Wednesday

Counting Up Success Short in Concise Virtual Reality Bytes: Satisfyingly Ether Filled

What are the THREE KEYS to successfully marketing dental practices in this hyper promotional, social twitter spherical, existential virtual atmospherical media landscape ether surreal?

Dentist Client Testimonial - NicheDental.com
Before we proceed, I will try, while gritting and grinding my teeth, to be totally virtually honest, rather than skirt the real tooth of it all.

Maybe to some three keys is a ridiculous premise after thinking about it for 3 seconds, but let's not think for now.

Dentists may have noticed up till now that exceptional dentistry services advertising agencies and dentist expertise marketer mere super beings like me. and other marketers, always have the power to distill ideas down to a number like three or seven or ten.

Why can we few thousand accomplish this truly amazingly bogus tea it up feat? Because we muster it up, like a 3 minute egghead.

It's right here in the none refereed bootlegged Dental Marketing Hand Rook, 2012.0 version, that we "the dental marketeer must conjure up simplicity for all those willing to approach and approve of being snookered by it". With the 2013.0 version soon to be ether reeled out to us very shortly, I have come up with a discontinued diversion at a lower brow value for those dentists disinterested.
  1. Pay me, and I will do it all for you.
  2. Pay some other dental marketing firm, and this happens to me ;-(
  3. Pay lots of us for doing different things, and many of us could benefit, but I probably will still whine. (distilling, remember?)
WATCH VIDEO BELOW
  • Addendum: Not much more than the last paragraph - below these next two - has all true reality value. 
Yet many dental marketing gurus probably have not seen a THREE Keys to Over the Top Marketing for Dentistry section in their handbook because I virtually plagiarized most of it, and then quickly self-published it on hook, line and sinkered. But I really think it does have long tale feathering turkey legs.

Even though I was on the NYC many Times Best sold no one on it List* for months on end (and no insight), the thought experiment was not a total pun full belly flop.

Basically, I was able to get dentists to review something more valuable in the intermediary, actual results in the form of a testimonial for a client who saw 3+ years of positive results and that is after the supposed dentist production crash bemoaned here. My Reply Tweeted Here.


*Now Yanking Chain many Times Best sold no one on it List
Please reject my apologies for this gaudy tapestry.

Unique Dental Social Media, for Dentists, and Dentistry Industry.

--------

Writing Reduced, Status Produced and Issues Induced

By this Dental Marketing Connective Communication© Consultant...

Richard Chwalek
NicheDental.com

Dentists, For More on My Unique Social Media Program or...
  • Contact me via Online@nichedental.com or...
  • Call 1+888.380.0020 and schedule a consultation with my Co-consultant Oli Gonsalves.


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Tuesday

What Marketing Tips the Scales for New Dentists?

This marketing tip filled article is an expanded version of a dental student presentation, set for Mid November in Minneapolis at the U. of Minnesota School of Dentistry. The seminar and lunch is hosted by the Northern Dental Alliance, which Niche Dental, owner Dick Chwalek, a communication consultant, dentist marketing coach is a member.

What can, should a new dentist do, and think about in the first years of practice as to dental marketing?

While it may be some years before even a senior student will purchase or build their own practice, hands-on knowledge about, and appreciation for, marketing should be built from the start. Even as an associate dentist, it will be beneficial to help the practice owner develop their presence in the market.

Niche Dental has five points for dentistry students to consider.

First, Understand What Marketing Does, Is and its Overall Value

Whether it’s private sector or not-for-profit, the focus must be communication; publicly communicating the value of dental care.

No communication, no dental health. More communication, more dental health. 

Communication drives everything we do, or don’t do.

Second, Notions about Communication Are Incomplete, Yours and Consumers:

Dentists will say: Patient referrals are the best. The future is online! I don’t like direct mail, therefore it can’t work. I’ll try it once and see what happens.

As opposed to consumers: Dentistry causes pain, so I stay in pain, and don’t go to a dentist. My insurance doesn’t cover it, so that recommendation is unwarranted. My previous dentist never did that, she said my dental health was fine.

These consumer and dentist misconceptions mean: nothing is as it seems. What was said by each constituent, may be partially, but it can’t be completely correct, leaving gaps in knowledge. Marketing can fill in the gaps.

The more done, the more filled in. Not building up the knowledge base is risky if consumers are still saying the same things, so they do the same things or less.

Patients like some things about dentistry, and dislike others, so following their lead is problematic. Dentists must be ready to change their perspective to coincide with how communication works, and not doing what is liked or disliked.

Stay focused on doing what’s better for yourself and consumers. Lead, don’t follow.



ThirdConnective Communication© Provides A Realistic Structure to Overcome Perceptions:
Dentistry is different. Knowing this is good, but seeing communication differently is required, too. Some answers may be familiar, but the implementation and consumer reality must be dealt with consistently, accurately and more completely.

For consumers, the old news about dental care is almost as it always was, so merely keeping up with the ‘other dentist’ in marketing, just won’t do. Dental marketing must be connective to engender any meaningful change.

Being connective requires more than one marketing element to move the consumer or patient forward into a better place. Two work better than one, three work better than two, and so forth.

Marketing that’s not working is like dry soup mix without water. Yet, without opening the bag, neither work together. The ‘referrals are best’ axiom is a good example of incomplete connectivity. While referrals may be best, more referrals are better than fewer, and so on.

Internal generation of additional referrals is just one way to approach the dilemma, but by more effectively implementing both approaches can greatly improve the other’s success.

The key is a willingness to implement an element, then another as soon as possible, rather than travel down the lack-of-communication road.

Fourth, The Goal is NOT Overcoming ALL Resistance To Better Dental Care:

Improvement is the goal. Niche Dental’s Connective Communication© is strategic improvement. It is a dentist, and local community based formula.

While overcoming societal forces is not within reach of an individual dentist, most every dentist does have great potential to increase their patient base. Unfortunately, every dentist won’t increase their base much because they won’t focus on improving and implementing strategic communication.

It’s vital dentists understand more than the marketing alphabet. They must learn to read it better, not reject its value, and avoid fits and starts. Not merely say: Patient Referrals are the best.




FifthConnective Communication© Constructs the Solution Not Just Giving ‘Answers’:

Determining a dentist’s marketing answers is an individual process. It’s also not very productive to give answers for too far in the future especially with changing technology.

Dentists often ask when calling Niche Dental, “What is the one type of marketing I should do?”
Seems fairly straightforward, but a certain amount of situational knowledge is needed. Otherwise, many budget draining missteps can occur.

A dentist's marketing plan is similar to constructing a solution to a patient’s health needs over the phone. Communication solutions are like a health diagnosis. Both communication and health are based on complicated, evolving structures.

Many see generic structure in dental marketing communication, but differences on the margins, account for many variations. Individual habits and occurrences also affect a health diagnosis, as well as a marketing plan.
In ConclusionConnective Communication© Does Provide Ready Answers:

However, Connective Communication© formula’s upfront answers provide a proper, protective and proactive marketing structure.

The three main answers, which Dick calls elements are: Improving, Gathering and Creating. This matrix prevents dentists from running into trouble, buying over-the-phone, over-the-counter, over-a-barrel budget marketing answers.

To achieve a Connective Communication© effect: Improving. Gathering. And Creating must be done together. One element is unbalanced without the others, achieving many fewer connections.
A Guide to Improving, Gathering, Creating:
  • Improving: improves value appreciation of the office, its dentistry and the dentist’s expertise.
  • Gathering: gathers up consumers already looking. Otherwise, searching consumers are split between marketing competitors, or missed entirely.
  • Creating: creates new patients from an available pool of all demographics, and reactivates current patients by nudging them to restore dentistry’s value in their lives, calming fears, etc.
Fluoride without community involvement, not allowing in water supply, evaporates its value. Fluoride is an answer, not a solution. Without a connective strategy, even the ‘best’ can be greatly diluted in value.



Postscript: So aren’t referrals the best? Yes, but being ‘best’ is an answer not a solution. Like fluoride doesn’t help someone missing a tooth.

Here’s a specific example, when an office is 99% hygiene and insurance reliant, encouraging those patient referrers to promote ‘additional’ services is globally difficult.

Yet, just 10 patient testimonials with before and after photos publicly promoted in a connective manner will exponentially multiply services value and prestige. Rather than looking in a follow-the-follower marketing mirror, generate 3D, value building communication, which is influential in your community and worthwhile to the consumer.

Thanks to the staff at the Minnesota School Dentistry for their invitation to speak.

Dick Chwalek is a member, co-founder of NorthernDentalAlliance.com

Contact Oli,

Niche Dental Co-Consultant, Strategic Partner from Fallbrook, CA.

1+888.380.0020 •  EMAIL Oliver (Oli) Gonsalves

Written, Edited, Posted by,
Dick Chwalek
www.NicheDental.com

Other Members of the Northern Dental Alliance:

Tips 4 Dentists 2 Plan Marketing Campaigns

When dentists plan their marketing campaigns, they need to think strategically not just about what type of service, media or product to buy from the advertising salesperson or online entity.

Each dentist's specific economic predicament, their community's position and the overall perspective creates many businesses challenges, but also provides opportunities of wide and prosperous potential! Therefore, dental practices needs to respond in various ways to encourage consumers to make dentistry a higher priority.

Dentists Get Started!  CALL Oli • 1+888.380-0020

Dental consumers will keep delaying without reminders of value (of not waiting, of what is out there...), which is especially true in this 'manufactured' environment. Manufactured because dentistry is different, it is needed, and after a while a 'must' for those patients who would have gone to the dentist sooner without a bad 'economic climate'.

Additionally, general dental consumers and even current patients have always needed a higher level of communication. Better and more consistent dental marketing is used to upgrade their perspective to accept advanced dentistry treatments. Stronger, more comprehensive, referral skills will help patients encourage friends, family and colleagues/coworkers to consider higher level dentistry not just moving to a 'nicer dentist' or doing merely traditional drill, fill and fit only what's in their insurance till.

While regular preventive dental visits can be delayed without a short-term downside (pain), significant oral health problems (gum disease, tooth loss) and 'personal driven' reasons (replace missing, damaged teeth/tooth before job interview) will not wait for an economic recovery.

When smile emergencies arise, and toothaches flare up, dentists and dental offices should have a public presence to keep patient numbers on a upward growth trajectory as well as improve value acceptance internally.

Dentists who offer high value services such as biomimetic focused approach, comprehensive periodontal management, Invisalign braces, tooth replacing dental implants, cosmetic dentistry veneers, and life, health rejuvenating smile makeovers should make sure they are the ones these patients will know of, already 'trust', see as providing deep value, when they start looking.

For example: Sedation dental marketing is also a way to move consumers who have put off dental treatment because of fear to get the care they need now. Presenting multiple smile makeover transformations of people from various life circumstances, perspectives and situations is beneficial to making the point that better care is not just for celebrities and TV newscasters.

While specific ideas of approaching marketing is important (like above) too many dentists start out with specifics and get caught up in the details before they understand the overall picture. To that end, below find three ways dentists should know about dental marketing before jumping off.

Being a Profitable Dental Practice ELEMENTS in 2012... Beyond

The Best Dental Marketing Plan has THREE Elements

ONE: Be A Publicly, Proactive, Persistent Dental Practice

  • One of the biggest areas of new dental patient development
  • Also Prepares the 'attention' of patients, consumers not considering dentistry right now 
  • Includes a traditional marketing element like dental postcards not just an online presence 
  • People need to be made aware of the dentist's cosmetic, restorative expertise and services
  • While public marketing maybe more expensive to begin, done right, dentists improve things more broadly, faster, geographically targeted
  • Waiting for referrals, or consumers to think about or searchers is risky at any time, let alone a downturn

TWO: Completely Cover Each Current Dental Patient's Angle

  • Patients want others to know about their dentist if they do things well
  • This is hardly ever done well - it is often generic, impersonal, and infrequent
  • Referrals and smile makeover case acceptance result from effectively communicating value
  • Find more ways to connect with dental patients and more formats to ask for referrals
  • Add elements that say something 'new/advanced' about the dentist, office
  • While standard referrals still make great patients, the new landscape requires enhanced methods
  • Use dental technology to better inform patient of the value dentistry services provide and the dentist's expertise

THREE: Network Your Internet Connection: Dental Website, Social Media

  • Websites, Social Media (Facebook, Twitter) is where current dental patients, and consumers are, and will be looking for dentists, offices
  • Thousands of ways to attract new dental care patients online
  • When Online evasion is practiced, dentists shrink their community influence, referral power, expertise value
  • The real 'competition' dentist's have is when they do one thing, if anything, and often haphazardly 
  • Dentists must keep adding online dental marketing repertoire, weaving in your highest value services

Downturn Dental Marketing Conclusion

Comprehensive (yet affordable) assertive and persistent public and internal communication is essential for dentists, dental offices to be viable today and long term. Dental marketing is not only a good thing it is the only thing that consistently gets consumers and patients enough information in the quantity, quality, and the right time of day for them to absorb it effectively.

To achieve the success dentists want this year, or any year, requires getting the marketing they need to reach out to the community of those just waiting for someone to speak up, and say, 'Dental care value is RIGHT HERE!"

Dental Marketing Commentary by
Dick Chwalek
NicheDental.com

Niche Dental Consulting, coaching to comprehensive, is for guiding dentists (like you) to better, faster, and fit-your-needs solutions.

Thursday

For Dental Offices That Want Improve to Their Marketing: Seven Sure Sailing Strategies

www.ExpressDentalMarketing.com
Everyone wants a solution that sets sail successfully the first time. Most dentists have just skirted around the edges of marketing. Actually that is what most businesses do.

Unfortunately, at some point the winds change and luck, location (cubed), and trial and error are no longer on their side.

A strong, consistent, proactive communication strategy is the only way to sail on these rough seas.

Here are seven dental marketing strategies that will completely unfurl your sales!

1) Right Your Dental Website

Most dental websites are listing in a generic Internet sea. Lots of dental services are written about but little or no real human warmth can be found in this frigid North Sea of uninspired content.

Write, write, and write to right your website. With all the sites out there now, you need to say dentistry with real people in mind. Your dental web site content should be worth knowing about rather than just floating out there like a buoy without a real-life perspective mooring.

2) Sales Made Faster With Dental Direct Mail

Communicating effectively often requires someone to take the lead. Direct mail gets out in front faster than almost anything you can do. Dental practices that want more than galley leftovers need to mutiny against generic marketing and take the fight for hearts and minds to the home front and mailbox.

Nothing else is as local, as targeted or as proactive. Rather than waiting for consumers like all other marketing it goes right to the head of household and says, “Look at me, why wait, you need it now!” You need to say it the right way and with an eye on building value. But you can use dental postcards; a brochure-mailer or whatever works best for your dentistry brand. Direct mail puts significant wind in the sales of your Internet strategy as well.


3) Gain Supremacy of The Online Seas for Your Dental Practice

Web surfers are searching for exactly what you offer. Whether its dental implants or porcelain veneers, smile makeovers or advanced cosmetic dentistry, you can be the one with the phone calls, new patients, and revenue booty. Even in dangerous economic waters, it is possible to sale well.

This is not brute force online advertising. It’s a niche strategy for the dental practice that wants patients who are ready to buy what they offer. No longer haggle about price. Say heave ho to the dental insurance anchor. Start steering your online strategy toward your higher-lever services and the consumers who will pay for them in a good and not so good economy.

4) Define Your Dental Niche Rather Than Being A Dentistry Parrot

If you say the same things every other dentist is saying, you will be like a parrot on a creativity lacking, dental marketing pirate shoulder that’s squawking and hawking the same thing. Instead, say less about dental services and focus more on your dental expertise.

Consumers will never see the value in your expertise if you hoist the same flag (grocery list of dental services) your competition does.

5) Real Dental Branding Halts The Plank Walk To Irrelevance

First, dental logos are not brands. They are brand elements. Completely transform your brand like you want your patients to transform their smiles. Otherwise Davy Jones’ Locker is ready to swallow your sales numbers.

You no longer work on teeth. Currently, consumers see teeth in your brand when price, low value, and dental insurance are still magnets in their compass. With effective brand development, the consumer will know you see THEM. Then the focus is not on their teeth, which have less value to them. They are not their teeth, their mouths or even their smiles.

Create a brand around your dentistry expertise and the value you offer PEOPLE. Tooth and toothbrush logos, half off whitening coupons and the like are grounds for plank walking in this tight market. Quit degrading your value. Branding prevents dental expertise irrelevance.

End the Waiting; Set Sales Higher!

6) Be Unique To Avoid Being Set Adrift in a Dentist Without Differentiation Dinghy

The market has gotten crowded with “we do dental care like that too” competitors. Sameness will sink almost every communication ship you set sail in with the today’s hyper-competition for the consumer’s money.

Dental insurance reliance takes more profits out with the tide. The low price dentistry sales method is taking on water like mad because it has nowhere to go but down. Taking your dental practice into unique waters is often a calmer experience. The waters are clear, making it easier for consumers to see you, evaluate your value, and start appreciating the worth of your dental expertise.


7) Guide Your Marketing Efficiently With A Sturdy Dental Coaching Rudder


CALL Oli • 1.888.380.0020
Why get a dental marketing coach? Actually you can do it all yourself. Like I could voyage into megapascal math and meth mouth makeovers, you could set sail on a masters (and commander) graduate course in dental marketing. Or we can each do what we do best, and I can help you sail to your port of call a whole knot quicker.

Running your dental practice aground is easy to do if the winds change. Get command of a seaworthy craft with an expertly righted, communication strategy. Of course, it’s always your choice whether you go with an expert or not. Likewise, the consumer has many choices. You need Niche Dental coaching services to give you the helm during dental consults.

Niche Dental helps consumers see YOUR expertise as valid and valuable before they arrive, releasing the knot of objections in case acceptance. Otherwise consumers will continue to open the rum barrel of low value, minimal results, and never-pay-out-of-pocket dentistry.

Either take this route or invest in my new book and we can make money on these wading-in-low-waters consumers. It will be sold on the All-Generic Dentistry, All The Time cable channel and DentalOverStockOverBoard.com. The book, Dental Care for Rummies, makes consumers feel good about low priced, insurance covered, fast-paced, and simplistic solutions dentistry.

CONCLUSION: Sailing Your Dental Practice Through a Down Turn This Way and That...

Wanting a simple solution to your dental marketing dilemma is a natural expectation. But if you think about how the consumer often reacts to anything without a dental insurance life raft, the simple expectation sinks quickly. While there are some “simple” solutions in dentistry and marketing, they often cost more, require more time, or need an expert touch.

Paying for dental coaching, spending more for the right marketing, and developing a long term plan makes sense, even now. In an economic downturn, many consumers actually spin the helm toward a counterintuitive bearing. They start looking for value, wanting more bang for their doubloon. It’s counterintuitive because expensive purchases are not removed from the table. The value treasure chest is still very full for many consumers, especially the 77 million baby boomers who need more dentistry.

Promoting your expertise in higher-level dental treatment will standout. Consumers will notice because everyone else will be retreating to cheap and cheaper marketing waters. Fly the flag of the low priced pirate dental marketer and see your frigate get hit with the cannons of low profit and work your butt off dentistry. Avoid the low value services bottleneck; catch the wind a change in direction provides.

If you are not ready to string me up on the mizzen because of all my sailing references, call me to discuss your dental marketing needs. Then we can get everything shipshape in a matter of few nautical miles.

Call Niche Dental Co-consultant Oli Gonsalves at Express Dental Marketing to get started:

1.888.380.0020

Written, Revised and Posted by
Dick Chwalek
NicheDental.com



2nd, Version Posted at