Simple and inexpensive marketing ideas for dentists

21 OUT-OF-THE-BOX PROFITABLE DENTAL MARKETING IDEAS © 2013 Jay Geier’s Scheduling Institute. All rights reserved. // 1


[ NUMBER ONE ]

Send out a Monthly Cd

Do a CD every month for your patients. The topic could be on a certainprocedure, a contest, education, health, updates, etc. It gives you an opportunity to build a relationship with your patients, show up in their everyday life. It also

lets them see you in a different light -- what other doctor sends their pa-tients a CD?? NONE! It also gives your patients the opportunity to pass that CD off to someone else. The key is CONSISTENCY. If a monthly CD sounds too scary, then do it bi-monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually to start. Just choose a frequency and commit to it! Don’t have a recording studio? No problem! Do a Google search and you’ll find a recording studio and it’s actually rather inexpensive. Patient de-velopment and relationship building is important -- and this is the cutting edge way to accomplish this task.

[ NUMBER TWO ]

Send Video eMailS

insteaD of just senDing a plain olD email, spiCe it up with a viDeo! EVERYONE in the office can make a video that could be sent out to your patients. Hygienists can make a video out to all the patients who haven’t come in for their recare appointments -- something funny about the top reasons why patients

don’t come back in. The doctor can make a video that just shows his appreciation for the patients or invites them to a Patient Appreciation Event. Front Desk Staff could make a video about the contest you have going on this month in the office. The op-tions are endless!

Why do you send a video? First off, it’s just like being there in person, except you don’t have to be there. Secondly, you do it once, and get to re-use it over and over and over. And finally, it allows you to communicate to the masses. Try to figure out how to do things and multiply the delivery! There’s no better way to communicate with your full patient list!

And remember....these aren’t all things you must do alone! Always think, “Who could do this for me?”, “Who could help me with this?”, or “Is there a vendor who can make this more efficiently?” you aren’t alone!


[ NUMBER THREE ]

do WebCaStS or teleSeMinarS

similar to senDing viDeo emails, it’s putting you in front of the patient. YOUR MISTAKE -- you think that your patients know everything that you do! There are many of your patients who don’t understand what the solu-tions are that you are presenting to them. They need to be educated. A great

delivery method for this is through a Webcast or Teleseminar. A Webcast is merely a video they play on their computer. A Teleseminar is simply an audio recording for them to listen to. But you’re able to tell the story, show emotion, SEND THEM THE STORY, and give them the detail they need to make a decision. You must figure out how to communicate with your patients!!

Need ideas on things you could do a Webcast or Teleseminar about?

NUMBER FOUR:

add Marketing teaM MeMberS

you must have people on your team with DeDiCateD time to marketing! You can’t have a Marketing Director that is also required to be hands on with The Front Desk. And if you’re really cranking and setting big goals, you need a full time Marketing Director where that is all they do --- no other responsibilities.

They must have freedom to do their job, and money and a budget to do it. And they’re responsible to provide a return! Give them the parameters and let them go Market!

Maybe right now your office only requires 20 hours a week towards marketing, but those 20 hours MUST be blocked off, undivided attention, totally focused on Marketing. If that person is also needed at the front desk, then you really need to hire a front desk person AND a marketing director. Add marketing members who are only focused on marketing.

- periodontal Disease - Benefits of DRX - sealants - Braces

- invisalign - gum Disease treatments - root Canal procedures - full mouth reconstruction

- whitening[ [


[ NUMBER FIVE ]

Marketing SequenCeS

a sequenCe is a planneD out series of touChes -- mail, email, faxes, phone calls, facebook messages, etc. -- that a patient will receive when they re-spond to something you’ve sent them or presented to them. These pieces go out automatically. The message that needs to go to a New Patient, or a patient that

has missed an appointment, or a patient that has shown interest in a product or service, should be congruent. You shouldn’t have to think about whether it should be an email or a text message, or what it should say, or how long after they were there it should go out automatically, or from whoever is responsible to send it. You should decide what a patient should get if they miss an appointment and ALL patients who miss an appointment should get those messages. And you should set it up to run on auto pilot. It should just happen, without much thought, without too much effort, and it should be consistent.

> Sequence Ideas:

- New Patient Sequence - Active Patient Sequence - Reactivation Sequence - Upsell Sequence - Appointment Reminder Sequence - Missed Appointment Sequence - Patient Appreciation Event Sequence


[ NUMBER SIX ]

giVe aWay a Car

it Doesn’t have to Be a lamBorghini. It doesn’t have to be a brand new car. Just give away a car!!! It could be a Smart Car, a Jeep, a Honda Civic.... divide the cost of the car by your acquisition cost per new patient....IT MAKES SENSE. Run a contest, award patients with entries into the contest for certain things

they do.... referrals, being on time to appointments, purchasing upgraded services, testimonials, etc.

> rememBer a few things....

1. Use it to tap into the emotions of your patients.2. Do the contest long enough to make a profit off giving the car away (12-18 mos.)3. Wrap the car with a message....maybe “My doctor is giving away this car...how bout yours?” 4. Let your staff drive it around5. PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE!6. Make it all about the patients.7. Have fun with it!

[ NUMBER SEVEN ]

haVe a ViP StatuS and referral PrograM

everyone wants to aChieve a status. People want to be at the top! They like to receive preferential treatment. Your patients are no exception. You need to play to that! This will create GLUE with your patients as well. It’ll keep them

striving for the next level and wanting to never leave you because they’ve done so much to reach that level with you!

• Personalized Gifts• Priority Scheduling• Special Treatment for their

Referrals

VIP IdEAS: • Preferred Parking• Giveaways!• Recognition in Newsletters• Discounts• Hand written notes from

the Doctor


[ NUMBER EIGHT ]

beCoMe an exPert

you Definitely know more then they Do...so aCt like it. Don’t be afraid to be an expert. It can be easy. Start off with a small group, you can be the lead-ing expert on your block. Think about your profession,

if there are 100,000 dentists, it’s hard to be the expert of 100,000 but it’s not hard to start with the dentists in your town. You can present yourself as an expert by writing an article in your local newspaper or magazine, hosting small learning groups or teach-ing others.

[ NUMBER NINE ]

be funny or ControVerSial

humor is effeCtive. Watch the craziest dude on TV who everybody knows. We all have a crazy personal injury lawyer in our town that ad-vertises. So what I want you to think about is, why can’t you be the crazy dentist or the funny dentist? Your first thought is, “oh no, people aren’t go-

ing to like that.” No, that’s exactly what they like. It’s time to quit worrying about what everybody will think. You never want to be “Vanilla”. Don’t look for affirmation. Affirm yourself on what works. If you’re providing good service, your numbers will be good. Give patients more than they pay for. Patients are going to love you and they’re going to refer people.


[ NUMBER TEN ]

neWSletter it’s easy. it’s neCessary. A practice newsletter helps you stay connected to your patients. Find a simple format that works for you and stick to it.

Your Newsletter format should include the following…1. a patient success story – This is social proof of your practice success and it gets

other patients excited and feeling good about being a part of your practice.2. Referrals and Contests – You can put the Referral VIP’s here or highlight

office giveaways!3. personal relationships – Let your patients get to know your family, tell them

about vacations, etc.4. highlight patients – People love to see their photos, so why

not add pictures of patients in the office or at your events?5. Calendar – Add a Calendar of events for the office to keep

patients engaged.6. Charitably giving – Highlight you and your team’s

charitable giving.

[ NUMBER ELEVEN ]

hoSt eVentS for your PatientS

show your appreCiation. Events can be webcasts on new dental fixes, giveaways, patient appreciation days, movie nights or special celebrations. Events help the practice stay connected to the community by boosting the brand and create engaged patients. The more engagement you have with your

patients the more willing they are to stay, pay and refer their friends and family.


[ NUMBER 12 ]

haVe a SoCial Media/Web PreSenCe

assign the soCial meDia to one person in your offiCe anD up-Date it, keep it up to speeD, anD get followers. Get a website but don’t be Vanilla! Customize your website to make it interactive for your patients and staff. Use Social Media and the Web to boost your bottom line…

A few uses for your Practice..Social media for SEO (search engine optimization) – This is basically boosting your presence on search engines such as Google. To get there add great content to your site, build up and engage with social followers, focus on what you do well and become an expert in that field. Get links to your site from other authoritative websites in your space, and work on becoming an authority in your space on social media.

actively seek out your patients through social media – Depending on your patient base, you may be able to drive patient interest through social media interest. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and the more visual platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest are great places to engage your patients and get new ones.

tell your story – People now more than ever want a personal connection to where they spend their money and this couldn’t be more true for small businesses. Share your journey and accomplishments. Social networks are a great place for you to really bring your brand alive and create loyal advocates.


[ NUMBER 13 ]

Send direCt Mail

there’s a Couple of things aBout DireCt mail. Direct mail people cost more to get, but the conversion rate can be significantly better. To get ideas, if someone sends something to your home or offices that catches your eye, save it

and create a file of ideas you can pull from.

Who do you send direct mail to? You send it to existing patients, previous patients and prospects. It can be used to promote offers to any group.

[ NUMBER 14 ]

Make offerS to your PatientS & ProSPeCtS the offers get Clients to take aDvantages of serviCes anD speCials. The best offers should have the following components.

first, keep it simple. They have to be clear. Percentages don’t mean anything, so always use real dollars. Instead of a $100 service for 20% off, offer the $100 service for $80. Be clear on what it is.

second, give them Bonuses. People love extra stuff more than the discount.

third, time. Give them a time frame to use the offer. But don’t make it about the deadline; if someone comes in after the deadline with the offer you should still give it to them.

fourth, Call to action. Get the first 7 to respond. Guarantees are great. Figure out how to guarantee something: guaranteed you’ll be on time, guaranteed satisfaction, etc. You have got to look at your cost, but you have got to guarantee something. Take away the risk.


[ NUMBER 15 ]

Make outbound CallS

inCrease the numBer of outBounD Calls you make. For patients that don’t show up add a couple of calls to your sequence. You can follow up with questions such as “Hey, we haven’t seen you in such a long time, we wanted to

find out if something happened, if we offended you or if you have found a new dentist?” If they have found a new dentist you can re-move them from your list. But people are busy so don’t just leave a message, but call them several times.

Ways to use outbound calls...

[ NUMBER 16 ]

Create a lead liSt

so what’s a leaD list? how Do you Deal with it? A lead list isa group of prospective patients you have gathered contact information from. If you go out and give a talk and talk about charity, you then compile a list of peo-ple you can market to. This lead list is going to act as a database of prospects

that you can then send offers and direct mail to. How do you handle the lead list? Use this information to compile useful details on your clients such as families vs. singles, children’s ages and birthdates. etc.

Once this list is compiled its important that you segment your list for marketing. For example, you can send things such as Mothers/ Fathers day offers to just the parents, Birthday cards for the month, Special offers to new patients etc. Compiling a lead list helps you build the database of who to market to and how to more effectively reach out to clients and prospects.

- inactive patients- missed appointments- welcoming new patients[ [- Day of / Day After Treatment Check-in

- event invitations


[ NUMBER 17 ]

uSe a databaSeget a DataBase to Do the work for you! There are all kinds of CRMs (Custom-er Relationship Management Tools) out there but you want a CRM that can house your lead list and keep records of your current clients. You want to be able to pull up clients who bought invisalign over the last 6 months, or clients who are due for cleanings etc. The CRM helps you organize that information. The CRM database should have the capacity to automate your sequences as well. Using a database helps to take the human error factor out of much of your marketing and data keeping.

[ NUMBER 18 ]

Mail handWritten letterS people still love getting hanDwritten letters. They get great results and feel very personal to your patients and poten-tial patients. If you don’t have time to write it yourself, don’t worry. There are printing companies that can make the letter look hand-written.

WAYS To uSE hANdWrITTEN lETTErS:

• Welcoming New Patients• Congratulating Patients on Successes

• Visit Follow-up


[ NUMBER 19 ]

ConStantly iMProVe your SPaCe & equiPMent

your patients anD staff neeD a gooD spaCe to Be seen or work in. Patients don’t want to get medical service in a place that isn’t nice so its important to be always improving everything that involves your clients. And this is just as important for your staff. If your staff feels like the doctor

doesn’t care about the practice, the attitude is reflected in the Staff’s actions. Just up-dating your space can increase your new patients, becuase it’s inviting and it makes the staff more productive and engaged.

Also, when you upgrade your space and equipment, make sure you lay out a space for the marketing person. This is not the front desk. You need a back stage area for your marketing to work. If you don’t have an area for your marketing department, you won’t have the infrastructure to market. You need physical space for the marketing depart-ment to function correctly.

[ NUMBER 20 ]

StoP Worrying about What PeoPle think about youthis is DiffiCult to Do. many of you will not Do it. But, stop worrying about what people think. So with every last marketing piece that you send you have to stop worrying about what people think. Trust what you know works!

Marketing that looks like everyone else’s will not stand out. Doing the same things and using the same messages will only commodotize your practice. Be unique, do things differently and don’t worry about what your competition thinks about you.


[ NUMBER 21 ]

Create & Maintain a Marketing Calendar - then aCtually Market

if you’re going to market you neeD a marketing CalenDar. It should reflect the next 3 months of scheduled intentional activities. If you do not have a calendar it means you have no intentional activities. They say, “if you show me your calendar, I’ll predict your income because calendars

are predictors of income.” So, if you look at the calendar and the person is doing a lot of things, they are probably going to do well. If there’s nothing on the calendar you will not see an increase in income or in this case a return on your marketing investment.

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Simple and inexpensive marketing ideas for dentists