Don’t Lose Dental Patient Referrals to Cheesecakes

We recently heard from a very upset oral surgeon who apparently had a well-established practice. For a number of years he was the only oral surgeon in town and received almost all of the oral surgery referrals from the other dentists in town.

Approximately two years ago, a new oral surgeon opened an office only a couple of blocks away. The new oral surgeon began reaching out to area dentists in part by sending a series of goodies to them, including gift certificates and cheesecakes.

The established dentist was understandably upset that the new, aggressive oral surgeon around the corner was garnering his well-established referrals. Upon further examination, it appears that this experienced and well-established oral surgeon had essentially stopped marketing his practice sometime before the new oral surgeon moved to town.

We hear these scenarios all the time. Some dental specialists become quite well established and comfortable and just naturally assume they will continue to receive the same level of referrals they have been getting for years as long as they continue to demonstrate their technical competency.

Unfortunately, in the world of competition that exists even among dental specialists, things just don’t work this way. Even top-notch dental specialists must continue to market their practices, or they run the risk of losing the flow of referrals they have come to depend on.

At the very least, dental specialists need to have an ongoing communications program that reminds referring dentists and physicians about their competency. In the world we live in, if you are “out of sight,” you become “out of mind.”

We have found that one of the best ways to maintain “high visibility” while demonstrating your competency is to provide digests of recent journal articles in your field. If you have the time, you can do this yourself by regularly preparing summaries and mailing them to your referral sources. If you don’t have the time or inclination to do this yourself, we may have a program that fits your practice. For more information click here.

If you have questions about how to market your dental specialty practice, e-mail Steve Klinghoffer at sklinghoffer@wpicommunications.com, and he will respond to you directly.