We're not really sure who invented the "Top 10" format of communication. It could have been
David Letterman, maybe it was ESPN - who knows. But dentists seem to like this format, so we
decided to use the popularity to help our News You Can Use readers.
Top Ten Ways to Destroy your Practice Promotion
Last Edition we talked about #10 - no budget.
This edition we are going to talk about #09: Improper budget allocation
Budget allocation ties directly in with establishing a reasonable and responsible annual promotion budget.Allocating the budget to certain projects is the next logical step. Once you have a budget calculated to the promotion of your dental practice, what are you going to do with those dollars?
Unfortunately, that decision is usually dictated by which ad rep happens to call the office or take you outto lunch! It might be the Yellow Page rep, the local newspaper sales rep or even a radio station rep. There isn't enough room in this News You Can Use edition to completely discuss proper budget allocation. In general though, you start with internal projects, a solid website/internet presence, targeted external mail projects, and response tracking on at least your mail campaign. These three projects (if done properly) represent the least risk to 95% of the dentists in the country. This is where you start using your annual budget - on the mediums that statistically represent the least risk to your budget.
Over time, the call tracking will tell you how they are performing. You will visually see (and can listen in on the conversations if you want to), the impact of your marketing dollars at work. As long as things are progressing as planned, you are well on your way toward a consistently producing promotion foundation for your dental practice.
As the practice grows, revenues will rise (assuming you are attracting the right patients), and there will be more room in your annual budget. Assuming your foundation is producing, you then allocate some of the budget into the print media and ultimately mass media (radio, TV, billboards, etc). It is almost never a good idea "jump around" or allocate a large percentage of your budget in a mass media if you haven't already been successful generating new patients from the prerequisite mediums. If your dental practice is a small solo practice, expanding into alternate mediums might take more than a year or two. OK, that's fine. As long as the foundation is producing a positive result and revenues are moving forward, do not expand beyond your top budget range. Of course, there are exceptions to this. You may be more risk tolerant than most dentists, or, you might have an aggressive growth strategy. You might be in an incredibly underserved area and want to take advantage of the opportunity before ten other dentists open up their practices in the area. But for most of you, stay within budget and allocate that budget in a least risk first order.
In the next installment of News You Can Use, we will discuss #08 in our Top Ten Ways to Destroy your Practice Promotion. Number eight is, Not Understanding the Dental Consumer Market.
Got questions? Want to learn more? Think we're crazy?
www.NewPatientsInc.com
5935 Edmond Street
Suite 105
Las Vegas, NV 89118
Office: 702-221-2184
Fax: 702-252-3958
New Patients, Inc. is a full service dental marketing company, exclusively for dentists. In short, dentists hire us to manage their marketing budgets. This makes perfect sense. Our clients focus on the patients in the chair. We focus on getting the right patients in the chair. We have been promoting dentistry to the dental consumer since 1989. We provide dental marketing services to individual dentists all throughout the US & Canada. www.NewPatientsInc.com
Friday, August 12, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Dental Marketing - New Patients, Inc.
WHY CHOOSE NPI - New Patients, Inc.?
Unprecedented Consumer Research & Testing
Figuring out what works and what doesn’t work is an extremely expensive and exhausting process. If every dentist in the country were to duplicate the testing and tracking we have done – you’d all be broke! NPI has been testing (using our own money – not client money) every conceivable variable in every promotion medium in the US and Canadian dental markets, since 1989. We also commission (pay for) completely independent, professional, large-scale consumer research on a regular basis.
Why should this be important to you?
The simple answer is – reduced risk. Reduction of risk means your marketing budget will generate more - more of the time. You win!
More of the “right” patients – better return on investment
Beyond a shadow of doubt, we have proven that there are “segments” in the dental consumer market. Most dentists think everyone wants a deal – not true! Are there patients out there that would choose a healthcare provider based primarily on price? Sure there are. But are there also new patients out there that would never choose a healthcare provider based primarily on price? Absolutely! The top half of the dental market is the most difficult to attract. This is the portion of the dental market that requires all of that research, testing, and statistical analysis. When you are able to consistently attract them, it ensures up to twelve times the long-term return on your investment.
Reputation – Peer Respect
Building a rock-solid reputation in dentistry as a marketing firm is not easy. It takes hard work, consistent results for clients, a lot of time, and a lot of integrity. There are, simply, no shortcuts. If you don’t already know one of our clients (which would be unusual), we have a library of testimonials for you to page through. Feel free to ask for more if you need them.
One marketing company for your entire career!
This one may not get you excited right now, but wait until you have four or five projects going on, all at the same time! Wouldn’t it be nice if there was one company that could handle your website, your optimization, a mail campaign, and maybe a radio campaign in the future? What if you had a company at your disposal that could blend your designs, orchestrate your deployment, and coordinate all of your promotions? That’s what NPI is. That is what NPI does. When we started New Patients, Inc. our vision was to be a dentist’s marketing firm from startup to retirement. We are happy to say that our vision is also our day-to-day reality.
Conserving Marketing Budget Resources ($’s)
We can conserve costs by producing in bulk. We can conserve costs through skilled negotiation with media outlets and proper media analysis. We can re-allocate underperforming media to performing media more quickly. There are dozens of ways NPI can help conserve your marketing dollars.
Innovation
There are literally hundreds of ways you can use your marketing dollar to promote your practice. Unfortunately, many are more useless than useful! Many dentists needlessly waste a LOT of money trying new things. Identifying emerging media and testing them for cost effectiveness and predictability is part of what NPI does. We are always looking at new and innovative ways to drive dental consumers to client practices. So when you hear about some cool new way to promote your dental practice – check here first. There is a very good chance we’ve done it, we have measured it, and we have a predictability index on it.
How can I learn more?
Feel free to give us a call at 866.336.8237
Have NPI build a free marketing plan for your practice – click here to take client survey
Order our latest book – Unlimited New Patients – Volume 3
Attend a Marketing Summit
Unprecedented Consumer Research & Testing
Figuring out what works and what doesn’t work is an extremely expensive and exhausting process. If every dentist in the country were to duplicate the testing and tracking we have done – you’d all be broke! NPI has been testing (using our own money – not client money) every conceivable variable in every promotion medium in the US and Canadian dental markets, since 1989. We also commission (pay for) completely independent, professional, large-scale consumer research on a regular basis.
Why should this be important to you?
The simple answer is – reduced risk. Reduction of risk means your marketing budget will generate more - more of the time. You win!
More of the “right” patients – better return on investment
Beyond a shadow of doubt, we have proven that there are “segments” in the dental consumer market. Most dentists think everyone wants a deal – not true! Are there patients out there that would choose a healthcare provider based primarily on price? Sure there are. But are there also new patients out there that would never choose a healthcare provider based primarily on price? Absolutely! The top half of the dental market is the most difficult to attract. This is the portion of the dental market that requires all of that research, testing, and statistical analysis. When you are able to consistently attract them, it ensures up to twelve times the long-term return on your investment.
Reputation – Peer Respect
Building a rock-solid reputation in dentistry as a marketing firm is not easy. It takes hard work, consistent results for clients, a lot of time, and a lot of integrity. There are, simply, no shortcuts. If you don’t already know one of our clients (which would be unusual), we have a library of testimonials for you to page through. Feel free to ask for more if you need them.
One marketing company for your entire career!
This one may not get you excited right now, but wait until you have four or five projects going on, all at the same time! Wouldn’t it be nice if there was one company that could handle your website, your optimization, a mail campaign, and maybe a radio campaign in the future? What if you had a company at your disposal that could blend your designs, orchestrate your deployment, and coordinate all of your promotions? That’s what NPI is. That is what NPI does. When we started New Patients, Inc. our vision was to be a dentist’s marketing firm from startup to retirement. We are happy to say that our vision is also our day-to-day reality.
Conserving Marketing Budget Resources ($’s)
We can conserve costs by producing in bulk. We can conserve costs through skilled negotiation with media outlets and proper media analysis. We can re-allocate underperforming media to performing media more quickly. There are dozens of ways NPI can help conserve your marketing dollars.
Innovation
There are literally hundreds of ways you can use your marketing dollar to promote your practice. Unfortunately, many are more useless than useful! Many dentists needlessly waste a LOT of money trying new things. Identifying emerging media and testing them for cost effectiveness and predictability is part of what NPI does. We are always looking at new and innovative ways to drive dental consumers to client practices. So when you hear about some cool new way to promote your dental practice – check here first. There is a very good chance we’ve done it, we have measured it, and we have a predictability index on it.
How can I learn more?
Feel free to give us a call at 866.336.8237
Have NPI build a free marketing plan for your practice – click here to take client survey
Order our latest book – Unlimited New Patients – Volume 3
Attend a Marketing Summit
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Marketing Plan For Dentists
What is a marketing plan?
A marketing plan consists of market data, a marketing budget, budget allocation, priority promotion mediums, deployment strategies for each medium, line item costs, and a time line of when to implement each component within the plan.
How do I get a marketing plan built for my practice?
That’s easy. Just click this link. You will be taken to a client survey. The answers to the questions in the survey tell us how marketable your practice is, where your annual marketing budget should be, if you have any current brand equity from prior promotions, and what promotion assets you may already have in place. There is no cost or obligation to you to have this work done. We are not the company that will spam you or send you bundles of unsolicited faxes for the rest of your life. That’s not the way NPI does business.
Do I have to do research on my market area?
No, we will do that for you once you have completed your client survey. We will run a demographic analysis, targeting analysis, and competitive analysis of your area. If you already have a website for your practice, we may also run an optimization analysis on your website to see if there are any opportunities for improvement.
How long does it take to receive my marketing plan?
Usually 4 to 5 business days. We deliver the plan initially to the email address you provide on the client survey. Then, we print and mail the plan to you through the US postal service.
What do I do after I receive my marketing plan?
If we haven’t already scheduled a good day and time to discuss the plan over the telephone, we will. Just let us know a suitable time in your schedule. During that phone call, we will explain every detail within the plan and answer any of your questions.
How can I learn more?
Feel free to give us a call at 866.336.8237
Have NPI build a free marketing plan for your practice – click here to take client survey
Order our latest book – Unlimited New Patients – Volume 3
Attend a Marketing Summit
A marketing plan consists of market data, a marketing budget, budget allocation, priority promotion mediums, deployment strategies for each medium, line item costs, and a time line of when to implement each component within the plan.
How do I get a marketing plan built for my practice?
That’s easy. Just click this link. You will be taken to a client survey. The answers to the questions in the survey tell us how marketable your practice is, where your annual marketing budget should be, if you have any current brand equity from prior promotions, and what promotion assets you may already have in place. There is no cost or obligation to you to have this work done. We are not the company that will spam you or send you bundles of unsolicited faxes for the rest of your life. That’s not the way NPI does business.
Do I have to do research on my market area?
No, we will do that for you once you have completed your client survey. We will run a demographic analysis, targeting analysis, and competitive analysis of your area. If you already have a website for your practice, we may also run an optimization analysis on your website to see if there are any opportunities for improvement.
How long does it take to receive my marketing plan?
Usually 4 to 5 business days. We deliver the plan initially to the email address you provide on the client survey. Then, we print and mail the plan to you through the US postal service.
What do I do after I receive my marketing plan?
If we haven’t already scheduled a good day and time to discuss the plan over the telephone, we will. Just let us know a suitable time in your schedule. During that phone call, we will explain every detail within the plan and answer any of your questions.
How can I learn more?
Feel free to give us a call at 866.336.8237
Have NPI build a free marketing plan for your practice – click here to take client survey
Order our latest book – Unlimited New Patients – Volume 3
Attend a Marketing Summit
Thursday, July 7, 2011
QR Codes & Mobile Website Marketing
QR Codes Part 3
Here's where it gets really, really fun. This edition of our e-newsletter is part 3 of a series, all related to QR codes. This is the last part of the section on QR codes. You now have your smart phone ready. You now understand that your market is the mobile web user. Last edition we gave you one example of how a dentist could use a QR code to promote their practice. In this edition, we throw our imagination at you!
A QR code on the wall in your reception area and your operatories to drive existing patients to your FaceBook page - where they can "like" you!
A QR code on your walkout statements so existing patients can go to your FaceBook page and "like" you when they get home.
A QR code on carefully selected referral brochures, driving all of your best patients to Google Reviews so they can brag about their visit and improve your website ranking.
A QR code on the back of the whole team's uniforms, driving traffic to your mobile site.
A QR code on the center field signage you pay for at the Little League fields.
A QR code on the sidewalk or wall signage right outside your suite so people visiting the other suites can learn about you.
A QR code on the local gym bulletin board.
A QR code on the back of coffee mugs that you give existing patients who work nearby your dental practice so they can introduce your practice to their co-workers/friends/family.
Are you thinking about how you might use QR codes to help promote your practice yet?
A QR code on your printed treatment plans that drives the patient or patient's spouse to a web video of you explaining the procedure (general overview of the procedure, not specific to them obviously).
A QR code in a bus, in a train, at a bus or train station - driving traffic to your mobile site.
A QR code on a mobile billboard you rent (if you don't practice in a downtown area, you won't understand this - if you do practice in a downtown area, your mind is racing right now!)
Obviously, we could go on and on. The point is, if you have a mobile website for your dental practice - QR codes can be used to drive mobile phone users to your practice mobile site, to your social media sites, or anywhere you want them to go. The possibilities are nearly limitless.
Got questions? Want to learn more? Think we're crazy?
Got questions? Want to learn more? Think we're crazy?
You can reach Mark & Howie at:
Howie: whh@newpatientsinc.com
Mark: markd@newpatientsinc.com
Check out our latest dental marketing book.
Learn more about our dental marketing education courses.
You can reach Mark & Howie at:
Howie: whh@newpatientsinc.com
Mark: markd@newpatientsinc.com
Check out our latest dental marketing book.
Learn more about our dental marketing education courses.
Monday, July 4, 2011
New Patients Inc in Australia
New Patients, Inc. is pleased to announce that we are now offering our extensive dental marketing services to dentists in Australia!
Below is a testimonial from our first client in Australia!
"Thank you Mark and Howie. And thank you to NPI for your work with me, so far. Very appreciative of the fact that I am your first Australian client.
Special mention must be made for Sharron Swan, who heads your SEO department. She has been very responsive to my needs - considering I had NO web presence prior - we are already number one on certain key phrases. Her monthly SEO reports are detailed and highly informative, demonstrating real value.
The mailers have started going out, and the calls have commenced - BRING IT!"
--
Dr. David J. Lee
myhillsdentist.com
facebook.com/djleedentist
Below is a testimonial from our first client in Australia!
"Thank you Mark and Howie. And thank you to NPI for your work with me, so far. Very appreciative of the fact that I am your first Australian client.
Special mention must be made for Sharron Swan, who heads your SEO department. She has been very responsive to my needs - considering I had NO web presence prior - we are already number one on certain key phrases. Her monthly SEO reports are detailed and highly informative, demonstrating real value.
The mailers have started going out, and the calls have commenced - BRING IT!"
--
Dr. David J. Lee
myhillsdentist.com
facebook.com/djleedentist
Thursday, June 16, 2011
QR Codes & Mobile Website Marketing - Part 2
QR Codes - Part 1
Now that you have your phone ready to scan QR codes (our previous newsletter), let's take it to the next level of application, specifically for a dental office.
Let's say you have a office in a busy, downtown area like the financial district in San Francisco. There are hundreds, if not thousands of commuters, with smart phones, walking the streets every day, to and from work. Pretty good marketing opportunity huh?
Let's say you want to promote Invisalign as a service to all of those commuters. You pay for signage space at the local trolley stop right down the street from your practice. On the signage, you have a catchy phrase with a QR code.
We guarantee scanning this
Will make you smile!
There will be thousands of commuters each day, walking by this sign, wondering where the code will take them. None of them realizing there is a dental office just 5 doors down from the trolley station. Certainly, they don't realize this dental office can straighten their teeth without braces. And most certainly, they don't know that getting straight teeth is affordable and within their means.
Go ahead, scan the code with your phone to see where it goes.
Which brings us to another really important and useful characteristic of QR codes. Every time a QR code is scanned, you can get a statistical report of how well your signage (or wherever you put your QR code) is working!
If the placement isn't working - move your placement! You won't waste hundreds of dollars a month wondering if it is working or not!
Next edition of this newsletter - we get real fancy with QR codes!
Got questions? Want to learn more? Think we're crazy?
You can reach Mark & Howie at:
Howie: whh@newpatientsinc.com
Mark: markd@newpatientsinc.com
Check out our latest dental marketing book.
Learn more about our dental marketing education courses.
Now that you have your phone ready to scan QR codes (our previous newsletter), let's take it to the next level of application, specifically for a dental office.
Let's say you have a office in a busy, downtown area like the financial district in San Francisco. There are hundreds, if not thousands of commuters, with smart phones, walking the streets every day, to and from work. Pretty good marketing opportunity huh?
Let's say you want to promote Invisalign as a service to all of those commuters. You pay for signage space at the local trolley stop right down the street from your practice. On the signage, you have a catchy phrase with a QR code.
We guarantee scanning this
Will make you smile!
There will be thousands of commuters each day, walking by this sign, wondering where the code will take them. None of them realizing there is a dental office just 5 doors down from the trolley station. Certainly, they don't realize this dental office can straighten their teeth without braces. And most certainly, they don't know that getting straight teeth is affordable and within their means.
Go ahead, scan the code with your phone to see where it goes.
Which brings us to another really important and useful characteristic of QR codes. Every time a QR code is scanned, you can get a statistical report of how well your signage (or wherever you put your QR code) is working!
If the placement isn't working - move your placement! You won't waste hundreds of dollars a month wondering if it is working or not!
Next edition of this newsletter - we get real fancy with QR codes!
Got questions? Want to learn more? Think we're crazy?
You can reach Mark & Howie at:
Howie: whh@newpatientsinc.com
Mark: markd@newpatientsinc.com
Check out our latest dental marketing book.
Learn more about our dental marketing education courses.
Monday, June 6, 2011
QR Codes & Mobile Website Marketing
QR Codes - Part 1
Funny looking things, aren't they?
They look like the static noise we used to get on our old tube television screens.
Oh well, I guess we have given away our age!
These funny square images you are seeing pop up all over the place are called QR codes. QR stands for Quick Response. In short, a QR code can take a mobile phone user ANYWHERE you want them to go.
If you want to try this for yourself, grab your smart phone. Go to www.beetag.com. Click on BeeTagg QR Reader and download it to your phone (it's free). Once you install it, it will be available to you on your phone's desktop (or whatever your brand of phone calls the area where all of your applications are).
Click the BeeTag reader application on your phone. Your phone will change to a camera type image. Move your phone toward this document on your PC screen until your phone captures the left QR code above. Now look at your phone. It is probably asking you what you want to do. My phone has an option to "Open Browser". Your phone will have something similar. Choose that option.
Your phone should have taken you to NPI's mobile web page for our latest book (Unlimited New Patients, Volume 3). For practice, see where the QR code on the right takes you.
Now that you have your phone ready, in our next edition, we will start to help you find ways to promote your dental practice with QR codes.
Funny looking things, aren't they?
They look like the static noise we used to get on our old tube television screens.
Oh well, I guess we have given away our age!
These funny square images you are seeing pop up all over the place are called QR codes. QR stands for Quick Response. In short, a QR code can take a mobile phone user ANYWHERE you want them to go.
If you want to try this for yourself, grab your smart phone. Go to www.beetag.com. Click on BeeTagg QR Reader and download it to your phone (it's free). Once you install it, it will be available to you on your phone's desktop (or whatever your brand of phone calls the area where all of your applications are).
Click the BeeTag reader application on your phone. Your phone will change to a camera type image. Move your phone toward this document on your PC screen until your phone captures the left QR code above. Now look at your phone. It is probably asking you what you want to do. My phone has an option to "Open Browser". Your phone will have something similar. Choose that option.
Your phone should have taken you to NPI's mobile web page for our latest book (Unlimited New Patients, Volume 3). For practice, see where the QR code on the right takes you.
Now that you have your phone ready, in our next edition, we will start to help you find ways to promote your dental practice with QR codes.
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