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Dental TribuneAsia Pacific Edition | 4/201610 TRENDS&APPLICATIONS As a dental professional, you face unfamiliar challenges in running andmarketingyourpractice.Youare confronted with increased compe- tition (both locally and abroad), an oversupply of dentists, ever-rising practice operating costs, and more marketing-savvy patients. On top of this, your potential patients are becoming more discerning about where they go for dental treatment, with many heading overseas. In order to achieve practice suc- cess, it is essential to build long-term relationships with patients and prospects. Long-term patients are more likely to feel satisfied. It is they whowelcometheopportunitytorefer others to you and who will continue to use your services in the future. Overmyyearsworkingwithhundreds ofdentistsasamarketingconsultant, I have observed the common mis- takesthatpreventthembeingableto markettheirpracticessuccessfully. 1.Not knowing your numbers and not tracking them One of the most common mis- takes that I see is that many dental practices just do not track their numbers. There is a saying that “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. It is critical that you track all of the metrics in your business, and your marketing spend is no exception. The significant numbers that you need to know and track are: • averagelifetimevalueofapatient • marketing return on investment • new patients • patient loss. 2.Not knowing your ideal patient One of the cornerstones of any marketing campaign is knowing who your ideal patient is. Many practices make the mistake of not identifying this in their eagerness to go ahead with their marketing campaign as soon as possible. You needtostopandthinkaboutwhom your marketing will be directed to, what this group of patients wants, whatproblemstheyhave,andwhat solutions they need.The key to im- plementing a strategic marketing plan is identifying your practice’s ideal patient or target patient pro- file. Once you know your market, you need to establish how best to communicate with them. 3.Wanting a silver bullet Marketing your dental practice to attractthe rightkindof patients, keep them active and encourage them to refer you to their contacts is no easy task. Many practices think (and hope) that there is a sil- ver bullet to solve their marketing issues. This leaves them open to unscrupulous sales people and to disillusionment and frustration when their marketing efforts fail. The companies trying to sell you themarketingsilverbulletthatwill solveallyourmarketingworriesare constantly calling. Well-meaning friends, colleagues and patients may give you advice on what they thinkyoushoulddotomarketyour practice. The range of marketing media is evolving, and the rapid changes in online marketing make it almost impossible to keep up. 4.Taking a scatter- gun approach I speak to many dentists who tell me that they have tried many dif- ferent types of marketing and they have all failed and nothing has workedforthem.WhenIdigdeeper, Idiscoverthattheyhavetriedmany different approaches, but nearly all of these have been done in a haphazard way and in short bursts. I call this a “scatter-gun approach” to marketing. It does not work to try one approach for a month or two in an inconsistent manner without tracking the results or refining the campaign. This will always end in failure. It has been shown that it can take between six and eleven repetitions for patients toseeorhearamessagebeforethey act on it. Do you know how many ways and how many times you communicate with your patients? 5.Doing it all by yourself You have to remember that pa- tients are more savvy than ever be- fore. They are constantly exposed toahugeamountofmarketingand their expectations of what is and is not professional are continually increasing. The reality is that when you are competing against the corporates,youneedtoensurethat your marketing is up to scratch. It is very common for practices to have their branding and logo professionally designed and then decide to take it over, producing home-made brochures and other marketing collateral that use dif- ferent colours, fonts and even ver- sionsofthelogo.Ifyouarenotcon- sistent, your attempts at establish- ing a brand will be ineffective. 6.Procrastinating There are just so many things for you to think about when it comes to your dental marketing. How can you fix your website that is not effective? Should you be engaging with your patients on social media andhowtostart?Youknowthatyou need to educate your patients on a regularbasis,butwhataretheybest ways to do this? You need reactiva- tion and referral campaigns, but you have no idea how to carry this outinaprofessionalandconsistent manner. It is not uncommon to be so confused and overwhelmed that youspendyourtimeprocrastinating and doing nothing. 7.Not getting the right advice When you own or run a dental practice, in fact any kind of busi- ness, there is no shortage of mar- keting advice to follow; there is an overwhelming amount of advice outthere.Youmayhavehadtheex- perience of wasting time or money onpooradvice.Theproblemisthat many dentists are not getting the right dental marketing advice. They may listen to many different sources and form opinions based on advice from people who may not understand the business of dentistry. 8.Summary There is no magic when it comes to marketing your practice suc- cessfully. Quite simply, it comes down to: • picking the aspects of marketing you want to use, wisely and with due care and thought • ensuring that, whatever market- ingactivitiesyoudecidetounder- take, you perform to the best of your ability and budget • being consistent • tracking your results—setting your goals and reviewing or refin- ing them on a regular basis • getting good advice from trusted experts in the area of marketing you are undertaking. It takes time, but the effort that youputinwillberewardedbymore patients, increased production, better relationships with your team and patients, and a sense of control when it comes to your marketing.Itisnowtimeforyouto focus on your marketing. By mar- keting well, doing it consistently, and avoiding the scatter-gun approach, you can avoid making the common mistakes that many practices make. Seven dental marketing mistakes ...and how to avoid them By Carolyn S.Dean,Australia Carolyn S. Dean is a dental mar- keting and com- municationsspe- cialist and sem- inar speaker. As Managing Direc- tor of My Dental Marketing, she workswithprac- titioners throughout New Zealand and Australia on enhancing websites, improving branding and growing den- tal practices. Her book Fully Booked: Dental Marketing Secrets for a Full Appointment Book was published in March. Recently, Carolyn presented three different lectures on the impor- tance of marketing for dental practices as part of the ADX16 continuing pro- fessional development programme in Sydney in Australia. There are just so many things to think about when it comes to successful dental marketing. “Many practices think (and hope) that there is a silver bullet to solve their marketing issues.” DTAP0416_10_Dean 30.03.16 15:18 Seite 1 DTAP0416_10_Dean 30.03.1615:18 Seite 1