I’ve met many dentists who can’t escape that “hamster on a treadmill” feeling. They’d prefer to spend more time solving patients’ dental problems. Instead, they have to take time away from clinical practice every single month to figure out their advertising for the next month.
This is not why dentists spend four years in dental school. Not only that, marketing wasn’t on the curriculum.
Not only is a traditional advertising approach annoying to dentists, its value is questionable. Dentists advertise on price, specials, coupons, and availability. So does every other dentist in their markets. “Chasing” patients through advertising appeals to price-shoppers, one-and-dones, and insurance-driven patients.
Almost every dentist has some of those patients in his or her practice, but it’s tough to grow on low-value cases. Still, dentists keep going on the advertising treadmill month after month after month because that’s what they know. And, depending on the particular market, it’s possible to get enough new, low-value dental patients to stay in business for many years.
It’s not much fun, though.
If you’ve ever thought that there has to be a better way to run a dental practice, you’ll be happy to know that you’re right. It’s called the Patient Attraction System™.
Four Pillars, Many New Patients
The Four Pillars of the Patient Attraction System™ are Attraction, Conversion, Follow-Up, and Tracking.
Attraction
Instead of chasing patients, dentists position themselves to attract dental prospects through their websites. The majority of people who look for a dentist begin with an online search, and a dentist’s website is usually the deciding factor in a prospect’s choice.
Your website has to be easy to find online, up to date, modern, easy to navigate, and contain authoritative content that answers patients’ concerns.
Conversion
Most dental prospects aren’t instantly ready to choose a dentist. Google says that most consumers consult 10,4 sources of online information before making a buying decision. By offering something of value (a white paper, an article on a specific dental problem, or even a dental newsletter) in exchange for a prospect’s email address, dentists can remain top-of-mind with prospects.
Follow-up
Decision-making follows a “preponderance of evidence” rule. When there’s more evidence to indicate a particular choice, that choice usually follows. Our dentists furnish their prospects with a steady stream of relevant material that’s released on a carefully determined schedule.
Tracking
Dentists’ marketing funds aren’t unlimited. By tracking the source of each new patient phone call, dentists know what marketing channels are working and which aren’t. Reallocating marketing funds to productive channels maximizes dentists’ marketing ROI.
Ready to Get Off the Treadmill?
If you’re serious about growing your practice and getting back to doing what you love, visit www.smartboxwebmarketing.com/blueprint and schedule a Patient Attraction System Blueprint™ Session. They are reserved only for serious dentists who want to see a patient attraction system that can double their practice. You can get more patients, more profits, and more freedom.
Or, you can keep on running that treadmill and treating low-value dental patients.