Are your patients going elsewhere?

Are your patients aware of the services you provide? Could they be shopping around for example for cosmetic or orthodontic treatment because they do not know that YOU provide these services? How can you advertise your services without turning your reception area into a marketing nightmare?

I was talking with a dentist last week about some of the success he had been achieving recently. His turnover is growing steadily and so are his profits. There were several reasons why this was happening, for example he has a magnificent website, he has an excellent Google Ad campaign, which is creating around 25 new cosmetic enquiries a month and of course he has a wonderful tight knit team, who are fully trained in communication skills, who turn his enquiries into appointments. However, the one single strategy he puts his success down to is the consultations he is having with his clients and the relationships he is forming with them and as he has taken a number of programmes with me, I was obviously pleased with his feedback.

What surprised me was that these clients and in some cases new patients, were patients in other dental practices, who were actually seeking cosmetic dentistry on the internet and not seeing if their existing practice could help them. I wondered why this was happening.

The obvious conclusion that I came to was that they did not think that their existing practice provided these services and hence that is why they were seeking these services elsewhere. It brought back a horror story that happened to me around 8 years ago. I was working with a well known engineering company in the UK and I was training all their sales people on a three month programme.
Despite some resistance from a couple of the guys at the start of the course, the programme was well received. Their results had improved, new accounts had been opened and the sales guys had formed a great team that worked well together. At the end of the programme, I went out with the Sales Director for dinner and he was very complimentary about the course. He went onto to tell me that he was so impressed with the reaction of the guys to my programme, that he had that week undertaken a two day High Impact Presentation Programme for all the team.
I was horrified, as this was work I could have easily delivered myself. The story got worse; he told me that he had paid more for the two day course than my three month programme and that it was nowhere near as good. I obviously asked why he did not pick me to do the programme and he stated that he did not think that I did this type of work and that is why he went somewhere else to have this training delivered.

I also recently heard a story from an orthodontist who told me the story of a mother who had been bringing in her son to the practice for about 9 months. She was so impressed with her son’s progress, that she had decided to have her teeth straightened herself and had some invisible braces fitted. The problem for the orthodontist was that she had them fitted at another practice, because she thought that this practice only delivered children’s orthodontics.

If people seek services that you provide elsewhere, there can only be one conclusion why this happens. They do not know that you do this type of procedure and hence that is why they look elsewhere and in these tough times, it is criminal if this is happening.

There are a few things that you can do to ensure that this does not happen. For starters, you can ensure that you are constantly asking your clients about their smile and teeth and to see if there is anything that they are not happy with.

The most obvious thing is to review your reception area and see if it does in fact advertise the services that you provide. Before I move on, I am not suggesting that you turn your reception area into a marketing nightmare with a thousand messages blaring at your patients, you can do this quite subtly. You can conveniently place a couple of smart albums, with some before and after pictures demonstrating some of the work that you have done. At the side of these albums, you can place a couple of testimonial folders with some letters from clients explaining the major benefits they have received, since having your treatment.

On the walls you could have a few pictures in smart frames of clients with their new smiles, for example if you are an orthodontist practice have a few pictures of adults, a children’s gallery is another good idea. If you think about it, if a parent is bringing in their child to your practice every few weeks, they will see some of these messages; it just might inspire them to ask about your services. I know some practices have some smile over books in their waiting rooms, which demonstrate what is possible. I am not saying that you should get rid of every single magazine or newspaper in your reception, but at least have some messages about what you do in their as well. After all, there is an argument to say that the home or car magazines are other things that your patients can spend their money on. When I have visited a car showroom, or a furniture shop I cannot remember ever seeing a photo album of before and after pictures, or some adverts on the wall advertising the latest whitening procedures. Please obviously ensure that you have client consent before you use these letters and pictures.

Ensure that your website is up to date and clearly educates the patients on what you offer and the benefits you can provide. I often think dentists are more interested in informing their patients on when they were formed and how long they have been in business for, rather than advertising their services. I am not sure your patients actually care. You can have all this documented in your welcome pack, when you send to your clients.
It is tough out there. The days of sticking a sign on your front and waiting for a queue of patients to visit you has long gone and may never return. It is imperative that you subtly ensure that you educate your existing patients of the services that you provide.