10 Ways to Attract More Fee-for-Service Patients

10 Ways to Attract More Fee-for-Service Patients
by William Howard Horrocks

There are many marketing approaches you can use to get the patients you really want. But in my years of working with dental practices I've found that the following are consistent winners.

Start With Internal Marketing 

1. Talk to your mailing list and it will talk back.

Your first and most cost efficient action is to start with your patients. Marketing to those who are already familiar with you is easier and much more profitable than marketing to strangers (though you still need to do some external marketing). The bottom line: you simply must develop regular communications to your patient base.

This could take the form of a practice newsletter or simply a personal letter from you sent quarterly or, preferably, each month. If you don't yet have your patient list computerized, I urge you to make this a priority. Most software allows you to write one letter to your patients and "mail merge" this letter to hundreds or thousands of patients. Mail merge simply prints the name and address of each patient onto the single letter so your communication is more personal. It's easy and fast.

Don't make this complicated or expensive by thinking you need to hire a design firm to produce a four color, nine page magazine each month. A simple one or two page newsletter is just fine. You can upgrade the quality as you go. The important thing is to start sending something now. Internal marketing is about ''upselling'' which means selling more dentistry to those who are already buying dentistry from you. Someone who is already happy with your product can be sold more of it and more often. Both you and they will benefit tremendously.

One client of mine stopped sending his newsletter for several years thinking that it was too much trouble for too little return. At my urging he began sending it again and was surprised at the response. There were days he had 10 patients call to set appointments with each mentioning that the newsletter was what jogged their memory. He learned his lesson! The newsletter will never disappear again. 

 

What to Say

Educate your patient on teeth whitening, bonding, veneers, air abrasion, intraoral cameras, porcelain crowns, white fillings and a host of other dental topics. 

Cover one topic per month and be sure to give them a reason to call such as a limited time offer relating to that month's topic. Keep in mind; you can't just say that veneers are great or that inlays are better than fillings. 

You've got to tell them what veneers and inlays will do for them (correct stained, chipped and misshapen teeth and replace unsightly amalgams) while at the same time giving them a reason to call you now and not next year (''Call before August 1st and receive a complimentary cosmetic evaluation which will determine if veneers or inlays are for you.")

These letters or newsletters are not meant to take the place of any recall efforts you are already making. Your hygiene recalls are a separate operation, employing postcards and phone calls. The monthly letters or newsletters above are designed to provide information and benefits on major dental treatments and services as well as invite them to call and refer their friends and family into the practice. 

2. Seeking referrals. You can and should be asking for referrals from your existing patients.

This goes for the staff too. Over and over again I've proven to myself that the vast majority of patients are more than willing to help you. They are not put off when you ask them to help. However it's sometimes uncomfortable to simply ask. Why not give the patient something to take with them that they can pass along to their friends or family members? Hand them a dental health certificate and ask that they give it to someone ''Nancy, you're a great patient. Why don't you give this to one of your friends or someone you care about?''

It will allow them to receive a dental exam at an introductory offer. I recommend you make this handout more substantial than a simple business card. If it's too small or flimsy the patient may just toss it.

Give them something that looks like a check or a certificate. Make it look important (because it is.) When their friend or family member arrives (not just schedules but actually shows up) send the referring patient two tickets to a first run movie, or a restaurant gift certificate along with a personal note of thanks. Or send flowers, coffee mugs or something else people would value. Let's say you get referred a huge case that ends up being many thousands of dollars. You may want to reward the referrer with a $300 day spa or $500 Nordstrom shopping certificate.

Whatever you do the referring patient ends up getting a benefit, which means they are more likely to refer again. Send these rewards to their work address (not home). That way more people get to find out how generous you are. Bottom line: Don't let patients leave your practice empty handed.

3. Photos, photos everywhere. Before and after photos should line the walls of your reception area and operatories.

When people see the difference between a mouthful of amalgams versus ''white fillings'' while they are waiting, they'll be more receptive once they're in the chair. 

A before and after shot of a good veneer case with the caption, "Porcelain veneers - done in two visits'' will impress most anyone. 

Likewise with teeth whitening, a nice set of comparison photos make it much easier to sell this service. Also have photo albums of your best cases along with testimonials from the patients. They don't all have to be your patients either. You can describe veneers, whitening, inlays and bonding until you're blue in the face but it won't be half as effective as a good before and after photo. 

4. Educate and motivate.

A nice addition to your photo gallery is patient education on video or CD. Continuous loop video or a CD presentation on the benefits of modern cosmetic dentistry, running non-stop on your reception room, will not only distract a waiting patient but will also show them how good their smiles could look. The same presentations in the operatories will also raise dental IQ. You've essentially got a captive audience so whenever you need to leave the rooms, even for a couple of minutes, simply turn it on.

Remember, this is the video age, people will watch anything that's on a TV screen, especially if there is nothing else to do and particularly if it's right in front of them. 

5. Don't be afraid, just call them.

You've heard this before and will hear it again, from me. Call everyone you numbed that day. This is a simple phone call made the evening after treatment.

Ask them how they are doing, has the anesthesia worn off, do they have any questions, how does the bite feel and so on. You really want to know if anything is wrong so you can fix it right away - before they decide to go to another practice and bad mouth you. Some dentists think the patient will see these calls as an intrusion. This is simply not true. Patients, just like any human being, appreciate having attention paid to them. In fact, you could say that the degree you give someone your attention is the degree they give you their admiration and money.

 

External Marketing

Your practice can hum along quite nicely for a long time on a referral only basis. However some external marketing usually needs to be done in order to make up for natural attrition. Rather than go over old ground in regards to Yellow Pages ads or ValPak mailers I want to focus attention on other ways to reach the people who need, want and can afford the dentistry you want to deliver. 

6. Using the press.

Sending regular press releases to all print and electronic media in your area can help focus public attention on dentistry in general and your practice in specific. An earlier article discussed the correct way to prepare a news release. To that I can only add that it be done on a continual basis. Send so many that you become very familiar to all the editors in your area.

You can even get fax software that will store all the numbers of the editors and media outlets in your area so once you have your release written you need only press a button and it automatically goes out to all the editors in your area. 

The subjects you write about must be of interest to people and not simply an advertisement for your practice. But realize that what is old hat to you is new news for many. "Dentist Says Needle and Drill Nearly Obsolete'' is a great headline if you want to talk about air abrasion.

''Cosmetic Dentistry Demand Running High'' would be good if you want to talk about the increased interest in cosmetic dentistry. Any time there is national press attention about dentistry, take advantage of it on your local level with a press release. For example, the FDA recently approved the use of lasers for more than just curing composites. Now, if you have a laser then this bit of exposure affords you the opportunity to call attention to your practice. A nice headline might be, "Sioux City Dentist Goes High Tech With Newly Approved Laser."

But what if you don't have a laser? You can still take advantage of the national exposure by promoting what you do have and tying it in with the laser.

''Star Wars Era Comes To Dentistry'' could be a headline. The release would talk about the recent FDA approved laser but would then go on to mention other advancements such as miracle composites, air abrasion, intraoral cameras, multimedia presentations, computer smile design and so on.

You can create very positive effects for dentistry in general and your practice specifically with the use of press releases. It's also a very inexpensive way to increase your name recognition in the community. 

 

7. Develop an effective mailer.

Unless you're an experienced copywriter it would be wise to have an ad agency help you with this step. A mailing piece, professionally done, can be used for years. You don't have to have a high response rate for this to pay off. Even at less than one percent you can still be quite profitable. One good case will pay for the mailing, in some instances many times over.

To limit your risk and initial investment, first try an inexpensive postcard mailing. And don't be discouraged if it doesn't pull well right off the bat. Even though it's maddening, repetition is essential in advertising. You may have to try two or three different cards until you get one that brings you a decent response. If you ask an agency to design a mailing they will usually present you with three ideas. Ask them to produce the one you like the best, but in case it doesn't pull well get them to agree to let you use the other two ideas as tests. Test all three and settle on the one that yields the best response.

Target your mailings to areas near your practice, which are affluent enough to afford full care dentistry. You can also target people who have recently moved into your area. TRW has a great service called Redi Comps (800-345-7334), which will tell you about all the new homeowners in your area and the value of each property. This way you weed out the areas that are apartment heavy or are otherwise undesirable. This assures that your mailings get to your target market. There are other firms specializing in new movers specifically for the health professions.

Try ProMail at 800-258-0060 or your local mail list broker found under ''Mailing Services'' in the yellow pages. 

 

8. Give and Get Help From People in Related Fields.

Establishing a cross referral arrangement with a cosmetic surgeon, chiropractor, an upscale hair salon or talent agency will help you contact just the type of patient you've been seeking. With surgeons you call and ask if you can refer your patients and would they like to talk to you about this.

You can request to witness a surgery, and invite the surgeon to your practice to see what a set of veneers will do for a patient's appearance. With hair salons and talent agencies you can offer to whiten the owner's teeth in exchange for displaying your photo album and distributing your dental health certificates. Chiropractors are often open to this kind of referral arrangement. Choose a practice that is already doing well, not one that is struggling.

You could do an endorsement mailing to your patients about the other practice. The chiropractor could do a similar mailing to his or her patients about you. Include a certificate for an exam in each mailing. Establishing these types of relationships always and inevitably requires that you and your alliance partner become friends. You each need to have a genuine interest in helping the other. 

9. Get and Give Help From People in Unrelated Fields.

If your office is located amongst other businesses it would be a good idea to approach them and offer your services. One huge advantage you have is that you are near where they work. If you have extended hours they could come in before or after work. It's a great convenience for them. Point out this fact in a short letter or invitation. Have one of your staff hand deliver this invitation (which includes an offer of a reduced fee exam or complimentary smile evaluation) to each of the businesses surrounding your practice.

10. Stay Current.

Being perceived as up-to-date is important if you want to attract the kind of patient who seeks cosmetic and full care dentistry. You won't be viewed as cutting edge or even modern with a 1950s dental chair and chipped linoleum in your operatories. I'm not suggesting that you have to rush out and immediately buy every new toy or gadget that comes along. However, you should set aside funds throughout the year for major equipment purchases.

This also includes new treatments that are becoming increasingly popular such as teeth whitening and halitosis treatment. The addition of the latest treatments and equipment can also get you attention in the press, especially if you are the first in your area to acquire the new technology or you're the first to send out the press release. For example air abrasion is attracting attention all over the country because people are very interested in the prospect of no needles - no drills dentistry. The new hard tissue lasers fall into this category as well.

Staying current also refers to your continuing education. There are dozens of great courses and seminars that will help you sharpen both your clinical and management skills. Take advantage of them.

Of course these ten items aren't the only things you can do to attract the kind of patient you want. But these are effective, relatively inexpensive and have proven themselves time and again. Use them well!

Got questions? Want to learn more? 

You can reach Mark & Howie at:

Howie: whh@newpatientsinc.com

Mark: markd@newpatientsinc.com

Website: www.newpatientsinc.com

Your Patient's Stories Can Get You More Patients!

How to get and use patient testimonials to attract new patients into your office.
Turn your testimonials into a powerful and convincing marketing tool.
by William Howard Horrocks

What is a normal/customary annual marketing budget for a dental practice? 

By “normal/customary” I will assume you mean a practice that's been in existence (and same location) for greater than 5 years. I will also assume you mean a “bread and butter family” type practice. For these practices, we encourage a marketing budget range. The range is 5% of TTM and 5% of goal revenues. As an example, a 600k (TTM) practice that has a goal of 700k should have a marketing budget range of 30k to 35k for the year. 

Startups: The average general dentist will require 700 active patient charts to productively support a 30 hour per week schedule. The average acquisition cost of a “quality” (see below) new patient ranges from $80 to $120. If the practice in NOT going to use insurance participation (see below) as a marketing medium, the practice needs to acquire all 700 patients through external and internal marketing. 700 new patients within the first year times an average acquisition cost puts the first year marketing budget at 70k. 

Transitioning Ownership: Dentists who are buying an existing practice can expect to lose a certain percentage of the existing patient base. At best, they can expect to minimize this loss at 20% of the existing patient base. In addition, existing patients who do see the new owner will almost always slow down their purchases of dental services during the first 18 months of ownership. This is the “getting to know you phase”. All of this has to be taken into account when determining the total number of new patients required to meet or exceed the new owner's revenue goals after purchase. 

Insurance Participation – What's the real scoop?

Insurance participation in dentistry is nothing more than another available marketing medium. Our firm is neither for nor against using insurance participation as a marketing medium. We just look at it in a very straight forward business manner.

Insurance companies use their sales/marketing prowess to accumulate 10,000 to 20,000 local employees through the employer base. The insurance companies then “sell access” of the patient base back to the dentist for 72 cents to 88 cents on the dollar. This marketing medium represents a 12% to 18% marketing “cost” to the dental business. Since we've already established that you can successfully market/promote a dental practice for 5% of revenues (in 96% of the markets in the US ), you can see the true cost of using insurance to promote the dental practice long term. 

Why do dentists participate with insurance or rely so heavily on participation for their new patient flow?

The short answer is, they don't know any better. As a CPA, I'm sure you recognize the business prowess of most of your dentist clients. Dentists are patient/clinical centric people. Very few understand or even want to understand business. Most dentists are also very risk intolerant. This is an important distinction.

Insurance participation is easy to do (you just sign up!)

There is no up front commitment (other than just being a dentist)

There is no up front cost (therefore, no perceived risk)

You mention “quality” new patient. What is that? 

First, let me give you the statistical definition of a “quality” new patient. A “quality” new patient is any patient that matches or exceeds the average revenue per active patient that the dental office currently enjoys. I'll give you an example.

Example Practice: 500k annual revenues, 1000 active patients, average revenue per active patient = $500. A “Quality” new patient for this practice would be a new patient that brings in at least $500 within the first year. 

IF a dental practice focuses their marketing/promotion toward higher “quality” patients, the first year return on investment will double every two years for a maximum of 6 years. Then, it will double again every 6 years. 

Dentistry is a recurring revenue business (as I'm sure most of you know). One of your clients' biggest mistakes is marketing/promoting for volumes of new patients to fill the schedule. Here's the lesson to pass on to your clients. Volumes of new patients temporarily fill your schedule. Quality new patients ALWAYS fill your wallet.

What is doc/patient ratio?

The dentist/patient ratio in a given market area is the single biggest analytical tool used when formulating an appropriate marketing plan for a given dental practice. We also refer to the dentist/patient ratio when we explain what our expectations are from whatever marketing we do for a client. The national average is 1 dentist for every 1500 people. If a dentist is in a 1:600 dentist/patient ratio – that dental practice will indeed have a VERY tough time gaining quality new patient momentum. It's just supply and demand. It's economics 101. I'm sure I don't have to explain this to this group. This does NOT mean you can't successfully promote a dental practice in this type of environment. The majority of our clients are in tough competitive areas. 

The other side (the fun side) of the supply/demand analysis is also found throughout the US . If we analyze a market area for a client and find a 1:4500 dentist/patient ratio, we KNOW we've got a great story just waiting to happen. 

A case study: In September of 2006, we helped open a new dental practice for a client in upstate NY. Dentist/patient ratio in their county was 1:5800. We started with a first year budget of 90,000. Female dentist, husband (with an MBA thank goodness) is the office manager. In December of 06, their production hit $85k for the month. We have them projected at first year revenues of $1.2m in their first year. I am not telling you this because we get this type of result with all of our clients. We DO get this type of result with other clients in 1:5800 dentist/patient ratio markets. What your clients need to understand is the power of supply/demand AND the beauty of dentistry as a business model. It truly is a recurring revenue, return on investment building business model. In competitive areas, they just have to give it the time to mature.

I hope the answer to some of these questions help you and your clients better understand how effective marketing works. If you have any other questions at all, please feel free to contact me. 

New Patients, Inc.
Mark Dilatush
VP of Professional Relations
866.336.8237
markd@newpatientsinc.com

Dental Marketing - What to do between November 15, 2012 and December 31, 2012

What to do between November 15, 2012 and December 31, 2012

In the previous edition of this newsletter, we explained how to get set up for 2013.

In this installment of the newsletter, we will explain how to promote your dental practice between November 15th and December 31st this year.

Shut down your external promotion

Statistically, for the majority of dentists in the US, there is a very distinct increase in risk promoting dentistry to the dental consumer between November 15th and December 31st every year. Since one of our jobs is to help dentists minimize risk to their marketing dollar - you've been warned. The only reasonable and statistically justified exception to this rule is if your dental practice is in a "snow bird" area with a population that is predominantly above the age of child bearing years. Some of you may be in areas of Florida (to use a recognizable example), where you may or may not want to promote to the consumer between those two dates. For the rest of you, shut it down!

Ramp UP your internal promotion

As drastically as you shut down your external promotion, in an equally drastic fashion, you should ramp up your internal promotion. Let's explore some marketing projects that should be scheduled during the last quarter of 2012.

Use it or Lose it

For those patients with dental insurance, it is certainly a time to let your patients know that their anniversary date is looming and they will lose this year's benefits if they don't come in. Many dental practices send some variation of this concept to their patients once at the end of the year. Why are you only sending it once? If we were to guide you, we would send this piece (either through the mail or electronically) a minimum of three times. The right times would be the third week of October, the second week of November, and the end of the first week of December. We don't know why dental practices only send these once, but most make that mistake. Don't think for a second that ALL of your patients read or listen to anything that you send them once. Don't assume that everyone is just choosing not to respond. It is FAR more likely that they were simply too busy to pay attention the ONE time you sent them the message. Send it multiple times.

Charity/PR

The holiday season is the season of giving. OK. So give!

Run an overdue re-care list (or labels, or emails if you have them) of every patient in your database that was due for their re-care up to Jan 1 2012. In other words, the literally hundreds or thousands of established patients that you would really, really, like to re-activate! Tell them if they come in for their cleaning and exam between November 15th and December 31st, that you will donate $20 on their behalf to a locally recognizable local charity. For instance, Alex's Lemonaide Stand is really popular here in the northeast. You may have a different local charity that everyone recognizes within your market area. We are SURE the females in your dental practice know of a locally recognizable charity that will resonate positively with the majority of your patient base. Reactivating established patients for $20 a pop is an absolute win-win-win. Charity wins, patient wins, you win. If we are managing your website and your social media, get our internet department the information for your charitable event. We will blast it all over your various social media outlets.

Pedo - or Pedo/Ortho

Mom is home. Kids are home. We almost don't want to mention this because quite frankly, it can work gangbusters in some markets, and in other markets all you hear are crickets. But it is worth mentioning. Any time the kids are not in school (like winter recess, spring recess, summer), it's a good time to reach out to your patient base and offer them premium appointment times (convenient ones) to get little Jane and Johnny to the dentist for their checkups. We know some of you are wincing right now. Who in the heck wants to work on a bunch of kids the week between Christmas and New Year's Day? Well, we understand. But (you knew it was coming), mom is going to have to bring Jane or Johnny. Mom may need work. Dad may have never seen you before. Mom may have a mother or father nearby, or a friend that is looking for a great dental practice. Treating children is an important consumer demand. Children are the gatekeepers to the rest of the family and everyone the rest of the family knows. Ignoring it is certainly your choice. But those who embrace this consumer demand will be that much better off down the road.

As always, if we (NPI) don't handle your promotion for you, you can learn the most effective ways in our latest book. We also have 7 hours of online CE for you to learn from. Of course, if you'd like us to build you a marketing plan for your practice, at no cost or obligation to you, we can do that as well. Just click this link and share information about your dental practice. You will get your marketing plan emailed to you in 4 to 5 work days.

Got questions? Want to learn more? 

You can reach Mark & Howie at:

Howie: whh@newpatientsinc.com

Mark: markd@newpatientsinc.com

Website: www.newpatientsinc.com

Dental Marketing - How to set-up for 2013

How to set-up for 2013

In the previous edition of this newsletter, we explained 5 solid reasons why 2013 may represent the beginning of a rebound period for dentistry.

In this installment of the newsletter, we will explain how to get everything set up properly for the coming new year.

First step - Marketing Asset Inventory

There are two staple "must haves" for every dentist when it comes to properly and effectively promoting dentistry, and ultimately being pleased with the return on your investment. Those staples are: A dominant internet presence in your market (properly arranged website with dominant positioning on search engines), and, a properly targeted, designed, and deployed direct mail campaign. Neither of these promotion outlets have a risk ratio to your marketing dollar greater than 4%. In other words, there is greater than 96% chance these two mediums will work in your market and will provide a robust return (if done properly of course).

If you do not possess either of these staples to promote your dental practice, you now know where a portion of your 2013 marketing budget should go. If you do possess one of these, but not the other - you now know your priority marketing project for 2013. If you DO possess both of these staples, read on.

Second step - Statistical Tracking

If you do not already have these, in 2013, commit to embedding a remote call forwarding telephone number into your mailer, your website, and into anything that consumes more than 10% of your annual marketing budget. These call tracking numbers record every call and drop the results into a reporting website for you to view/listen. As the CEO of your dental practice, this gives you the control you are looking for out of your marketing. Imagine you are home on a weekend and being able to visibly see every call and listen to every new patient inquiry that came into your practice last month. Imagine being able to see the inquiries that came in during office hours - that were never answered. Or, the inquiries that came in that took 15 seconds or more for your staff to answer. You spend GOOD MONEY promoting dentistry the right way. Spend a tiny bit of money to make certain that when that phone rings - you and your team are doing everything they possibly can to convert that inquiry into a new patient appointment.

Third step - Leftover Budget

If you have enough budget in 2013 for a dominant mail campaign and a dominant internet strategy, and still have room in the budget for something else, your next moves (in order of risk) vary from market to market. If you dominate the internet and mail markets, there is a very good chance we are going to recommend exploiting the local print media market. But, we may recommend expanding the internet market by simply adding a mobile website. It depends what market you are in. If you are in say Seattle, New York City, Washington DC, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, or very near a big city with lots and lots of people - we are very likely to recommend a properly done mobile site. If your practice is more in the burbs to rural, it is very likely we would recommend allocating some money toward newspaper inserts.

Summary

Every year, you plan the following year's promotion. When you invest each year consistently (and do it properly), you end up with dominant positions in those mediums. Once you dominate a medium (like the internet or mail), continuing to dominate it requires LESS money over time. It requires far more money to initially establish a dominant position in a promotion medium, than it does to stay there. A classic example is the internet. Once you have a great website built and the initial SEO started - you won't have those promotion expenses next year.

If the mediums you already dominate are producing and the costs are dropping, you should have budget room in the coming year for additional promotions. Use that budget room to begin to establish dominance in the next medium.

Step by step by step, one promotion medium at a time. All tracked and reported back to you on a continual basis. The CEO (you) has total control.

How cool would that be?

As always, if we (NPI) don't handle your promotion for you, you can learn the most effective ways in our latest book. We also have 7 hours of online CE for you to learn from. Of course, if you'd like us to build you a marketing plan for your practice, at no cost or obligation to you, we can do that as well. Just click this link and share information about your dental practice. You will get your marketing plan emailed to you in 4 to 5 work days.

Got questions? Want to learn more? 

You can reach Mark & Howie at:

Howie: whh@newpatientsinc.com

Mark: markd@newpatientsinc.com

Website: www.newpatientsinc.com

Dental Marketing - New Patients Inc.

Effectively Marketing/Promoting a Dental Practice - from a CPA's point of viewFAQ's from CPA's regarding the marketing/promotion of the dental practice
by Mark Dilatush

What is a normal/customary annual marketing budget for a dental practice?

By “normal/customary” I will assume you mean a practice that's been in existence (and same location) for greater than 5 years. I will also assume you mean a “bread and butter family” type practice. For these practices, we encourage a marketing budget range. The range is 5% of TTM and 5% of goal revenues. As an example, a 600k (TTM) practice that has a goal of 700k should have a marketing budget range of 30k to 35k for the year.

Startups: The average general dentist will require 700 active patient charts to productively support a 30 hour per week schedule. The average acquisition cost of a “quality” (see below) new patient ranges from $80 to $120. If the practice in NOT going to use insurance participation (see below) as a marketing medium, the practice needs to acquire all 700 patients through external and internal marketing. 700 new patients within the first year times an average acquisition cost puts the first year marketing budget at 70k.

Transitioning Ownership: Dentists who are buying an existing practice can expect to lose a certain percentage of the existing patient base. At best, they can expect to minimize this loss at 20% of the existing patient base. In addition, existing patients who do see the new owner will almost always slow down their purchases of dental services during the first 18 months of ownership. This is the “getting to know you phase”. All of this has to be taken into account when determining the total number of new patients required to meet or exceed the new owner's revenue goals after purchase.

Insurance Participation – What's the real scoop?

Insurance participation in dentistry is nothing more than another available marketing medium. Our firm is neither for nor against using insurance participation as a marketing medium. We just look at it in a very straight forward business manner.

Insurance companies use their sales/marketing prowess to accumulate 10,000 to 20,000 local employees through the employer base. The insurance companies then “sell access” of the patient base back to the dentist for 72 cents to 88 cents on the dollar. This marketing medium represents a 12% to 18% marketing “cost” to the dental business. Since we've already established that you can successfully market/promote a dental practice for 5% of revenues (in 96% of the markets in the US ), you can see the true cost of using insurance to promote the dental practice long term.

Why do dentists participate with insurance or rely so heavily on participation for their new patient flow?

The short answer is, they don't know any better. As a CPA, I'm sure you recognize the business prowess of most of your dentist clients. Dentists are patient/clinical centric people. Very few understand or even want to understand business. Most dentists are also very risk intolerant. This is an important distinction.

Insurance participation is easy to do (you just sign up!)

There is no up front commitment (other than just being a dentist)

There is no up front cost (therefore, no perceived risk)

You mention “quality” new patient. What is that?

First, let me give you the statistical definition of a “quality” new patient. A “quality” new patient is any patient that matches or exceeds the average revenue per active patient that the dental office currently enjoys. I'll give you an example.

Example Practice: 500k annual revenues, 1000 active patients, average revenue per active patient = $500. A “Quality” new patient for this practice would be a new patient that brings in at least $500 within the first year.

IF a dental practice focuses their marketing/promotion toward higher “quality” patients, the first year return on investment will double every two years for a maximum of 6 years. Then, it will double again every 6 years.

Dentistry is a recurring revenue business (as I'm sure most of you know). One of your clients' biggest mistakes is marketing/promoting for volumes of new patients to fill the schedule. Here's the lesson to pass on to your clients. Volumes of new patients temporarily fill your schedule. Quality new patients ALWAYS fill your wallet.

What is doc/patient ratio?

The dentist/patient ratio in a given market area is the single biggest analytical tool used when formulating an appropriate marketing plan for a given dental practice. We also refer to the dentist/patient ratio when we explain what our expectations are from whatever marketing we do for a client. The national average is 1 dentist for every 1500 people. If a dentist is in a 1:600 dentist/patient ratio – that dental practice will indeed have a VERY tough time gaining quality new patient momentum. It's just supply and demand. It's economics 101. I'm sure I don't have to explain this to this group. This does NOT mean you can't successfully promote a dental practice in this type of environment. The majority of our clients are in tough competitive areas.

The other side (the fun side) of the supply/demand analysis is also found throughout the US . If we analyze a market area for a client and find a 1:4500 dentist/patient ratio, we KNOW we've got a great story just waiting to happen.

A case study: In September of 2006, we helped open a new dental practice for a client in upstate NY. Dentist/patient ratio in their county was 1:5800. We started with a first year budget of 90,000. Female dentist, husband (with an MBA thank goodness) is the office manager. In December of 06, their production hit $85k for the month. We have them projected at first year revenues of $1.2m in their first year. I am not telling you this because we get this type of result with all of our clients. We DO get this type of result with other clients in 1:5800 dentist/patient ratio markets. What your clients need to understand is the power of supply/demand AND the beauty of dentistry as a business model. It truly is a recurring revenue, return on investment building business model. In competitive areas, they just have to give it the time to mature.

I hope the answer to some of these questions help you and your clients better understand how effective marketing works. If you have any other questions at all, please feel free to contact me.

New Patients, Inc. 
Mark Dilatush 
VP of Professional Relations 
866.336.8237 
markd@newpatientsinc.com

Website: www.newpatientsinc.com

 

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New Patients, Inc.

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exclusively for dentists

866-336-8237

www.newpatientsinc.com

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Dental Office Marketing Company

Ask Them What They Want
Tell Them They Can Get It from You
DentalTown Magazine
By William Howard Horrocks

It has been said that when Sigmund Freud was nearing the end of his career he admitted that in spite of all the mysteries and questions he had tried to solve in his life's work, the one thing he was never able to fully understand was, “what do women really want?”

Maybe Sigmund should have done a survey.

A survey can give you an incredible amount of useful information you can use in your marketing efforts. Surveys can help you hone your marketing message so you can zero in on what people think and feel about you, your practice, and dentistry in general as well as a host of other topics. They tell you the reasons people chose you over the dozens of other dentists they could have chosen. Surveys tell you what your marketing message should be.

It's not always practical to go out and survey the public at large, that is, people on the street. That being the case, how are you going to find out what marketing messages people will respond to?

You ask those who have already responded - your patients.

The idea is; the marketing message that got your current patients to arrive will work to get prospective new patients to arrive as well.

Don't Assume You Know What People Want

Without a survey you might end up telling people things they couldn't care less about. For example, a client of mine thought that because he had all this high tech equipment like an intra-oral camera, laser, air abrasion, etc. that people would just flood in because he was so “advanced.” He wanted me to design mailings and other promotions that would highlight his “state-of-the-art” practice.

After surveying his patients I found out what they actually appreciated the most was that the doctor and staff were very friendly and treated them with warmth, courtesy and concern. They didn't really care that much about the camera and the other gadgets. So emphasizing the “cutting edge” aspect of his practice in his mailings and other promotions would have missed the mark and would have been an expensive waste.

Survey Secret

What you are actually doing with a survey is a very simple thing, yet it seems that not even the big Madison Avenue ad agencies or marketing gurus fully grasp its simplicity. Here it is in a nutshell;

The way to strike a responsive chord in your audience is to ask them what they want, and then tell them they can get it from you.

Here are some examples (by the way these are real life examples from my own clients).

Dr. Smith wanted me to re-design her Yellow Pages ad for the new year. So we did a survey on her patients and asked them what qualities they would expect a good dentist to have. The most given answer was - “he/she must be experienced and up-to-date.”

We also asked what they would expect from the hygienists and other staff. The most given answer - “I want them to be friendly and caring.” We then used that information to craft a marketing message and came up with the headline, “Where Can You Get The Most Up-To-Date Dentistry From Friendly, Caring And Experienced Professionals?”

The rest of the ad was built around and highlighted these themes.

Here's another. Dr. John wanted to find out what it was about his practice that his patients found different. In other words, what made him stand out from all the other practices? The most given answer - (survey says!) “I'm treated like family - not a number.”

So the theme for the mailing we did to the residents in the neighborhood was, “We Treat Our Patients like Family.” And we included testimonial quotes from patients that echoed this theme to really drive home the point.

Simple, isn't it? Ask them what they want, tell them they can get it from you.

Common Themes

Getting the doctor and staff to survey their patients is always first thing I do with a new client. I write the survey and have the staff hand one to each arriving patient. The patient is asked to fill it out and return it to the covered box on the front desk. (Covered to ensure anonymity). I usually try to get 30 or so completed surveys, though the more the better. Consequently, I have the results of literally thousands of surveys on dental patients from all over the country.

Marketing messages often vary greatly from practice to practice but even so, some common themes have emerged. For example, four years ago there was a fairly high percentage of patients in this country who were worried about getting AIDS from their dentist. Perhaps a silly notion, but they were worried just the same. Therefore the marketing documents (ads, mailers, etc.) that I wrote for my clients at that time would always contain a line about “advanced patient protection procedures” or some such phrase. The degree we emphasized this depended on the percentage who were worried about it. If it were a high percentage we'd make “sterilization” the main theme of the ad or mailer, perhaps even constructing a headline stressing cleanliness. If the percentage was lower we might have simply included a mention of it. But now, four years later, I've found this concern has all but disappeared. It rarely comes up any more, or if it does it's a very small percentage. So the “sterilization” message is not as much of a concern right now. However, a 60 Minutes hatchet job could change all that. That's why it's important to survey regularly.

What Do People Want From Dentistry?

Even though I encourage you to survey your own patient population to get their specific needs, desires and concerns, there are consistent themes that have emerged from the extensive surveying I've done. You can use these and be fairly certain that your message will not fall on deaf ears. The list below contains what I've found to be the most desired features people want from their dental health professionals;

1. Friendliness from doctor and staff (invariably this is the number one desire and has been for years)

2. Caring, concern and understanding from doctor and staff

3. Gentle, stress-free, as-close-as-you-can-get-to-painless dental care (even though it's trite, they still want to hear that you will be gentle)

4. Convenient location (close to home, work or near where they go frequently, such as the shopping center)

5. Clean, modern, up-to-date office

6. Insurance acceptability (even if you don't accept assignment they want to know that you will at least help them file the paperwork)

7. Payment options (credit cards, pre-payment discount, Norwest, etc.)

8. Prompt emergency care (do you make it clear that emergencies are welcome or do you discourage them by saying “emergency care available.”
    The word “available” makes it sound like you'll accept them but you really don't want to)

9. Good with their kids

10. Offers various cosmetic procedures such as whitening, bonding, veneers, non-mercury, tooth colored fillings

Notice that “technical expertise” or even “competence” aren't even on the list! Not that this is any reason to be sloppy or not do your best for your patients, but it is interesting that this is not a chief concern.

Note also that the top items on the list; friendliness, caring, concern and understanding, are human elements and have nothing whatever to do with crowns, bridges, root canals or expensive equipment. And not only that, these actions and attitudes don't cost you a thing yet they are the very best marketing you can do.

By regularly surveying you are asking your patients what they want. All you have to do is make sure you can deliver those things and then tell one and all they can get what they want right in your practice.

That's a message people will respond to.