Make yourself attractive

03 February 2011
Volume 27 · Issue 2

Greg Clay looks at the importance of bringing in new patients.

Historically dental practitioners have not had to work very hard at attracting patients. The NHS has, in a sense, made the concepts of branding and image topics with which dentists have not had to be concerned. However the market has and is changing and having some understanding of the importance of how we are perceived by others is an essential element in building a successful business.

But developing new ideas and marketing strategies that ensure a steady stream of new patient enquires can be a challenge, especially when you are trying to keep pace with a clinical case load. Seeking the help of external professionals can be a benefit especially when it comes to keeping to deadlines and budgets.

To my mind, building a successful practice is about two key issues around the topic of appealing to new business. Firstly, attracting the right kind of patients, it's about quality not quantity. Secondly, getting more from what you already have by promoting a range of different treatments to your existing patients.

Most successful marketeers begin planning their marketing strategy by trying to gain some sort of insight into the type of customers they already attract. This need not be a burdensome task and by carrying out this kind of exercise we can hope to replicate the things we do well, which in turn leads to the successful attraction of similar types of patients. This exercise also helps to identify where issues might arise in the future. For example, if your analysis shows large numbers of patients at the upper end of the age scale this points to certain facts about the type of patients you are attracting and the overall positioning of your practice, but it also highlights potential concerns about future patient numbers.

Once you have identified patient traits you are able to make informed decisions about the future positioning of your practice. Armed with this knowledge you can create effective communications that speak directly to your target market and gain a reasonable return on investment.

When it comes to communications you should work with a professional company. Trying to create stylish marketing communications at the end of a busy day at the chairside is not a recipe for success. A dedicated marketing company will talk with you about your aims and objectives, your target market and the dreaded 'B' word – budget. They will also ultimately design literature that suits the style of your practice, a website and other communications that ensure you 'go to market' with a co-ordinated approach designed to achieve defined objectives rather than an ad hoc collection of random communications.

Of course there are now more ways than ever to communicate with potential and existing patients. I would encourage you to explore all communication vehicles not just traditional ones, whilst at the same time understanding that to make your marketing work for you it needs to be planned and executed with precision.

Of the new media, email, text message, Facebook and Twitter are increasingly popular ways of communicating and provide an immediate way of making contact with patients. Some practices I have visited have found that special offers, for example, on treatments such as whitening, have proved extremely successful when sent via text and email to existing patients. The ability to respond immediately suits the lifestyle of many of today's patients particularly within this market and presents a real marketing opportunity which can be created, executed and measured in a short time frame.

With my Software of Excellence hat on I would also want to draw attention to the benefits of email and text communications, particularly when these operations are fully integrated with your practice management system. As part of the new patient registration process you can now make note of a patient's preferred contact method meaning your communications with them will be highly effective from the outset. Also, within an integrated practice management system you will be able to track the success of individual campaigns and log the source of every new patient. This final aspect is important to successful marketing in terms of assessing your return on investment and helping you to understand where to direct future resources.

Incorporating these processes in terms of gathering patient information and tracking success means you are completing the communication circle and your marketing will start to make sense.

A good website is of growing importance in terms of effective communication with a wider audience and increasingly the general public are using sites either to have a look at a practice or to glean more information about a specific treatment. The more useful and patient friendly the information you have available, the more likely you are to achieve enquiries direct from your website. Taking professional advice on the content and functionality of your site is very important. With website optimisation now an industry in itself, you should seek expert advice on how best to exploit this powerful communication opportunity.

Where you find the external, expert advice to which I have referred is down to personal preference, as is how much support you feel you need. There is a lot of choice in this particular area and help is available from larger dental companies which recognise the importance of an effective marketing strategy in building successful practices.

Creating a coherent marketing plan that includes reference to success criteria and then enrolling the help of an outside professional to execute the plan is the first step in maintaining a busy appointment book which in itself is the lifeblood of a successful practice. Planning and executing a defined plan will enable you to achieve the optimum patient numbers required to ensure your practice runs efficiently and profitably, and will also help you attract patients who will provide the type of work you find personally fulfilling and challenging.