Effective Dental Patient Scheduling: Part 2 of 3

This is part TWO of a THREE part series on dental patient communication.

For Part One click: Effective Dental Patient Scheduling: Part 1 of 3

Topics Covered in Part Two...

• The "Fully Prepared" Prospective Dental Patient
  
• The "Unprepared" Prospective Dental Patient
  

The following descriptions are not absolute, but are guideposts for moving the dental patient in the best direction possible during that initial telephone inquiry. While these concepts are focused on high-end cosmetic/esthetic dentistry and reconstructive care with dental implants, they can be augmented for any type of dental brand and niche.

The "Fully Prepared" Prospective Dental Patient
The more of these qualifiers they have or bring up, the better prepared they are.
• Have reviewed your dental Website
• Have seen your dental postcards or advertisements
• Specifically ask for a smile makeover consultation
• Ask about specific high-end services like dental implants, Invisalign orthodontics, sedation dentistry, porcelain veneers, Lumineers…
• Bring up complex dental language (“I think I need full mouth reconstruction.)
• Identify you as a specialist, expert, the best dentist on the Internet (“I really researched you. I don’t see anyone else that compares.”)
• Have been to other dentists and don’t like what they did or recommended
• Are out of Area/State callers
• Are referred by your other smile makeover patients

The "Unprepared" Prospective Dental Patient
These callers are looking for “a” dentist. They are more than likely “Yellow Pages” patients: literally or figuratively. Meaning they called a number that just happened to be associated with Dr. Dentist Of Dentistry and dentistry of some kind. They are not focused on dental expertise; they merely want a tooth problem fixed.

Sending, or directing them to, more info before their first dental visit or smile consultation is vital.

Following are issues that denote a low level appreciation for and/or understanding of comprehensive dental rejuvenation. Your dental office front desk person should listen for…
• The patient has a toothache (with few other details provided)
• They want an appointment fast, emergency dental care
• Dental Insurance is a big issue (They won’t let you focus on expertise or value)
• The patient wants to know about cost – most everything comes back to how much Dr. Dentist Of Dentistry charges
• A teeth cleaning appointment is their fist concern
• They called about your discounted coupon, free whitening, half price exam…

Part 3 of Effective Dental Patient Scheduling Includes these two topics...

1. The "In Between" Prospective Dental Patient
   
2. Dental Patient Communication Conclusion
   

Read the final installment of this Dental Marketing in the May 2, 2009 Blog Post.

Photos Show How Dentistry Transforms Smiles, Health

Is a smile makeover of any kind really worth it? That depends on your oral health and/or your personal preferences about appearance.  But because there is a financial element to the treatment, the planning and execution need to be very refined to get the result everyone is shooting for. 

Of course, the cost of deteriorating dental health can be much more than the dollars invested in making things right again. And while beauty is only skin deep (or in this case a tooth veneer in thickness) - confidence has a value that is a lot harder to measure. 

Photography showcasing the before and after conditions of the teeth and overall smile are an effective way to explain the value it offers. And these photos are also useful for achieving a successful result. The photography helps communicate to the patient, dentist and dental laboratory what is proposed and the result expected.

You might never need or want a smile makeover. But the dentists doing them need all the communication they can get to create a healthy, esthetic and functional result. Dental CE courses and seminars like the one below are what dentists need to get it right, time after time.

Dental Photography Training Hands-On Course

• Presenter: Rick Spaulding, Nationally Recognized Digital Dental Photography Trainer


• Where: Renstrom Dental Studio


• Address: 4225 White Bear Parkway, Ste 1240
  Vadnais Heights, MN 55110


• When: Monday, May 18, 2009
  6:00-9:00PM

Many dental offices have attended seminars on dental photography, and many practices have purchased a dental camera, intending to use photography to better communicate with their patients, dental laboratories and insurance companies. But many offices don’t have a camera, and many that do are using their camera infrequently, or not at all.

For over nine years, Rick Spaulding has given presentations about the benefits of better dentistry photography, and many of you have seen him speak. This hands-on seminar and approved CE course will put a camera (yours or ours) in your hands, and Rick will show you how to take all the photos that are necessary to help Renstrom Dental Studio make the best possible esthetic dental restorations for your patients.

You’ll be amazed how easy it can be once you have a chance to practice your skills without the pressure of working on an actual patient.

This seminar is provided at no charge for current Renstrom Dental Studio Clients. Due to the hands-on nature of this seminar-we are limited to 12 participants (maximum of 2 assistants per dental office).

If you will be bringing your own camera, please let us know the specific Body, Lens, and Flash models so we can be prepared to help you get the best results.

• Three Dentistry CE Credits (DANB Approved) will be provided.

RSVP Renstrom Dental Studio

• CALL 1-800-747-1321


• or EMAIL Jenna@renstrom.com

Effective Dental Patient Scheduling: Part 1 of 3

Getting the “most prepared patients” for cosmetic, restorative and implant dentistry in the door is the ultimate goal of the dental office scheduling process. Of course, identifying those patients can be difficult if certain criteria are not decided upon by the dentist and dental office team to differentiate who are the best-prepared patients.

The following information will make the dental patient selection process more effective; thereby increasing new patient numbers for high-end dentistry and improving smile makeover case acceptance.

Dental Care Visit Caller Discovery Process (Part 1 - below)

The "Fully Prepared" Prospective Dental Patient 

(Part 2 - 4/26/09)
The "Unprepared" Prospective Dental Patient 

(Part 2 - 4/26/09)
The "In Between" Prospective Dental Patient 

(Part 3 - 5/02/09)
Dental Patient Communication Conclusion 

(Part 3 - 5/02/09)

Dental Care Visit Caller Discovery Process

The dental team phone answerer must determine – by the questions asked and not asked where the person is at in their appreciation and understanding of high-end dentistry value. It will also be evident by the tone of the voice or by the urgency of the issue – how “far along” the caller is.

Another key element of the discovery process for the dental office phone answerer is listening attentively for what the prospective patient understands about Dr. Dentist Of Dentistry’s expertise and care philosophy (or his/her brand). Has the prospective dental patient build up any trust in the dentist (you) previous to their first dental visit? This is not easy to do, but neither should it be considered overwhelming to accomplish.

The dental office phone answerer must focus on increasing their proficiency and not dwell on individual situations or missed opportunities. Learning from each caller and new patient call situation, taking detailed notes, and asking key questions is more important at this juncture than interacting successfully on each call. Bear in mind that even a partial improvement in scheduling effectiveness can benefit your dental practice, so there is no reason to rush the process.

The caller will often have many inaccurate, under researched and/or naïve perceptions about dentistry. It isn’t efficient or productive for ALL of those questions to be answered during the phone call. The reality is few consumers can be transitioned unless they are prepared at many levels. The phone call is usually an early point in the preparing process especially if dental marketing has been absent from the prepping groundwork.

The scheduling qualifiers for prospective dental patients, noted below, are more important than the specific questions asked of each caller. The new dental patient, phone-answering concepts, discussed below, will help your front desk person understand the caller’s stage of case acceptance “readiness” and manage calls more effectively.

The caller should know they are not calling “a” dentist; they are calling the Dr. Expert Dentist Of Dentistry, YOU! The telephone answerer must understand AND value this distinction to effectively qualify these dental patients.

The caller (prospective dental patient) must be informed of this distinction, understand it and then "qualify themselves" before they are scheduled for a dental appointment. When they get to the dental practice, the new patient should be guided to the most efficient resource for moving up the “prepared” ladder.

Topics Covered in Part Two...

• The "Fully Prepared" Prospective Dental Patient
  
• The "Unprepared" Prospective Dental Patient 
  

Continued - in 4/26/09 • Niche Dental Marketing Blog Post

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

What is the best marketing for my dental practice?

I wish I could tell you what is the best type of dental marketing. Unfortunately it is a secret. Fortunately my ability to keep secrets is feeble.

The other dental advertising firms have a FREE report of SECRET MARKETING STRATEGIES that you to sign up for and then have to wait for the email. Then it turns into some kind of bait and switch and you realize there was no secret except the fact the secret was - there was no secret.

The difference with my dentist coaching and dental consulting services is that I give you the report upfront and all I ask is that after reading it you send me $1,000 or $10,000, whichever fits your budget.

I would prefer $10,000 since I just got the FREE REPORT on the SECRETS of LIVING TO 100 and after getting them, was persuaded to purchase their products that cost $9,000, which included healing magnets, super-sized supplements, ancient Chinese herbs and feng shui (fung shway) dung infused organic soil for my garden.

Then a few days later I talked to my doctor who did not have a free report - which made me wonder if he actually knew what he was doing (or how successful marketing worked). He says to me, "You can also live well by eating in moderation, drinking in moderation, exercising at least moderately, avoid sucking down a pint of nicotine with a shot of carcinogen each day, and brushing and flossing."

I thought - you tricky one - you logically and scientifically trained health professionals. What is this? I knew that already. Yes, I want a well trained engineer building my bridge and someone that actually knows materials science to build my iPod, but for my health, I want something that sounds like it came from the UFO that lands in my yard every night.

Health can't be something I know how to do - then I might be the problem. That means I need to actually do something. It should be something totally fascinating out of my control and nearly magical to be effective.

Sadly, Niche Dental is based on something different than fantasy. My bait is mostly about throwing the switch on of reality.

As humans, we want to believe there is something easier and simpler - because we need easier and simpler so we can do more of what we would rather be doing. Like your dental patients. They want their visits and treatment to be painless, costless, done in a minute or in no time, no further obligations, and last until they want it to.

The answer to this complex dilemma is simple: just COMMUNICATE in some new way that you are not doing now.

Should you do your dental marketing in a certain quality, complete, targeted, consistent way? Yes. Of course.

But what if there were TEN people who needed dentistry of -- any kind. And you got 7 of them to brush and floss regularly and get to a dental visit once every three years instead of -- never. Rather than losing all of their teeth by the time they hit 60 years of age - they make it to 67.5721 years or almost 67 years and 6 months? Would that have been better than only 60 years with teeth? Of course.

Therefore, you simply need to COMMUNICATE MORE! This will change the dynamic in some way for a few patients...

There you go. The SECRET of Dental Marketing Revealed RIGHT HERE!!! No obligation of any kind. No need for me to get your email and send you a lot of stuff that is so super secret that only the magician behind the Web curtain can make it appear. And for that, just send me $1,000 - I mean $10,000 and we are even... No questions. No lawyers. No harassing calls. 10 Large and I am good...

Now, about communicating/marketing in a quality, complete, targeted and consistent way. Obviously that level of communication commitment is better - you are able to get beyond the basics like the other 3 of the 10 patients above that we have not dealt with yet.

One of these three remaining patients in my example gets a dental implant supported denture, which that patient uses to build an empire - "I liked the dental implant gadget so much I bought the company!" You put that in a press release about your amazing dental expertise and become the talk of the town. Use this headline - no charge (after I get my 10 large). One dentist. One implant supported denture. One Mega Success. America - ya gotta love it!

The 2nd patient of the remaining three (or now remaining two - sorry this is confusing) gets ongoing periodontal treatment and avoids a heart attack (or a stroke) which the patient in this example would have had without you MARKETING TO THEM - because they did not know about the link between gum disease and DEATH!!!!

The last patient (or the third of the three or last of the one... No we will call her Patient Ten - because of HIPAA I can't say that the patient is Sally my neighbor - so don't ask...) also gets whitening, veneers, and other amazing dental treatments for the smile makeover you now can present to all your other patients and the public to show them what is possible today with advanced restorative and cosmetic dentistry.

But Dick what exactly do I do? Dental postcards? A practice brochure with my smile makeovers in it? A dental website for my office? Yes. Yes? But Dick I need more. Then I will add some weight to my list.

So you want to know why we gain weight? No, Dick I want to know about marketing and what to do.

Calories in - calories out. It is that simple. No Secret Dental Advertising Reports. No bait and switch - just the reality that you need to say more, say it in the best way you can - right now and then keep augmenting, enhancing and moving forward.

Stop sitting around in the living room sofas of indecision and consuming all the dental marketing mumbo jumbo calories. Work with my strategic partners (see below) and sign up for my coaching. Call or email one of us.

Dentist marketing coaching provides the right information at the right time as well as ongoing encouragement to make things happen in a shorter time span. If you want more proactive integration, ask about my dental communication consulting services.

If you want other options - I have heard of this Google thing, and this Yahoo is another, and there are many more. Search for the marketing partner you want to work with. But make a decision.

As you wait, teeth fall out, bleeding gums persist and strokes and heart attacks are removing qualified candidates from your potential patient list.

No dental patient wants to be "sold" something they don't need - but if they are missing what they need to know and don't know what is possible now to make it better - the bill of goods they end up with could be much worse.

DO NO HARM - dental marketing is very healthy for your patients and the viability of your dental practice.

Dental Marketing Commentary by

Dick Chwalek - Niche Dental

Dentist Marketing Coaching and Dental Communication Consultant

Dental Websites, Logos, Brochures, SEO, PPC advertising

The Peripheral Vision

Direct Mail, Postcards for Family, Cosmetic Dentists and Orthodontists, Keep In Touch Marketing

Express Dental Marketing

Dentists Improve Their Skills - Patients' Smiles Benefit

Why ever pay out of pocket for your dentistry? It can't be that some dentists might actually have skills worth paying more for. No, dentists should stick to what worked in past centuries so they can be as far behind as your dental insurance company.

Your insurance coverage should focus on dull, 15th century metallurgy. If your dentist wants to do more than one tooth at a time (a natural-looking smile makeover for example), be wary, very wary, Larry and Mary, and be contrary about treatment approaches that are contemporary.  Only consumers that can think for themselves  should try something of this age.

If you would rather hitch up the oxen and take that road usually traveled, let your dental care insurance provider dictate reality to you. "Larry. Mary. And little Teri... The blacksmith is ready to see you now."

For dentists who also want to do more than a feudal lords of insurance recommend, they should attend this dental CE seminar...

====================================

Renstrom Dental Studio laboratory and Nobel Biocare encourage dentists in Hudson, Wisconsin, and Twin Cities, MN area to attend this upcoming evening continuing education course:

Nobel Dentistry Esthetics: Maximizing Clinical Results with Procera

• When: May 6th, 2009 • 6:00PM – 8:00PM


• Where: Holiday Inn Express • 1200 Gateway Blvd 

• Hudson, WI 54016


• No cost for attending 


• 2 C.E. credits will be provided


• Soft drinks and Appetizers will be served

This dental seminar will be an educational session informing its participant dentists on the latest capabilities and options of the Procera line-up of esthetic restorations.

The possibilities of Nobel esthetics go far beyond traditional crown and bridge work. Our goal is to teach the many applications of the latest Nobel products, how to work with these products efficiently and effectively, and how implementing them into your practice can be a profitable and excellent opportunity to grow your practice.

Dentists will also have the opportunity to hear about new cutting edge dental technology including the optical impression scanner!

RSVP Renstrom Dental Studio

• CALL 1-800-747-1321


• or EMAIL Jenna@renstrom.com

Randy Renstrom is a Northern Dental Alliance Member

====================

Dentistry Commentary By Dick Chwalek 

Niche Dental - Dentist Coaching and Communication Consulting

866-453-1026 ext 251

Study Confirms The Value of Dentistry Marketing, Advertising- Now Start Doing it

While the dental marketing study I am referring to in this blog article dates back to 1999, it shows how much is already verified that we don't know ourselves or just have not acted on. Ironically, that is the same situation for many dental patients as well.

They know they need dentistry, but often have not been "convinced" that it is required as often as dentists recommend and/or it should cost as much as it does. Then there is the pain, fear and insurance issues to contend with. The only way to close this gap in their smile health knowledge and appreciation of dentistry's value is through communication. 

Maybe some dentists still view dental marketing with a high level of skepticism and even dread. But to dispel the same perspective about things like the consumer dreading root canals and 'it can't cost that much--dentist trying to sell me something I don't need' skepticism, something NEEDS to change. 

Keep selling dental marketing short (which really should thought of as proactive and assertive communication) or start getting out there and telling the story people need to hear (on a consistent basis) to have the dental health they need.

Of course, I am just trying to sell you something you don't need (like an implant smile makeover). So don't believe me - a dental marketer - let a well researched study from a totally independent source make you a believer. Or not... 

Just like the consumer, dentists can go on believing that dentistry has not changed since 1979. Too many consumers still believe little has changed from an experience, clinical, and cost perspective, but you know they have. It is just that the "secret" is hidden from them by dentists afraid to go beyond the dental chair consult. Basically, ignorance of what is best alludes both dentist and dental patient.

Remove this fog of yesterday's dentistry. Dentists should no longer fear or disdain proactive marketing. Realize that communication is what makes change possible. Yes, marketing can be done badly. Just look beyond the purveyors of Schlock and Awful!

Maybe my scolding is mostly self serving - but I offer the following British dental marketing study as a "lifelike esthetic porcelain bridge" to a better dentistry future here in 2009.

British Dental Journal 186, 436 - 441 (1999) 

Published online: 8 May 1999 
Subject Category: Patient management
Patient care:  Marketing dental care to the reluctant patient

Marketing Blog Commentary by...

Dick Chwalek - Niche Dental President

Call 866-453-1026  Ext 251

Dental Marketing Coaching and Dentistry Communication Consulting

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

Comprehensive Dentist in Traverse City Launches New Dental Practice Website

Traverse City, MI - With all the economic turmoil and instability, consumers are earnestly searching for genuine, long-term value. Advanced comprehensive dentistry is one way for consumers to realize many lasting benefits as well as immediate results. Cosmetic and restorative dentist, Dr. Brian Klym, has developed a new website to showcase the far-reaching value associated with up-to-date, painless, complete dental care.

NorthwoodDentalTC.com provides Traverse City area consumers with a resource for understanding what is possible: financially and clinically. From total oral health rejuvenation to aesthetic smile makeovers, this new dental practice website textually explains and visually demonstrates the value available. Visitors will see how a state-of-the-art facility has transformed stereotypical notions of dentistry.

Special Features of this Traverse City, Michigan Dental Website
• Before/After Photos, Testimonials Demonstrating: Smile, Confidence, Life Transformations
• Complete Dentistry: Cosmetic, Implants, Restorative, General, Preventive
• Calming Comfort: Relaxing Environment, Sedation, Digital Diversions, Mercury-Free
• Frequently Asked Dental Care Questions

Dr. Klym, who is certified in oral sedation and has extensive experience in all forms of dentistry, focuses his practice mission on three service themes: Positively Confident, Authentically Affordable, and Truly Trusted. The “Why Northwood Dental” web page explains each service theme in detail.

Traverse City area residents in search of real value and comprehensive advanced dentistry should research their choices. Before making their final dental care or cosmetic dentistry decisions, local consumers are encouraged to visit NorthwoodDentalTC.com.

According to Dr. Klym, “I wanted to develop a website that provided the content prospective patients need to make informed decisions about their dental health. Whether it is smile makeover veneers or tooth-saving root canals, no one should get less than what they deserve, especially in an economy like this––when every dollar counts.”

Website Development
Cosmetic Dentistry, Oral Health Rejuvenation by Dr. Brian Klym
Dental Website design by The Peripheral Vision
Content Guidance and Writing by Niche Dental

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

Dental Website Launch

Traverse City Dentist offers Invisalign Teeth Straightening Removable Braces.

Value Marketing Versus Lowest Common Denominator In Dentistry

I wrote the following article to explain my theory of 'value dentistry marketing'. Yes, at some point we all go to Wal-mart for toilet paper (my shorthand for whatever we deem of minimal value). But when marketing a service based on expertise, focusing on discounts can diminish consumer respect for that expertise. 

Basically, should dentists be associated with HALF-OFF type advertising simplicity (gimmicks)  even though 'it works'? Mixing marketing simplicity with dentistry complexity has significant backfire potential. It can be used but only with a very steady hand. 

The main reason I developed this theory is the dilemma caused by dental insurance. Just ask any dentist how much influence insurance reliance has on the acceptance of their treatment recommendations. Consumers often use dental insurance coverage to dictate or control their level of acceptance. "My dentist tried to sell me on some procedure. Obviously, it was not needed - because my insurance hardly covered any of it!" 

Discount dentistry has the same potential. "The other dentist down the road has it for half price. Of course, the other dentist is charging too much. Plus he takes all insurances (even though that means he has to treat more patients - maybe not as thoroughly) to make the same amount of money." 

Read the entire article to see if my theory holds up. Just so you know, the article is mercury free and prevents dental marketing decay...

Excerpt and link to entire article on my website...

Dental Marketing Lowest Common Denominator Dilemma

Money-off dental advertising, marketing concepts don't interest me as much as they do my industry cohorts. While they 'actually work' for many consumers, it has many counterproductive elements. Who doesn't want to save a dollar or two? Unfortunately, this diversionary focus on cost means little else is being communicated effectively to the dental consumer.

After viewing four or five coupons on a dental flyer with BOLD lettering and lots of dollar signs ($500 OFF!), what else is the consumer going to remember about it? When buying garbage bags and gas, focusing on price makes a lot of sense. These are simplistic items and easily made decisions. They are ‘commodities’ of short-term value.

Dentistry is complex and always on the periphery of the consumers’ understanding so even intelligent and upscale people are often in the dark. Piling discounts on a complex service like dental care puts the learning curve on a slippery slope. It also stagnates the value of your dental expertise (or worse). For example, if the barbershop is doing coupons for haircuts AND dentists are also doing coupons for a some hair-raising procedure – is there any reason for the consumer to believe dentistry has changed much since the day when the two (hair removing and hair-raising procedures) were both under one roof?

Okay, the barber/dentist comparison is a bit of a groaner, but there is reason for concern… Maybe giving money-off is good for the lower income person who might not go to the dentist without a ‘cheaper’ version? Yet, many of these offers are for the new dental patient, which means the lower income person is often out of luck in the next round. Then patients are jumping from one deal to the next and the dentist is only providing another lily pad band-aid, not a real dental care home.

Another not-so positive way ‘it works’ is to draw in the price-conscious person—who believes in dentistry – but will wait for a ‘deal’ before they do anything. The hope here is that these patients will become better dental consumers once the practice and its team mesmerize them. It works for some dentists more than others and but mostly on the fringes. Plus it is NOT what most consumers would expect from a ‘doctor’s’ office—discount bypasses, this week only!

Businesses that know exactly who they want as a clientele, speak directly to those consumers. Dentists who want patients who will stay in the practice--but market to the discount group--will find it difficult to upgrade care to those consumers. Dentists with selling prowess will do better when starting with the discount crowd, but why put start with a deficit when it can be avoided. The dental marketing (or communication) dilemma is: how do you attract new patients without hammering the discount angle?

One thing to realize is that patients and consumers only get scraps of information during the dental visit. The dentist or dental team member presents a lot of it verbally. The dental appointment is not the best environment for absorbing complex ideas. If most of it is verbal, then 'in one ear and out the other' is usually the effect achieved.

If discounts are all they are seeing outside of the dental visit, then their concept of dentistry is not unlike the dollar store perspective. If it is not CHEAP or on SALE, it is overpriced!

With most dental marketing campaigns there usually is nothing coming their way that builds value. Once in a while a small percentage will see an ostentatious dental ad in an upscale city magazine or some dental technology news blip. The advertisements and messages have nothing in depth or value building besides cool technology or Hollywood smile makeover concepts, which an even smaller number of people will relate to. This improves advanced dentistry’s value around the edges, but for most it is pushed out into the realm of expensive, elective and extra.

To Read Remainder of Article, click...

"The Dental Marketing Lowest Common Denominator Dilemma"

Dental Coaching and Dentistry Consulting

Contact 

Dick Chwalek at Niche Dental

866-453-1026 Ext 253