Changing Marketing Focus to Boost Results

THE CHANGING FOCUS

Most patients don’t understand what a doctor does clinically or how they do it, and are only marginally interested in details, even the good features, about your practice.

In reviewing cost-effectiveness of doctors’ marketing efforts over the years, we’ve found that the amount of money spent is rarely a good indicator of success. We’ve seen dozens of doctors spending $10,000-$20,000 a year or more on practice brochures, newsletters, and direct mail efforts that produced dismal results. Traditionally, most doctors’ marketing efforts have focused on promoting the doctor himself, with extensive information regarding his education, professional certifications, awards, and experience, along with a detailed explanation of clinical procedures offered.

While that’s important from the doctor’s standpoint, and soothing to his ego, it’s usually ineffective from a marketing standpoint. Most patients don’t understand what a doctor does clinically or how they do it, and are only marginally interested in details, even the good features, about your practice. Making them want ot call or visit your office requires giving them reasons that the patient, not you, deems important.

That requires a totally different focus for your practice’s marketing efforts. Patients’ "buying" decisions are based on many factors personal to their senses, emotions and concerns. So, rather than focusing on what you may consider important, make sure that your marketing efforts meet patients’ real or perceived needs.

MEETING THE NEEDS

Doctors should carefully explain how their services can improve their patients’ dental and general physical health and make them feel better. Doctors offering cosmetic and aesthetic procedures, orthodontics, and surgical procedures to improve patients’ appearances should focus on the significant psychological benefits that their services provide. Improving patients’ sense of self-esteem and self-worth are all critically important factors in the patients’ buying decisions.

PROVIDER OF CHOICE

Although patients may be sold on their need for treatment and its benefits to them, they must also recognize your office as the provider of choice. While this involves promoting the doctor’s (and staff’s) education, experience and specialized training, it must be done in simple terms that patients can understand. For example, doctors who are specialists should promote that fact in all of their marketing endeavors, along with the extra education and experience required to attain that status. Specialty designation is something that most consumers recognize and equate with a higher quality of care, and are thus willing to pay more for those services because of the higher perceived value.

While the doctor’s education, experience and special training should be discussed, keep it brief and simple. Patient testimonials regarding the effectiveness of treatment, their positive experience in your office, and the benefits of treatment to the patient individually are much more important and should thus be emphasized to a much greater degree.

STRESS AFFORDABILITY

Another key element in the patient’s buying decision is the affordability of treatment. For years, dentist failed to raise fees out of fear that practice volume and profitability would be adversely affected. In the past few years, experience has shown that the downpayment required, monthly payment required, and term of payment are all more important factors in determining affordability than the fee itself. Accordingly, doctors should stress the availability of financing options offered to allow low or no downpayment, and lower monthly payments over an extended term, in order to create improved affordability. We recommend offering these flexible payment arrangements through third-party financing companies on a nonrecourse basis (rather than in-house) in order to increase profits through eliminating bad debt, billing and collection costs, reducing labor costs and allowing doctors to raise fees more easily without adverse effects.

EMPHASIZE CONVENIENCE

Today’s dental consumer is more concerned with convenience than ever before. That’s why it is important to include information regarding expanded hours, days, the convenience of your location(s), your (800) phone number (if available), and other convenience factors in your marketing message. Reductions in total treatment time, number of visits required to complete treatment or time spent at an office visit should also be emphasized. Doctors and staff members’ notions that patients expect more visits and expanded time in the office to perceive value for the fee charged is outdated; time is a precious commodity to consumers these days, so doctors should focus on marketing reduced treatment times as a positive.

Regardless of the mix of marketing (internal and external) that your practice uses these days, you must change the focus of your message to produce optimal results. Focusing on the benefit of your service to the patient, your special qualifications as a doctor, and the convenience and affordability of treatment will make your marketing efforts more profitable than ever.

Reprinted with permission from the Blair McGill Advisory. The Blair McGill & Hill Group, LLC specializes in financial consulting for the dental profession. For information on subscriptions or consulting, call (704) 424-9780.