Ask Our Experts – Getting the Most From a Limited Marketing Budget
Question: We have a limited marketing budget; what is the first thing we
should spend our money on in this slow economy? — (submitted by a general dentist)
For discussion's sake, let's say your practice would like to do more cosmetic, reconstructive or perhaps Invisalign cases.
One of the least expensive marketing strategies is a well-branded internal marketing campaign. This involves making sure every patient who comes through the office understands all the cosmetic and reconstructive procedures you can do for them, and why you are the one who should do them.
Don't assume your current patients know about all the services and benefits you offer. Many of your patients probably think of you as only a general dentist or a "fill and drill", and may seek other services from another dentist whom they perceive of as a "Specialist" or a "Center of Excellence" in cosmetic procedures.
Implement a well-branded marketing campaign that presents your unique value to your patients – that shows them why they should choose you – and this will help them to value you as a cosmetic dentist.
Sometimes this requires training your staff in how to present these treatments and offering them to every patient in a professional way.
And remember, generic materials created by manufacturers laid out in your waiting room only sell the manufacturer's products, not you and your practice. One dentist tells a great story of a patient who picked up a Lumineers brochure in his office, called the 800 number and went to another dentist because they did not think of the first dentist "in that way".
It's true in any economy, and even more during the recession: internal marketing campaigns - marketing inside your office - deliver one of the highest returns for a low investment of your marketing dollars.
Marketing expert Jonathan Vidal, Senior Director, Consulting Services, for Practice Builders, answered this question. Mr. Vidal is a former senior director of marketing for Endocare, Inc., a medical device company, and a former director of marketing for Circon-ACMI, the largest producer of medical endoscopes