howardk
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Thursday, July 09, 2009
Every once in while, a marketer gets the rare opportunity to work on a campaign that can mobilize an entire profession while bringing positive change to the lives of the people it serves. I am in the midst of this type of rare, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime, opportunity as I write this blog.
About a month ago, Gary Price, the CEO of the Dental Trade Alliance, sent a memo to all DTA members expressing the need for a widespread awareness campaign to offset the growing and risky consumer trend of putting off dental treatment due to economic concerns.
I responded by offering Gary the full and unrestricted use of Lanmark Group resources to help him bring his vision to reality. The dental industry has been very good to my agency for more than 25 years, and all of us felt it was the least we could do to give something back.
The result of an intense 30 days of close strategic and creative collaboration between Lanmark Group, Gary, and other members of the DTA is the Oral Healthcare Can’t Wait™ campaign, which we believe is destined to become the “Got Milk?” of the dental industry.
Although the current economic climate is causing many people to delay treatment plans and put off dental visits, the Oral Healthcare Can’t Wait Campaign warns consumers about the potential long-term health risks associated with postponing oral care, such as:
• Tooth decay is a progressive disease. Postponing treatment can lead to more complex, more expensive treatment, such as a root canal or extraction.
• Tooth decay is a communicable disease. Your untreated cavities can be spread to your loved ones.
• Recent studies have linked undiagnosed and untreated periodontal disease with a negative impact on patients with heart disease, diabetes, and other systemic health conditions.
• Chronic bad breath is usually due to conditions that may be easily prevented by regular oral hygiene appointments and consultation.
The campaign also outlines payment options many consumers may not be aware of. For example:
• Dentists, hygienists, and dental assistants are primarily focused on prevention when their patients allow them to do so. However, many wait until emergency conditions such as pain prevail. By this time, the course of treatment is more invasive and costly.
• Many patients are not taking full advantage of the scope of services covered by their dental insurance. Your dentist’s office manager can be very helpful in this area.
• Most dentists are very flexible when it comes to paying out-of-pocket expenses. Ask about using a credit card or working out a payment plan.
• Talk to your dentist about prioritizing your treatment plan. Ask what needs to be done immediately and what can wait until you have more discretionary income.
The Oral Healthcare Can’t Wait Campaign was designed to be a turnkey, multifaceted marketing campaign that every dental professional can use free of charge. That’s right, it’s free! All you have to do is visit www.oralhealthcarecantwait.com and download a full arsenal of ready-to-use, consumer-quality marketing materials, such as:
• Oral Healthcare Can’t Wait™ logo and slogan
• Print ads for local newspapers and magazines
• E-mail template
• Press release template for local media
• Radio public service announcements
• Patient education brochures and posters
• A consumer information website: www.visityourdentistnow.com
• Letter to the editor for local newspapers and magazines
• Patient recall card
• Oral Healthcare Can’t Wait™ letterhead
• Statement stuffer
• An article for your patient newsletter or website
I would venture a guess that this may be the first time that many dental practices have had this many marketing options to utilize…Did I mention that they’re free? You owe it to your patients, your practice, and your industry to use these marketing resources in your hometown.
Still in the works are a professional-quality video that can serve as a local cable TV spot, a full-page USA Today ad, and a full-scale national public relations campaign. And, lest you think we forgot about social media, you can find Oral Healthcare Can’t Wait on
Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/OralHealthcare), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=113772271494&ref=nf), and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/oralhealthcare). I urge you to participate.
Oral Healthcare Can’t Wait is truly an industry-wide initiative and has already received the support of the leading dental and hygiene print publications and web portals, as well as the major dental distributors. We’ve also received generous commitments from other DTA members to help fund the direct-to-consumer advertising in national newspapers, television, and radio.
Oral Healthcare Can’t Wait can be the most important, influential, and successful grassroots campaign ever launched in the dental industry. The time is right, but only you can make it happen in your local market. I hope you will visit www.oralhealthcarecantwait.com, start using the free marketing resources, and let me know how the campaign is being received in your local market.
howardk
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Depending on which economist you listen to, this current recession will last a few more months or a few more years. This type of uncertainty is of no use when you’re trying to develop a marketing budget for your practice.
However, what these cyclical economic conditions force us to do every now and then is to seriously examine our marketing efforts to see what is working and what isn’t.
When times are good, it’s easy to put your marketing efforts on auto pilot and do what you’ve always done. That’s the down side of the “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” mentality.
But even in the best of times, that philosophy can lead to flushing money down the tubes.
Although I would never recommend stopping your marketing completely, a regularly scheduled, quarterly marketing audit and analysis makes sense during any economic climate. It will not only help you weather any economic storm, but also help you make the most during bull markets.
Are you ready to take your marketing off auto pilot? Here are a few areas to look at right now:
Practice the Art of the Deal
When was the last time you negotiated rates with your printer, local newspaper, etc?
Can’t remember? It may be time to sit down with your vendors and explore more efficient ways to spend your marketing dollars.
o If a vendor has competition in your town, do price comparisons and ask more than one company to bid on a project. Make sure all those participating in the bid process have the same capabilities and quality standards. Remember, no one is going to reduce their prices voluntarily.
o Ask your vendor to act more like a strategic partner, and help you explore ways to get the most for your money. This can be as simple as changing your paper stock (ask about surplus paper left from other jobs) or resizing your newspaper ad.
o Ask for value added services. For example, you’ve been advertising in the local community paper for years. When was the last time you were interviewed or your practice was included in a company profile – The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Stop Licking Stamps, Send E-Mails
I am by no means against traditional direct mail, but when times are tough, saving on paper, printing and postage can have an impact on your bottom line. If you haven’t been collecting patient e-mails for the past decade, shame on you. You’re missing out on a cost-effective way to reach your patients for the following reasons:
o Special promotions
o Six month visit reminders
o New services
o Open houses
o Patient referral programs
o Oral health tips
When you can’t avoid using snail-mail, such as when you send out invoices or insurance claim information, make that envelope do double-duty. Always include a promotional statement stuffer.
Wake Up Your Direct Mail!
If you are doing direct mail, whether it be an individual mailing or part of a bulk coupon mailer, are you getting the same results you used to? If not it may not be due entirely to the economy.
List fatigue is a common occurrence in direct marketing. This is was what happens when the recipients of your mailings become desensitized due to frequent mailings or stale creative and offers: Here are some ways to avoid list fatigue and ensure optimal response.
o Try rotating your mailings among different zip codes in your immediate market.
o Vary your offers and promotions with each mailing. A person who isn’t interested in implants may be a candidate for tooth whitening and vice versa.
o Target your mailings by demographics. Send mailings about cosmetic dentistry requiring out of pocket payment to higher income areas and mailings focused on insurance-reimbursed services to lower income areas.
Rethink Your Yellow Pages Spend
Despite what your sales rep tells you, the days of the big Yellow Page directory books are numbered. Online directories have grown in prominence and have become the favorite look-up resource among younger people, i.e. those with families.
If the majority of your patients are older, or of you specialize in geriatric dentistry, you’ll want to maintain a presence in the yellow books. However, you can probably get by with a small print ad and divert your marketing dollars to online directories. Make sure your profiles are complete and include a live link to your website – you do have a web site don’t you?
Work the Web
There is no excuse for not having a well written, well designed web site. Costs of design and hosting have come down dramatically, while the web site has become the 800 number, company brochure, oral health information resource, sales tool and appointment scheduler all rolled in one. Today, marketing without a web site is like trying to catch shrimp without a net – even Forest Gump had a net!
All your marketing communications efforts should include your web site address so people can learn more about your practice, areas of expertise, examples of your work, customer testimonials, etc. Those looking for a qualified dentist prefer to get all the facts they can before picking up the phone and making a call. Shouldn’t you do all you can to make sure that the phone number they call is yours?
Next time – How sticky is your web site?
howardk
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
Recently, I went to my local bank to make a deposit. I left my pen in the car, so I asked the teller if I could borrow hers. When she handed me a pen imprinted with a competing bank’s logo, I thought to myself, “Is she trying to tell me that I should take my banking elsewhere?” Although it was probably just a careless act, receiving the competitor bank’s pen reminded me of the effectiveness and importance of promotional articles as branding vehicles.
The use of promotional products is a cost-effective way to brand your practice and your specialty in a competitive marketplace. For example, you’ll deliver a strong brand impression every time a patient or prospect uses your branded pen, writes on your branded notepad, or throws your branded flying disc to their golden retriever.
Look at it this way, if successful companies such as Starbucks see the importance of using branded cups and napkins for customers they serve every morning for their latte fix, isn’t it important for you to keep your practice name top-of-mind when most of your best patients see you only a twice a year?
Promotional items provide a tangible, functional way to stay on the radar screen. For example, a refrigerator magnet with your practice logo, slogan, and phone number is not only a great way to display Sally’s latest crayon drawing, it also makes it easy for mom to call and make an appointment.
Pens and refrigerator magnets are just two of the most common promotional items used by dentists, but there are so many other options that can be used to set your practice above the rest, including toothbrushes, dental floss key chains, lip balm, and temporary tattoos.
Choosing promotional items shouldn’t be based on budget alone; other factors come into play, such as practice area demographics and/or target prospect profile. For example, if your practice is in an affluent area and your specialty is cosmetic dentistry, you may want to consider a more upscale item to put your brand on. Stainless steel thermal coffee cups, day planners, t-shirts, and gym bags are some functional items that come to mind.
Whatever your budget, you want to choose a promotional item that your patients and prospects will use regularly. You won’t garner many brand impressions if your promo item is lying at the bottom of someone’s junk drawer; or worse, their garbage can.
That’s why you want to choose the best-quality item that you possibly can. For example, selecting the cheap pen that skips or a t-shirt that shrinks is going to annoy the user and give a negative impression about the quality of your practice.
Don’t forget your staff! Name badges, scrubs, and clipboards can all be customized with your logo to give your practice a more unified, professional look.
A good promotional item supplier will take the time to show you many options within your budget, including unique items that the dentist down the road is not using. I know of one promotional item supplier, Avenues for Promotion, that specializes in serving dental and medical practices. Their website, www.avenuesforpromotion.com, has thousands of items that should get your creative juices flowing.
Be creative, have fun, and promote your business!
- Howard Klein, President and Owner of Lanmark Group
howardk
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Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The end of the year is a good time to schedule the maintenance and cleaning of your customer list. Having accurate and complete customer data is not only the cornerstone of successful direct marketing efforts, but also vital in ensuring the timely delivery of billing statements, etc. As my practical holiday gift to you, here are some basic tips to help you develop a clean and up-to-date customer list.
‘Tis the season for returned mail
Double check any Christmas cards that may have been returned as undeliverable. The cause could be a typo or that the patient has moved. Fix the typo or remove the former patient from your current patient mailing list.
Fill in the blanks
Check your customer data files for incomplete information fields and make every effort to complete those fields. This may require someone in your office to make “updating our records” phone calls. It’s not necessary nor recommended that you ask for social security numbers due to identity theft concerns.
Purge duplicates
What do you do when Bob Smith and Robert Smith live at the same address? Unless they are father and son, evict Bob. You may have to combine two duplicates to create one complete customer record.
Unlock the caps
Do not enter information in all caps. This results in less than professional looking mailing labels and mail-merge documents. Therefore avoid this data entry short cut at all costs.
Ask for e-mails
Use every opportunity to ask your patients for their home and work e-mail addresses. Set a goal of having this information on file for 80 percent of your customer base. Tell your patients you will use the e-mail addresses to send them important oral health information as it becomes available. Be sure to keep that promise. Always allow patients to opt-out at any time.
Get more numbers
Make every attempt to gather home office and mobile phone numbers for each patient. This can help keep the lines of communication with patients open and set the stage for appointment reminding via text messaging with is growing more popular, especially with younger patients.
Remember Birthdays
Make sure date-of-birth information is included on all customer records. Send cards as needed. Why not include a special offer for that birthday boy/girl?
Make a New Year’s Resolution
Once you have an updated customer list, put it to work by using it to contact your patients several times a year to inform them about new treatments, oral health issues and special promotions.
I’d like to take this time to wish all Dentalcompare readers a happy holiday and a healthy and prosperous New Year.
Feel free to contact me with questions or comments at howardk@lanmarkgroup.com.
howardk
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Tuesday, December 04, 2007
One of the favorite topics of discussion in dental trade journals and among dentists themselves is practice building. Or more specifically, practice marketing. There’s a lot of free advice out there thanks to the dental media, but what good is it if you don’t put it to use?
The problem is that many dentists are too busy to put theory into practice. Treating patients, staffing issues, insurance reimbursement, and family obligations – before you know it today becomes tomorrow, then next week and so on. It becomes difficult the make marketing a priority with so many other responsibilities taking precedence.
Because marketing is not a clinician’s core expertise, the task of developing an ad, a brochure or a press release can be a bit intimidating. Forget about direct mail!
So it simply becomes easier to do nothing. This is what I call Marketing Pain Avoidance Syndrome or MPAS. The ironic thing is that marketing one’s practice can be relatively painless (with the exception of writing a few checks here and there) if dentists took full advantage of the free marketing tools provided by their equipment and materials manufacturers.
Truth be told, many dental manufacturers invest heavily in providing off-the-shelf marketing materials for the dentists that use their products. I know this because my agency, Lanmark Group has helped several manufacturers create marketing kits that contain patient posters, counter cards, ad slicks, press release templates, brochures, direct mail pieces – you name it.
There’s a chance you may already have a marketing kit from the manufacturer of the CAD/CAM, digital x-ray or tooth whitening system you recently invested in. While these kits are turn key, they still need someone to turn the key.
Most marketing kits come equipped with user friendly directions making it easy for you or your office manager to become an instant marketing director. I say this because it is important to appoint a single source to head up the marketing initiative.
The first thing to do is focus on marketing to existing patients coming to your office. Take out everything from the marketing kit that can be displayed in your office and put it in play. Hang posters and place brochures in your waiting room or operatories, but take the time to put posters in frames and brochures in clear plastic racks. Both are available at just about any office supply store.
The in-office education provided by manufacturers is designed to raise awareness and provoke the patient to “ask their dentist” for more information. This dialog can lead to increased sales of services as well as strengthening the relationship you have with your patient.
Public Relations is a great way to support the in-office initiatives and deliver your message to those that have yet to find their way to your office. A simple press release can let your community know that you’re providing it with the very latest diagnostic, cosmetic and oral health advancements that dentistry has to offer. Once again, many manufacturers provide press release templates that can be easily customized and sent to your local media.
Your media contact list should include business and health beat reporters from your local daily and weekly newspapers, radio station and TV stations. You can find this info pretty easily on your local media’s Web sites in the “contact us” section.
If you are looking for more control to know when and how often you want your message seen and have a more commercialized message, then paid advertising is the way to go. Almost all manufacturer supplied marketing kits will include an ad that can be customized with your practice information. While the ad will promote a specific technology or disease category it can serve as a hook to attract new patients to your practice.
Many manufacturers also provide direct mail pieces that are quite good. Even if you have to pay an additional cost for printing, it will be much cheaper than having a custom piece written and designed. With that said, do not underestimate the quality of the printing services available from quickie print shops and even FEDEX Kinkos.
Send the direct mailers to your in-house list to reactivate dormant patients or to up-sell patients who come in only for routine hygiene appointments and check-ups. To effectively reach new patients you should seriously consider renting a mailing list from a reputable broker. This list can be targeted by zip code and income to ensure that information about elective services is received by those most likely to utilize them. Lists also are readily available to target new community residents each month, many of whom are looking for a new dentist.
One last thing, postage is an additional cost and many are tempted to use cheaper, bulk mail rates. I suggest first class to ensure timely delivery and also because bulk rate eligibility requires obtaining postal permits and sorting by Zip codes, both of which can be very labor intensive and complex.
If you don’t have any marketing kits on hand and aren’t sure how to obtain them, you should call your equipment and materials manufacturers or distributor reps to see what is available. You may be surprised at the cost-effective marketing resources at your disposal - and how painless marketing can be.
Look for future blogs covering the strategic implementation of ads, public relations and direct mail in greater detail.
Any questions or comments? E-mail me at howardk@lanmarkgroup.com
howardk
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Thursday, November 15, 2007
Steve Diogo first invited me to write a dental marketing blog for DentalCompare at the recent ADA session in San Francisco. He extended this invitation after a few rounds of drinks at the W Hotel, so quite frankly I wasn’t sure how serious he was. However, when I returned to the office on Monday morning, I received a message on my blackberry asking “Where’s your first blog entry?” I should have expected as much from a media visionary who has always delivered what he has promised!
That’s the back-story on how this blog came about, but you may be asking yourself, “Why did Steve ask you to be a DentalCompare blogger in the first place?” For those who don’t know me, I’m the president and owner of Lanmark Group (link), a full service marketing, advertising and communications agency primarily focused on the dental industry. In fact, we are the agency behind many of the ads, product announcements and technical profiles you see in the print publications you read and the web sites you visit. What’s more, at any given dental meeting, there are usually several exhibit booths, sponsorships, cocktail receptions, press conferences or sales promotions developed and managed by Lanmark.
With that out of the way, I would like to use this blog opportunity to share some of my marketing experience and insight with the dental community. Let me also state for the record that I am a first time blogger…heck, I just like saying the word…blogger. Future topics for discussion and commentary will include advertising, public relations, interactive marketing, event management and direct marketing. I hope this blog will become an industry marketing forum with a high level of participation and exchange of ideas.
I’m am honored and humbled by Steve Diogo’s invitation to launch and moderate DentalCompare’s first marketing blog and like to extend an invitation to you to participate in this forum. So tell me - What marketing challenges keep you awake at night? What industry trends interest or concern you most? I look forward to what promises to be a lively ongoing discussion.
- Howard Klein