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Posts Tagged ‘Dental Marketing’

You’re on the Social Media platforms, you know…”If you build it, they will come”.   You have a Facebook profile and business page, a Twitter page, a LinkedIn page, and you’re on YouTube…life is grand! 

But wait a minute!  Do your viewers, clients, and patients know “where” you are on your social sites?  Do they have you “social address?”  

As most of you know, I’m a 30 year dental business office professional and certified Social Media Specialist.  This past weekend after speaking at a social media event, I had a “Wow, I could have had a V8″ moment!  Like at all events, we had our business cards out and we enchanged cards. 

That evening when I got home and was looking at the cards I had received I noticed a few of them had their actual addresses of their social media sites.  Mine on the other hand had my email address on it!!  What’s so bad about that you ask?? 

Did you notice above I mentioned I’m a social media specialist??  Well, I’m a social media specialist…without one single social site listed on my business card!  So, I remidied that….New business cards are ordered, they’re on their way, and you guessed it….all my social sites are listed on these cards! 

My whole point in saying the above is for you to make sure you have your social sites listed on everything you have printed that is sent to New Patients or existing patients.  Here’s a good example of how it can be fitted on a business card (I’m using my usiser name as examples)

• Twitter: /Livvie_Matthews
• Facebook: /copywritingand socialmedia
• LinkedIn: /in/livviematthews
• YouTube: /LivvieMatthews

OR you could use the social icons in place of the social site’s name followed by your “address”.  Either way works just fine and will tell viewers, patients, and clients where they can find you on all the sites.

In addition to your business cards having your social sites listed, they should also be listed on your letterhead, listed in any printed ads you may still have, links should be in your email signature to your social sites, and  included in any correspondence sent out from the office

Social media is about gaining more visibility, so the more people see where they can find you, the more viewers you will have that follow you!

What about your social sites…how are some of the way you use them for gaining visibility?

Technorati Tags: Dental Marketing, engaging social media, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing, Twitter, women using social media

Social media is presenting many opportunities for practices and busineses to market their business as never before.  This means change and for many of us, change doesn’t come easy because it requires us to leave our comfort zones.

Our comfort zones are just that…comfortable.  We feel good about them, we excell in them, we don’t even have to think about them, we know them like the back of our hand…they wear like a comfortable pair of old shoes. 

But there comes a time, like it or not, we have to replace those old shoes and break in a new pair.  Now sometimes, this can be painful….stiffness, tight fit,  maybe even a blister…but often times that pair of new shoes becomes more comfortable than the old pair and a lot more beneficial for our feet.

That’s how it is with social media.  Like it or not it’s time for a change and we have to replace (or adjust) the old static traditional marketing of print ads and break in the new interacting marketing social media presents.

Social media causes you to boldly go where  you haven’t gone before and this can make it painful…stiffness (learning the how to’s), tight fit (learning how to not be distracted), maybe even a blister (finding what to say and what not to say) but social media is a fast learn, becomes a lot more comfortable (less expensive than traditional), and is incredibibly more beneficial for your practice!

Through your social marketing strategies and platforms, you have an ongoing representative marketing your practice…24/7…creating credibility for you and your practice…gaining their trust…and building profitable relationships.  You’re REAL…they’ve gotten to KNOW you! 

What steps have you  taken out of your comfort zone?

Technorati Tags: changing how to market, Dental Marketing, engaging and connecting, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, Social media and Internet marketing, social media comfort zones, social media marketing

Whether it’s using social media platforms, newsletters, direct mail, or print ads…it’s all about keeping your name in front of your patients or new prospects and the end of the year presents one of the best opportunities…Year End Benefit Reminders.  

As we all know, the last quarter of the year is a busy time.  Businesses are pushing for that year end rush and people are gearing up for the holidays. 

The last thing on their mind is a trip to the dentist…but…they may have also forgotten about those unused flex benefits and unused insurance benefits that have been deducted from their salary all year and they will be lost if not used!

Sending your patients a Year End Benefit Reminder not only benefits you, it can present a big benefit to your patients especially if they have forgotten.   If you haven’t already sent reminders, NOW is the time, it’s not too late.  Sending now will give you time to send any PreTreatment Estimates needed and still have time to seat any crowns before the end of the year (if paying by seat date).  

If you are using Demand Force or Sesame Communications  getting the message out can be very simple. You can even utilize your own newsletter or your practice blog and social sites, the point is make sure you remind your patients. 

ADDED BONUS:  Remember to Tweet and post on Facebook, even your YouTube video reminder…New pospects looking for a dentist have unused flex benefits and unused insurance benefits, too,  and you just let them know where they can use them!

Here is a sample letter:

Subject:  Year End Benefit Reminder

Another year is winding down!  We wanted to remind you to make sure you take advantage of any unused dental insurance benefits and/or unused  flex (FSA) or healthcare (HSA) benefits you may have remaining since most companies do not allow you to carry these over to the next year. 

Call (office telephone number) or email (office email address) to schedule your appointment or if we can be of assistance in any way.  We’re here for you!

Look forward to seeing you soon!

(Doctor’s Name)

Year End Benefit Reminder letters sent in house or by social sites are just one of the many ways to keep your name in front of your patients and new prospects.  What are some other ways you use?

Technorati Tags: Building Business, Dental Marketing, Facebook, keeping your name in front of patients, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing, Social Media Specialist, Social Media Specialist Charlotte NC, Twitter, unused dental benefits, year end benefit letter, year end insurance reminder

This is the age of Social Media and at the heart of social media is relationship marketing.  It’s all about building relationships by increasing visibility, establishing credibility and gaining trust.    

As the shift in dentistry has turned from just running a practice to running a business (which they didn’t teach in school) so has the focus shifted and the emphasis grown every day in your business office from just making appointments and collecting the money to patient services with the emphasis on patient relations.

In the treatment rooms you perform your procedures – preventive, basic or major – sandwiched in around the business office procedures of having seen the patient before and after your procedure.

With the emphasis on patient relations, have you thought about everything that’s going on up front in your business office? This is your first and last impression area, it’s your hub of activity:

• Telephone calls are received and made
• Patients are welcomed and dismissed
• Appointments are scheduled and rescheduled
• Treatment is enrolled and financial options arranged
• Finances  are discussed and money collected
• Insurance is filed and payments received
• Relationships are started, nurtured, take root and grow

This area is not only a top producing area, it’s your in-house “specialist” area…. the actual lifeline of your practice!

When we think “specialist” we think “tops in their field” because of what they know and what they can do.  What would happen to production if any one of these areas above were to break down? Whether or not you have more than one front desk person, the break down in any one of these areas could be detrimental to your practice.

So, if you find production is down, broken appointments are up, collections are off and stress is on, consider this scenario and ask yourself this question then answer truthfully.  Once the patient leaves your treatment rooms, they are in the hands of your business office “specialist”.  Are they hearing from your Wal-Mart type sales associate or are they hearing from your CEO in charge of production?

Technorati Tags: Building Business, Dental Marketing, engaging and connecting, engaging social media, Livvie Matthews, Patient Relations

Think of all the expense, not to mention the time, involved with getting the phone to ring…only to loose the caller.   Staggering fact:  As many as 50% of New Patient calls are lost at the front desk due to poor telephone skills! 

Verbal skills, over the phone or in person, dictate:

• First impressions
• Treatment acceptance
• Over the counter collections
• Scheduling
• Quality of service
• Referrals

There isn’t an area in your practice that’s untouched by verbal skills and it all starts with that first telephone call. 

We’ve all heard the saying ” You only get one chance to make a good first impression”.   In real estate it is all about Location, Location, Location!

In Dentistry – it is all about Impressions, Impressions, Impressions!  No, We are not talking  Alganates or Rubber Base Impression here! We’re talking about Mental Impressions ….Your service, service, service! 

Today’s patient is:

• More  Demanding
• More Intelligent

 And more importantly, they have more choice about:

•  Who they will see
•  Who they will spend their money with

Positive verbal skills  make sure it’s with your practice and NOT your competitors!

It’s also been shown the new caller will actually  judge the quality of the Dr’s care, buy how well the phone is answered !

So, lets see….. Doctor, you spent years in college studying dentistry and many more hours of Continuing Ed.  (CE).  Now it can take just a moment to make or break the practice by how well we…. answer the phone!

Does that mean pressure for the Front Office?   You bet it does!

It is crucial the atmosphere of the practice over the telephone and in person, be one of enthusiasm….that means…a Love or Passion about what you are doing!!

Closing thought:  Handle all calls, especially New Patient calls as if that call is the most important call you will receive all day…..it is!

Technorati Tags: Building Business, building telephone skills, Dental Marketing, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing, Telephone skill