In the business of internal dental marketing, you should be able to increase the lifetime value of every patient. What do I mean by increasing such value in internal dental marketing? It means that you should be able to maximize the time span that your patient is going to have you as their dentist. So how do we do you do it? You do it by identifying the different behaviors of new patients when they come into the practice... then leave. In internal dental marketing, they should fit into a few different bigger categories, then you can slim them down. You may encounter patients with different kinds of needs in internal dental marketing. Imagine a scenario wherein you have 3 kinds of patients coming into your office. Patient A comes in as a new patient, accepts basic standard of care. Have this patient scheduled for cleaning three to six months out. Then enter Patient B. This patient comes in as a new patient as well, and accepts basic standard of care. However he requires a lot more of work to be done, as he has expressed some interest and desire to have more cosmetic work done.... but leaves unscheduled for next step. So the appointment is for 6 months out ( the dentist and office accepts the fact that, “Well, they are just aren't ready yet”... or you'll try again in 6 months). Then comes Patient C. This patient comes in expressing interest in implants, cosmetic dentistry, or any kind of higher end treatments. But in the end he does not accept the treatment. (You may think, “What were their excuses? Reason? Real reasons vs. False reasons? Other possible ways to sub-niche these types of patients might be by age; Seniors vs. Boomers; Moms with young children vs. Moms whose children who are out of high school; Men vs. Women; Affluent vs. Non-Affluent). Practical Strategies To Maximize The Lifetime Value Of Each New Patient: As you go on with your business in internal dental marketing, you should develop strategies that will be able to help you maximize the lifetime value of each patient. Always remember that your patient should receive an e-mail (minimally) within 24 hours, thanking them, making sure they call with any questions or if they are in pain, etc. #1: Attention Is The Keyword : Remember that we are NOT in competition with other dentists. Rather, we are in REAL competition with the attention span of the prospective patient. So develop ways wherein (as much as possible) every person gets your attention and will come to your door and become your own patient. #2: People Are More Nomadic Than Ever Before.... Because They Can Be! : As we know, negative word of mouth can spread with a simple click of the keyboard to hundreds of friends or family, thus giving a crushing blow. Maybe in the past, people would just put up with poor or average service, but now we have other options simply by going into the Internet and then typing in precisely what we are looking for. So make sure that you give and present your service to every patient as best as you can. #3 : Dentists Are Getting Smarter And Sharper Marketing : This fact means that your patients are getting marketed to! Their loyalties are being challenged, and if you don't have some sort of “iron cage” built around them, they will surely go elsewhere to other dentists. So always make sure that your patients stay with you all the way. The bad news in internal dental marketing is that there is NOT a single simple solution. This means that you should be able to do a combination of solutions that must work in synergy and they work in a simultaneous manner... and NOT rely on you personally to execute. Remember that if they rely purely on you, then you don't have a business... but rather what you have is a job!
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Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:09:27 - 100%
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