason to trust - 'value/cost' perception fit theirs - details start to matter - B/A pics/Testimonials

4th Level: need to be assured doc is the best, has everything in place, lots to backup - in triplicate plus 10 -
-- where just having "lots" of information works all by itself - of course, better written/designed/laid out - works better than lots and not.
-- these patients have searched and searched and/or worried and worried - and the 'best site' they find will be the winner.
(will look around a lot - maybe come back - talk to others - come back again and again but when they do - they are READY! Case presentation is them giving you a suitCASE of cash flowation and trust admiration. Good dentistry is NEVER about selling - it is about communicating value effectively - selling is a killer if the connective communication is not established.)

Most important: keep at it - add more when pertinent. Not look like every dentist same or visitor perceive expertise as generic. Plus will always be dentists who keep enhancing presence.

Need be Consistent & Persistence at Demonstrating Value Effectively: Pics/Quotes & Articles and/or Pages. It is -- same/same -- only diff is how it weaved underneath.

My value as a consultant is providing the context of many perspectives on marketing dentistry to consumers.

While my expertise my overlap your designer or web developer in various ways - they are the experts in putting it together well - determining how to fill pages or set up navigation.

Total pages to me is irrelevant: constrained more because of cost and/or time as well as 'wealth of content' available from client.

The Site builders/The Dentist/Me The Consultants are only ones who read entire site (or even think about how big it is).

Dental visitors view only what is pertinent to them: maybe only one service element - like implants.

Lower content volume perception (wherever located/how linked) tends towards 'value less' expertise. Of course, content is laid out in a cascading fashion - not a 'stuffed in sack' presentation.

CALL

Oliver (Oli) Gonsalves

Niche Dental New Client Liaison, Direct At:

800-763-0913

Marketing Commentary By
Dick Chwalek - NicheDental.com
Dentist Marketing Coach, Dental Communication Consultant.

MORE DENTAL PATIENTS NEEDED, REVENUE NEUTRALIZED, RECEPTION AREA NEARLY NEVERLAND?

33 NEW Dental Patients Per Month Average

For over a year - one dentist - one location - best Month June 2010, Best June Ever 2010, Best Month Ever June 2010!

How was it done?

With Connective Communication.

Complexity Simplified 4Success!
No Gimmicks. No Pressure. Just Real Healthy Marketing

Yes, U Can Do-it-Yourself (DIY).

Go sink your teeth into the easy as pie of cool - Google, Yahoo, Bing bling - whipped up online gorging.

Then more and more dentists start biting into it and you start all over again, and again, and again and...

All that you have is pie online your face. Here is a napkin and some info that will Chart a better PI for your dental office advertising.

Even though virtual space is great in many ways - understanding the reality of the communication environment (real human beings inhabit) is crucial to success in this day and age, and tomorrow too.

Marketing is a lot like dentistry. When undervalued, underfunded and time crunched, what is the result?

Example of how insidious DIY can be:

I know of a dentist who placed his own veneers - pretty sure - prepped them too.

Another who said (on national TV if I am not mistaken) he wouldn't let other dentists do his teeth - because he thought they may not do a 'good job'... Or something to that effect.

How many consumers are doing that right now!?

Doing their own dentistry - not prepping teeth - but doing very little home care, avoiding the dentist visit or have 'given up' because of fear, trust or ignorance about the value advanced dentistry now offers.

ANSWER: About half of consumers are not doing enough (45% or thereabouts).

Yes - money/cost is an issue. But many of those 45% of consumers have money to 'spend' and are probably still spending a good portion of it (or could)?

Let's say 135 millions Americans are not going to dentist 'regularly' - total.

175 Million are adults over 30 (US Census 2009) the cohort most likely to have their own money to spend and would have more dentistry needs then the younger cohort.

Of That 175 million - About 40% of that 45% are high income individuals who don't go to the dentist regularly - about once in two years or less.

That is about 70 Million people. Obviously, the economy has changed this number somewhat.

NOTE: To be clear - this is not about gouging high income earners and forgetting those who might never have the money to 'buy' dental care themselves.

The focus is not one group to the deficit of the other - but that the economy runs on money - rich and poor people need to be dentally healthy. If we all value dentistry more - more of us will save more of our dollars for it.

So we have 70 million people who probably are 'rich' enough to do more dentistry. Since we know some can't now (hopefully soon), others just won't ever want to do more and the 40% might be off by some. Let's go with just 30 million people.

There are about 135,000 General Dentists in the US.

Maybe 10,000 Dentists* are doing enough marketing that 'changing over' to Connective Communication (or any strategy) would not make sense.

Another 25,000 Dentists* are just not going to budge from their stuck in the mud stance: Marketing dumb. Me go under soon. Need energy to swim.

Another group are associates and dentists who work with a franchising operation with many dental offices and would do it differently: 10,000 Dentists.*

Even another group does dentistry 'under the direction' of the dental insurance companies**. Insurance is good except when it influences us more towards 'good enough' rather than done right. This can be done by 'capping' fees and/or by making dentistry a cost issue more than a health issue.

Actually another cohort: Some are retiring and new ones coming onboard, but many young dentists 'know the internet' and just have too much energy and maybe time on their hands that they will be more likely to do it themselves. That takes out maybe the youngest 10,000 dentists.*

That leaves us with 60,000 Dentists* who in the next five years would be likely to move ahead with a strategy that actually changes things rather than reacts to them and then run after them in a huff and puff of mixed bagged mediocre muddle through marketing.

*Numbers of dentists are Approximated by me - generally what I have seen in percentages over 14 years of working with 300+ dentists - in various circumstances - but you can always check my math to be sure.

This means there are 500 consumers who have the money - to buy something right now - from each of those 60,000 dentists.

They are not doing this 'dental care upgrade' because - as Sgt. Schultz once said - or many times: I see nothing! New on a regular basis about why I should do anything different. Plus I am busy running from stuff I fear, to things more important, more valuable... Hogan. Hogan. Get me my limo!"

Now these 500 are the most likely to do something right now and with a decent push. The potential number of people who will do MORE dentistry than they ever would have (using Connective Communication) as well as sooner are limitless...

Next year, there will be more - younger ones getting older - less wealthy getting wealthier.

PLUS those in a cohort where the money was 'tighter' and might still be - will also start understanding the value of dentistry in their lives and the length of their lives as well.

And the tougher to convince cohort - maybe another 30 Million plus - will be influenced by people they trust now and with the Connective Communication you do - will come to you faster and first.

However, if you just look at this 500 number and figure they will do $5,000 on average in new treatment - that is $2.5 Million dollars. That is for treatment only, which means another 10, 20, 30+ years of regular visits - without insurance companies** nickel and dime overseeing you at every tooth turned.

So how do you make this kind of impact that will effectively encourage consumers to upgrade their dental care value status, and become your new patients?

CALL Oliver (Oli) Gonsalves

Niche Dental New Client Liaison, Direct At:

800-763-0913

He will find out what your needs are and then you and I can talk.

Sincerely, Dick Chwalek
Niche Dental President - Consultant, Coach.

**INSURANCE COMPANIES DISCLAIMER: While I believe they 'work for many people' and provide a 'valuable interim' service - they cannot be dentistry focused - which is what someone in need of 'care' requires - or insurance companies would be dentists - free market has its price too.

That Said - many consumers are wedded too tightly to the 'opinion' of the insurance company's fee limits - as if the limits have a meaning related to 'good care' and are associated with any type of long term beneficial treatment plan.

Imagine having 8 broken bones and waiting to get all fixed over 8 years. Then considering what you have done to your body during that time. One tooth at a time dentistry is death by a thousand drill squeals.

Alternate Ending Dentistry Consultant Article - Citizen Version - 33 NEW Dental Patients Per Month Average -

Is Your Dental Office Safe 4Patients, 4Your Team, 4You?

A SAFE environment is what your patients expect when they visit your office. Are the patients you care for under the right impression?

Some safe environmental facts from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, click MPCA.

Niche Dental Marketing Blog encourages all dentists and team members to attend a CE dentistry office safety training course each year or whenever required in your state.

MN dentists have an opportunity this fall...

Nuts & Bolts of

RSO Responsibilities X-Ray Rule

Training Session

Sign Up. Show Up. Safety Up your annual OSHA and infection control requirements.

Northern Dental Alliance Member Leanne Mathieu Kramer of Statements Plus Compliance Solutions’ two hour, two CE credit, special seminar is scheduled for October 13, 2010. Leanne is an Minnesota-based instructor with significant experience working in dental offices.

Know how your office is doing before an inspector calls. Put the worries of hazardous waste and other environmental issues behind you. Leanne’s training session makes it possible for dentists and teams to focus on Treatment Planning, Marketing, Recall and Scheduling.

LOCATION

• Holiday Inn & Suites
• 75 37th Ave South
• One Block From Crossroads Mall
• St. Cloud, Minnesota 56301

DATE

• Wednesday
• October 13, 2010

TIME

• 9:00AM to 11:00AM OR 1:00PM to 3:00PM
• DEADLINE for Signing Up: October 8, 2010

FEE

• $50.00
• This two-hour course will provide two dentistry CE credits.
• Download, PRINT, Complete & Fax Seminar Form

> Presented by Leanne M. Mathieu Kramer, LDA, CDA, CDPMA

Leanne is a Licensed Dental Assistant (LDA), Certified Dental Assistant, and Certified Dental Practice Management Administrator through the Dental Assistant National Board. She is authorized by the Department of Labor as an OSHA Outreach Trainer in General Industry.

Northern Dental Alliance member Dental Consultant, Leanne M. Mathieu Kramer of Statements Plus Compliance Solutions will be conducting this seminar to keep dental offices on the right track with their safety responsibilities and rules.

• Also posted on...
• NorthernDentalAlliance.com - Safety Seminar
• Dental Seminar announcement on MerchantCircle.com
• NicheDental.com - Safety Seminar for Dentists, Offices, Team

NDA supports Dentists and Dental Organizations throughout the country. Including the...

• Minnesota Dental Association
• Minneapolis District Dental Society
• MN Academy for General Dentistry
• Northwest Dentistry Journal

Dentist Brings Total Smile Care Approach To Nashville: Video

Dr. Kent White appears on TV program featuring Nashville Tennessee doctors. His smile care approach is what his patients always wanted from dentistry.

Dr. White is serious about greatly increasing the value of dental treatment. Smile makeovers – from a few to many teeth – have a health and lifelike results foundation.

He is excited about how advanced dentistry can changes lives.

On Fox 17 TV News in Nashville website. Click the link for more. Advanced Dentistry in Nashville with Dr. White and his Team presented by MDTV and Fox 17.

Nashville Dentist Discusses Total Oral Health, Smile Enhancement. Watch more top selected videos about: Kent E. White DDS, Only Way to See That "Mercury" fillings have been comprised - magnification, intraoral cameras

More Video Screen Shots.

See More WhiteSmiles4Life.com Transformations.

Even More Smile Makeovers – Dr. White – Nashville Dentist.

Link to Fox17.com and WhiteSmiles4Life interview segment.

CALL (615) 383-6787

Kent E. White, DDS • Center For Advanced Dentistry

2300 21st Avenue South, Suite 103 Nashville, TN 37212

What Are You Waiting 4: Make Life Count - Smile Well!

Nothing in this world worth much is easy 2acquire or accomplish. There is a cost; time, treasures, riches and sometimes even more.

Yet, there is nothing worth more than a healthy well being. Mental, Physical, Emotional and 4many Spiritual Well Being are the essential elixirs of good living.

This is not about arrogant excess or unbridled exceptionalism. Plain and simple - good people are even better people when they feel good & their well of being is filled completely.

The more fulfilled up our being's well, the more possibilities we see and goals we're able 2retire.

Sadly, putting it off, delaying till someday down the road or more bluntly finding excuses 2deny reality are innate in our Being As Well.

That said, which boat are you rowing 2day: Being as Well 2far Down the Denial or filling the Well Being 2Overflowing?

Living in waters of denial and floating on its shimmer of temporary oblivion can be a necessary sanity break. There are days and times that try good peoples' souls.

On those days, denial's tributaries protect us from the undertow and whirlpools of this thing we call life.

Of course, dentistry seems trivial in comparison, on days like this, in times like these. However, without smiles, without expressing true joy, where would we see hope or find our way back 2it?

That gets me 2what I do when my sleeves are rolled up...

Dr. Kent White is a dentist in Nashville. He knows about overcoming life's deep waters. And, has helped many others 2shine with a complete well being again, and some for the 1st time.

Will he do a good job? Are his fees fair? Can you trust him?

See 4yourself, talk 2him - understand what is possible.

Dr. White's answer would be something like - always trust, but verify - exactly what he would do if it were him needing dental treatment.

Dental treatment that tends towards a smile makeover or full mouth reconstruction should be performed by a dentist with extensive expertise and experience.

Just don't take a trip down denial and get delayed 2long in a tributary of dental health tribulation.

It is your health and smile. ABB: Always buyer beware. This is not about recommending one dentist - it is about changing your perspective on what is possible with advanced dentistry and what it takes 2achieve a well being that smiles right through the roughest rapids.

Time 2Smile Confidently.

Show Off Some Hope.

Brag About Your Joy.

Flaunt Living Life Fully Well-Beinged.

Those In Troubled Waters - Say Thank You.

Whatever dentist you visit, no matter the condition of smile, or even if what ails you has nothing 2do with dentistry - remember life is worth living well.

FEATURED DENTIST'S BACKGROUND

> Kent White, DDS, Nashville

> Center for Advanced Dentistry

> www.WhiteSmiles4Life.com

Dr. Kent E. White provides care that brings harmony to oral muscles, restores health, creates beauty and enriches lives.

He believes so passionately in the value of his treatment focus, he wants more people to understand the depth of its possibilities so he shares his expertise with other doctors around the country.

By combining the latest techniques in aesthetic, restorative and preventive dentistry with his expertise in Neuromuscular Dentistry, Dr. White has been able to enhance smiles and bring healing comfort to the lives of many of his patients. He is more than a cosmetic dentist.

As Dr. Kent White explains, "Our educational pursuits and our focus influence the solutions we develop for our clients. Today, caring deeply requires an ever-increased need for the latest and most accurate information. In this environment that means if we stop learning, we stop caring. To keep the care I provide at the highest level, I continually widen my dental perspective. I ask myself the same questions everyday, such as: “What are my clients missing because of my current focus? Are yesterday’s results still good enough? Is the standard still the standard?”

----

Live Outside of Tennessee?

Northwest Michigan Dentist

- Services Include: Preventive, Invisalign, Implant Supported Dentures, Cosmetic, Endodontic Therapy and...

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- Services Include: Regular Checkups/Preventive, cosmetic and health restoring Smile makeovers, Tooth Saving Root Canals, Specialist in Periodontics and...

South Florida Dentist

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Google dentists

Bing dentists

Yahoo dentists too

Cheap & Easy: Great Dental Marketing Or #1 Match.com Search Term?

The perfect dental marketing is cheap (almost nothing) and easy (works with little thought put into it). Much like good, lasting and healthy relationships. What were the qualities of your perfect match?

Coincidentally, I read in USA Today recently that the most used search phrase on Match.com is "cheap and easy". There you have it - confirmation you need to stay in the zone of missed opportunities.

Wake up... Wake up! Back to reality dude.> Maybe Cheap and Easy; is neither great (or even good) dental marketing or words attributable to Match.com.

For example... I was in Las Vegas a couple years ago doing a dental marketing seminar. Near the end of my talk was a Q/A session. One of the first questions was a dentist asking, how much are postcards?

My answer today would have been... "Doctor, when the first question a patient asks is how much you charge, how much do you think they value dentistry or your expertise? If your marketing is based on price - you are most likely going to get little from the 'relationship'.

Your patients' relationship with their dental health will determine much of what they will accept and how they will comply to your recommendations. Effective dental marketing goes beyond clicks, impressions and conversions, it creates a connective relationship with your audience.

Unless dentists decide marketing is as vital as the dentistry they recommend and want to provide, very little will be communicated about the value of dentistry as compared to every other service or product consumers are confronted with.

Dentists need to STOP WAITING for patients to 'come around' and search them out -- of the blue. Otherwise, advertising of competing services, issues like dental fear and other 'delay and denial tendencies' will continue to diminish the consumer's dentist visit eagerness.

Once dentists find themselves behind the eight ball of ever-diminishing new patient numbers grasping for "cheap and easy" solutions fits the warped perspective they’ve created. This is similar to dental patients/consumers who have let their dental health go.

While $9,000 might seem like a lot to pay for 6 to 12 crowns or a few implants, coming in 5 or ten years earlier the cost might have been less than 1/10th that. Likewise, after dentists have survived without a comprehensive plan for many years, it is hard for them to upgrade even when they are confront with a dire situation.

Some day there will be DIY dentistry that consumers can download off the Internet, and they can bypass the professionals. What do dentists and consultants really know that I can’t figure out myself at 1/10th the cost?

Then again… Perhaps, both good dentistry and good marketing require something beyond cheap and easy to get "complete, lasting" results.

Something like… Being consistent about your communication and serious about its value in developing a successful, long term relationship with your dental patients. Rather than blow your entire dental marketing budget on a big burst of direct mail postcards or using them solely or any one BIG Online THINGIE, match up a few strategies to create an entire matrix of elements that will engage, remind and persuade.

I've seen a comprehensive strategy do wonders. It is not cheap. And yes, it can be complicated. When you can solve all the dental problems people have for less than most people expect and can explain and implement the solutions in 15 minutes or less, I will be right there with my cheap and easy solutions to every communication issue surrounding the delay and denial of dental care acceptance and compliance.

Back in the realm of reality, this is how dentists can improve their new patient situation. Start with a budget of 1 to 2% of gross practice revenues - then move towards 4% to 7% within 6 to 12 months. Dentists whose dental marketing has always been under the radar will need to prime the pump more significantly.

The Campaign Elements• Regularly send postcards or other direct mail
• Develop an external advertising element that is 24/7 or nearly
• Converse with your audience and patients in a familiar environment
> Use a medium that the consumer ‘welcomes’ into their lives like a newspaper, magazine or radio.
• Yes, be online - with a website and use search advertising
> Just don't expect the Web to have all the communication angles covered.
• Locate in many online spaces
> Add an online connection every so often.
*Just make sure your website is more than a postcard with a phone number. Because…

DENTAL WEBSITES ARE NOT ABOUT TRAFFIC!

This is the biggest farce of online dental marketing. Thousands of visits is an online mirage for most office websites. Patients are the goal. Converting is a term used by those focused on online advertising. Their 'conversions' are the tip of the iceberg - it is the beginning of new patient development.

Use the medium in the right way - not as if it is about what you, the dentist, or web developer like or expect. Dental postcards are simplified because they are not 'requested' by the consumer. Websites should be created for the patient looking for the right practice/solution/environment. Being succinct is something English Majors demand and what salespeople want because the sale (or the conversion) is their focus.

Dental Websites are for dental patients who have one major concern - their own - usually complicated with emotion and anxiety. That means deep, individualized content for the various 'patient profiles' who will often want/need significant value proof to move forward. Succinct, short and sales copy is pathetic at improving the likelihood DENTAL consumers will do any more treatment than what they self diagnosed and/or their dental insurance will cover - previous to their 'conversion'.

As to conversions - those web visitors are the 'emergency dental patients' of online marketing and every time another dentist weaves their way to the web - they are fewer of them per dentist, which produces a swirling vortex of diminishing (converting) returns. Slam bam succinct conversions - promoted by English Major anal retentiveness and Web Designer sparse copy for site speed and for the artistry to breathe - usurp the value the web affords - limitlessness to do everything necessary to get more people to be healthier.

Technical knowhow in these specialties is more about exactness in the aggregate - not about how individual people deal with dentistry. The rules of writing and web-knowlogy need to conform to the reality of the human condition when considering dental treatment.

If a 'call to action, phone number and a beautiful design were the solution, over 10 years of online dental marketing would have improved these statistics: National Dental Health and Even High Income Households are still sitting on the dental visit sidelines.

Extraction from this whirlpool of narrowness requires more than analytics and statistics. Successful relationships are developed by using multi-platform and multi-level communication experience. While every website should have a good dose of web geek sleek, salespeople slam bam and writer pride insight -- including mine -- avoid the trap that dental sites are like any other site - which they are NOT.

Dentists should develop their websites as if they are focused on one kind of patient/one person. NO ONE READS THE ENTIRE WEBSITE!

If I have fears about going to the dentist, I am focused on how you are going to make me COMFORTABLE and not cause me PAIN! Show me the comfort. Tell me the stories of how patients felt like they were floating on HUGE clouds of FLUFFY PAINLESSNESS.

Change is a Coming - Deal With It!

The super secret and totally guaranteed marketing solution has saved a few practices - but they lack reality, which does little to change the reality of the dental consumer. That 'reality' is covered with anxiety, misperceptions, mistrust and denial and fairytale flim-flam marketing is not likely to change things.

What I do takes more time to ramp up and will cost more than most dentists plan on spending. This approach might require postponing college for all but your favorite child or at least going without that iJet you want, which Apple is introducing in 2025. Then again, if you can find that easy and cheap solution to a bazillion patients, I will eat my Apple iJet once it is delivered.

Invest in your future to avoid missing the boat on the next stage of dental care awareness. Otherwise, consumers will continue to drop through the 'cancelled their dentist visit again' trapdoor and descend into the 'dental disease has caught up to them' dungeon.

To Conclude: Cheap & Easy… Time to Meet Dental RealityGoing cheap into the night and taking the easy way out to lunch has done very little for dental health in this country. Dentists taking the same path with their marketing foster a lack of understanding in the value proper dental care provides and the vital reasons for regularly visiting the dentist.

My recommendation to dentists: communicate with the same assertiveness, professionalism and comprehensiveness put into the dentistry you provide and want patients to accept. Any other emphasis or strategy lacks the power to change the dynamic that has created the situation you are in.

Article by Dick Chwalek
NicheDental.com

For more direct guidance…
CALL 866-453-1026 • Ext 251

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Dental Consultants Sponsor Minnesota Dentists Golf Tournament

Minneapolis District Dental Society

Golf Tourney

August 2

The Northern Dental Alliance is sponsoring the Minneapolis Society's Summer Golf Event at the Golden Valley, Minnesota Golf Club. We hope to see many dentists at the tourney.

The Minneapolis District Dental Society Golf Tournament is scheduled for Monday, August 2 at Golden Valley Golf Club in Golden Valley, Minnesota. The tournament will return to the Golden Valley Country Club at the request of several previous golfers.

The event will kicks off with lunch before a shotgun start of 1:00 p.m. This event is open to all Minnesota Dental Association members statewide. Enjoy an afternoon of great golfing and meet some knew friends.

Dental Society members planning the event expect lots of prizes to be given away and special events held throughout the day for all participants.

Get the date on your calendar, August 2, 2010 and join MDA member dentists and the Northern Dental Alliance for a ton of summertime golfing fun.

Our Members will have various prizes as well as information about our organization of consultants who work with dentists and in dentistry and for dental offices.

NDA Members Scheduled to Attend...

Northern Dental Alliance Golf Tourney Sponsors

• Heritage Construction Companies - Andy Larson, NDA Member
• Aftco Practice Transitions - Mike Haase, NDA Member
• Niche Dental Marketing Consulting - Dick Chwalek, NDA Member

Member Sponsoring Another Hole

• Statements Plus Compliance Solutions - Leanne Kramer, NDA Member

Golf Tournament Information Provided by Northwest Dentistry Journal
Minneapolis District Dental Society Web Page

• Dental Blog Written and Posted by Marketing Consultant Dick Chwalek

www.NicheDental.com

Call 866-453-1026 ext 253