That’s the phrase, amongst others, that my wife coined to describe me as the leader of my practices. She was describingmy desire to constantly improve and hold those around me accountable. Grit, determination, and excellence are not, in my world, weaknesses. Thankfully, I married up in the brains and perseverance departments, as we’re soon to celebrate our 50thAnniversary.
This past week, at one of our mastermind meetings, one of the participants said that she was reluctant to admit that she doesn’t spend anything on marketing for fear that I would be disappointed.
First of all, this doctor and every doctor, does marketing whether they realize it or not. More often that not, it’s done without strategy or with a focus on measured outcome.
EVERYTHING IS MARKETING!
Secondly, when it comes to marketing or any other expenditure, I believe in getting the biggest bang for the buck. Spend what you must but do so wisely and get the greatest return on the investment.
Though I studied marketing from the likes of Foster Hibbard, Zig Ziglar, Dan Kennedy and others, and though I even consulted for the medical division of Y&R, the advertising giant, because my practice was in Manhattan, the most expensive market in the world, I never did traditional ‘external’ marketing.
High-cost marketing such as radio, television, certain Google adwords and social media are not cost effective in highly competitive markets unless the profit per customer warrants the investment.
That’s why you’ll see TV commercials for full mouth implants, with a potential of $50,000 per patient revenue over several clinics can justify the cost.
Even DSO’s with many offices in a market, despite the lower value per customer, can justify the expense because of the potential volume generated by the costly marketing campaigns.
For most dentists, the best bang for the buck comes from the following strategies.
It’s not that I’m against other forms of marketing. Depending on the service one wishes to promote and the avatar for that service, there are other forms of marketing, done well, that can be very effective. They include:
The challenge with using these types of marketing is that they require special expertise that must be hired. And to hire people with the knowledge of dentistry and the specific market in which you practice, is very challenging and often expensive.
In this month’s Coffee With The Coach webinar, we will give detailed descriptions of the Seminar and Physician marketing systems that I personally used to build and grow my Midtown Manhattan and satellite New Jersey practices.
These systems have been used by many others to grow extraordinary practices using resources every dentist already has. There’s no need to hire an outside agency or learn special skills. Together, these 2 systems can enable guided practice growth, which will reduce marketing expenses, attract the best patients and result in a happier, more profitable practice.
Register for the March 24th WEBINAR and receive a copy of the Ebook, The Physician Referral Magnet.
Stop wasting money on marketing that attracts the wrong patients. That wastes everyone’s time, your effort and reduces your profitability. Don’t do $TUPID… register and attend the WEBINAR.
Michael