Transcript Implementing Marketing in a Dental Practice

Implementing Marketing
in a Dental Practice
KATHERINE JONES, RDH, BS
 Marketing creates a demand or
What is
Marketing?
awareness about a product or service
 Presents goods and services for the public
in such a way that people are drawn to
the image, the attitude, the location, the
convenience, the price, the quality, and
the long term outcome.
Goals of Marketing
 Attain new patients
 Retain existing patients
 Reach thousands of existing and potential patients
 Communicate with the community
 Understand the needs and wants of clients
 Increase cash flow
Oral Health Wants vs. Oral Health Needs
Examples:
Examples:
 Elevated self-esteem
 Prophylaxis
 Increased confidence
 RP&S
 Desire for a youthful
 Oral health education
appearance
 Preservation of smile
 Comfort
 Teeth Whitening
 Increased or maintained
functioning of dentition
 Pain Management
 Antibiotics
So, what are we marketing?
DENTAL PRACTICE
DENTAL PROFESSIONAL
DENTAL SERVICES
Dental Practice
What is the physical aspect
that sets your practice apart
from others and makes your
practice more appealing?
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Location
Appearance
Convenience-Days/Hours
Payment Options
Modern Equipment
Modern Technology
Dental Professional
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Image
Demeanor
Education
Experience
Knowledge
Advice on the best and
latest dental care products
Latest techniques for
restorative procedures
Continuing Education
Delivery of Quality Care
Dental Hygiene Services
Prophylaxis
RP&S
Oral Hygiene Instruction
Nutritional Counseling
Oral Cancer Screening
Tobacco Cessation
Counseling
 Mouthguards
 Payment Options
 Latest Materials
 Teeth whitening
 Invisalign
 Sealants
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Latest Technology
 Digital
Radiography
 Computer programs
 Laser Dentistry
 Intraoral camera
 Velscope
 Isolite
 Cavitron
Please refer to the Technology
lecture in Week 6 as an
additional resource
Types of Marketing
WORD-OF-MOUTH
INTERNAL
EXTERNAL
Word-of-Mouth
 Satisfied customers refer family and friends
 No other endorsement carries more weight than one based on a
good relationship
 Quality, reliable patients
 Limited in marketing reach
Ask for Patient Referrals
“We are currently accepting new patients. If you are happy with
the services you received today, please refer your family and friends
to us.”
“It was such a pleasure treating you today. If you know anyone
looking for a dental office please send them our way.”
Hand out business cards at the end of good appointments.
Internal Marketing
 Gift Certificates
 Newsletters
 Thank you notes for referrals
 Annual open houses
 Event marketing- cards acknowledging patient’s special events or
occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries with the practice,
graduations, marriages, job promotions and retirement.
Internal Marketing Continued…
 No cavity club- children’s pictures on are hung on a billboard
each month, enter raffle to win a gift card and electric toothbrush
 Profit centers- Aim to treat specific oral health needs such as
homecare, halitosis and tooth whitening with dental products
and homecare appliances including oral irrigation devices,
electric toothbrushes and dentrifices.
External Marketing
Specific promotions to people outside the practice:
 Advertising
 Sponsorship
 Oral health articles to local newspapers
 Press releases about the office
 TV/radio to promote dental hygiene month
 Present CE courses for colleagues and other healthcare
providers
 Free oral cancer screenings
 Participation in health fairs or school programs
Advertising
The Definitions Committee of the American
Marketing Association defines advertising as “any
paid form of non-personal presentation and
promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an
identified sponsor (Mandell, 1984).”
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Methods of
advertising
include:
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Internet
Radio
Television
Directories
Circulars
Flyers
Magazines
Trade shows
Direct mail
 Postcards
 Newsletters
Outdoor advertising
 Billboards
Transit ads
Advertising Continued…
 For most small businesses the best media buys are usually the
local newspaper, direct mail and circulars or flyers (Fallek,
2003).
 The risk of advertising to the general public on a large scale is
that it often brings problem patients: patients who are
unreliable, financially unstable and inconsiderate.
Steps to Develop a Marketing Strategy
1) Patient Selection- Determine the target audience for your
Marketing Strategy. What do these clients value?
For example:
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Concerned with appearance
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Financially sound
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Care about their overall oral health
2) Marketing Budget- Dental offices typically spend between 1
– 5% of their overhead on marketing.
Steps to Develop a Marketing Strategy Continued…
3) Internal Marketing Strategy
4) External Marketing Strategy
5) Use of the Computer in Marketing
Used to assist in selecting patients, procedures and services
to offer in the marketing plan, to implement and track the
program. Target mailing can be developed using the
computer. Also, websites developed and maintained.
A marketing plan must be analyzed to
evaluate it’s effectiveness so that
modifications can be made to increase its
success.
6) Evaluation
of the program
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This can be done by:
Conducting patient satisfaction surveys
Tracking results of surveys through
discussions with staff members and patients
Using the computer to see trends and
changes in production
Tracking where new patients come from.
Who referred them or where did they hear
about the office is a common question on
patient information forms completed by
new patients.
References
Fallek, M., & Solie-Johnson, K. How to set up your own small business.
Minneapolis, MN: American Institute of Small Business, 2003.
Kimbrough-Walls, Vickie J., and Charla J. Lautar. Ethics, Jurisprudence,
& Practice Management in Dental Hygiene. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007.
Mandell, M. . Advertising. 4th Ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall,
Inc., 1984.
Rattan, Raj, and George Manolescue. The Business of Dentistry. London:
Quintessence Pub., 2002.
Woodall, Irene R., and J. Marvin. Bentley. Legal, Ethical, and
Management Aspects of the Dental Care System. St. Louis: Mosby,
1987.