How to Make Marketing Your Dental Practice a Priority: Tips from Melinda Spitek

Last month we ran a profile on dental marketing consultant Melinda Spitek, here she offers some tips on how to make marketing your dental practice a priority.

As everyone knows, recent economic conditions have made it more difficult for small businesses to remain profitable. Dental specialists have not been immune from the challenge. What can practitioners do to remain successful in the face of these financial tough times?

According to Melinda, now is the time to take marketing your practice off of the back burner; and you can start by looking at your most valuable customers…the ones you already have. “This is a different marketplace that it was just three or four years ago,” says Melinda. “Practices should be doing a whole lot of internal marketing with their focus on keeping the patients they have coming back rather than beating the bushes trying to attract new patients.”

“The most valuable thing a practice has is its patient base, and while everyone wants new patients, the reality is that it is now more important than ever that you keep those patients you have.”  How can dental specialists follow this advice and properly attend to existing patients while keeping a handle on providing quality care?  Melinda gives the following advice:

Regular Communication

“The first step is establishing some sort of regular communication with your existing customers, like a patient newsletter or quarterly letters that are designed to keep in touch and encourage client loyalty,” says Melinda. “This type of marketing helps define your patient’s experience with you.” She also points out that every practice should have a referral system that encourages patients to refer friends and family members. “This is your best vehicle to find new patients while building the confidence and relationship you have with your existing clients.”  Melinda stress also that your web site should be up to date, professional and attractive. “People are very hungry for information before they make a decision on their provider. Be sure your web site tells people you’re here, you’re good at what you do, and you care about their dental health.”

Outreach

While it is true that the best patients come from your best patients, how can dental specialists reach beyond their existing client base to attract new customers and new business to their practice?  Melinda says that a thoughtful approach is needed in order to get the most from media and advertising campaigns. “Newspaper articles, advertorials, direct mail, radio, and television are all options depending on the size of your practice and your budget. But the most important thing is to know your market place before you spend any money at all – some things work better in some areas than in others. Once you have engaged in media activity, it is also important to measure the response so that you can gauge the value of your investment and whether or not you should continue the campaign.”

Ramp up Referrals

All dental specialists depend on referrals from general dentists. What advice does Melinda have for practitioners looking to bolster their referrals and improve their relationship with general practitioners?  “Personal contact is important. Go and meet face to face when ever you can. Take a basket of bagels, go out to lunch, provide a presentation – whatever you can do to keep in contact and build interaction between you and the other office. Again, consistent communication is vital; it’s all about the level of attentiveness to the relationship.”

Getting the initial referral is only part of the equation, however. According to Melinda, attractive and professional marketing materials are a must if you hope to land that new client.  “You need nice collateral – business cards, brochures, referral cards, a great web site – these are all vitally important so that when a patient is referred they have the information they need and it is presented in a professional and appealing way.”

“The last thing you want is for referred patients to be left to go blindly based solely on the recommendation,” says Melinda. “Every communication reinforces the decision either to choose you or to refer their friends. Getting a referral from a dentist or an existing client is great, but you need to back it up with a good infrastructure of marketing collateral. If you start now, like ripples in a pond, good marketing collateral can have both an immediate and recurring impact on your practice success.”