AIM Marketing

Recommendations from friends are still a big part of how patients find a new dentist, but in a time when the whole world is much more closely connected through the Internet those “recommendations” and “friends” are available from a much wider array of sources, all of which are easily searchable.

Gone are the days when people would flip through a massive phone book to finds the pages of ads from dentists in their area. Those books still exist, but these days prospective patients are far more likely to conduct their search via a computer at home or at work, or even from the rapidly growing number of Internet-enabled cell phones.

They might start the search with the name of a specific dentist they heard about from a friend, or they might simply be searching for a dentist in a specific city, but either way they are likely to start at an Internet search engine such as Google, Yahoo or the newest to launch, Bing.

Search results

In the not too distant past, the results of such Web searches might turn up a practice’s Web site, or possibly a listing for the practice at an online “phone book” type site that lists contact information for different business categories. However, these days the search results are likely to include the practice Web site along with additional online outlets for the practice.

These can include practice controlled social media profiles on a site such as Facebook, a practice’s micro-blogging presence on a site such as Twitter, or content the practice does not control such as user reviews on a site such as Yelp!. Practices can either test the waters, or dive head first into the world of social media, depending on their comfort level and if they feel it’s a fit for their practice. But even those who are not yet up to setting up a blog should at least be up to date on what current and former patients are saying about them on the Web.

“Searches for a dentist that include the term ‘review’ are being conducted nearly as frequently as just the name and location of the dentist, so these review sites are clearly a force to be reckoned with,” said Daniel A. Bobrow, MBA, president of American Dental Marketing.

Watching yourself online

“These alerts, while not perfect, are a convenient way to keep up to date on what is being posted…”

-Danny Bobrow

Bobrow recommends that his clients set up Google Alerts, a free service that sends them an e-mail whenever keywords such as the practice’s or the doctor’s name appears in news articles or recently posted online reviews. “These alerts, while not perfect, are a convenient way to keep up to date on what is being posted, which is especially important if a patient posts a negative review,” he said.

Most review sites will not remove negative reviews, but they will allow the business to post a response. Bobrow recommends reaching out to the patient who posted the negative comments to address the concerns, and then posting the results of those efforts to accommodate the patient.

Rita Zamora, a consultant who blogs about relationship-focused dental marketing at dentalrelationshipmarketing.com agrees that dentists need to be actively policing their online reputation. Part of that is responding to negative comments, but another part of that effort can involve creating a more robust Web presence so positive information outranks a negative review when someone searches for your practice.

“When you’re actively participating in social marketing on the Web and have a lot of positive information out there, it will help to drown out some of those hopefully very sparse negative comments that exist out there,” she said.

Taking control

The fastest way to spread a lot of positive information online is to create practice profiles on the social media networks. However, practices will only see the full benefit of those networks if they are putting in the time to actively participate in the online communities, Zamora said. Because of this, social media marketing will not be for everyone.

For those practices that are comfortable online and willing to dedicate the minimum of an hour or so a week to social media efforts, Zamora believes these efforts can pay off by creating stronger bonds with existing patients and showing an inviting presence to new patients. A practice can use a Facebook profile to post updates and specials that only fans of the profile can receive, and the page can also be used to show off small bits about the personalities of the practice’s staff.

“I think one of the most challenging situations that’s going to come up for dentists using Facebook is that there is a fine line between being too salesy and really socializing in a community,” she said. “They do want to have that traditional type of information available, but when they’re researching who is going to be the best dentist for them, they want to see a little bit about your personality and how it’s going to feel to interact with and relate to you when they come into your office.”

Maintaining a profile on Facebook gives a practice the opportunity to interact with patients on a number of levels. Engaged patients might be more likely to post a nice online thank you after an appointment, and Bobrow said dentists should be active in asking new patients to post a review about their positive experience. However, Zamora cautions about soliciting positive reviews, as she believes savvy Web users will be able to tell if a review is not genuine. Both agree that the best approach is to be sure search engine results feature far more positive than negative reviews.

Reaching out

While Facebook and similar sites can provide a terrific place for patients to get a sense of both the practice and the people behind the practice, micro-blogging site Twitter can provide practices with an easy way to provide current and prospective patients with practice-related news and announcements. The site lets practices post short notes that other users who’ve signed up to follow that practice’s Twitter feed can view online or receive as text messages on their phone.

A Twitter account can be useful to dentists who want to follow the latest news from media users such as Dental Products Report, or by following the feed from a manufacturer using Twitter, a practice can stay up to date on the most recent information on products and services. However, the site can also be very useful in helping a practice grow its online presence.

“It’s just a different avenue of marketing. It’s nice to be on it because if somebody happens to be reading a post we put on it, they can communicate with us right there on Twitter,” said Melinda Baugh, office manager at Brazos Family Dentistry in Waco, Texas. “We want to have an online presence where people can find us, and just having a Web site sometimes doesn’t get you there.”

Baugh said her practice started using Twitter as a promotional tool in March and the practice’s feed (twitter.com/WacoDentist) quickly amassed more than 400 followers. She manages the practice’s posts and includes everything from specials for their patients to links to interesting dental news stories.

Thus far Baugh has used the site to communicate with people from around the world, and thinks it is a useful tool for connecting with a range of people. Still the focus of her efforts will remain on providing information for people in her community because, “local followers equal potential patients,” she said.

Keep it real

Keeping up with the Twitter feed and the practice’s recently created Facebook page does take a bit of time, but Baugh said it really only adds up to 15 to 30 minutes a day. A self-described, “computer person” Baugh said it is not difficult to stay current and keeping the practice feed populated with fresh posts, but she does occasionally make her posts from home after the workday is over.

It is that genuine interaction and the dedication to making sure the practice is active with their social media efforts that are going be beneficial to the practice, Zamora said. While being on the sites everyday is not necessarily a requirement, she said spending about an hour a week to manage a practice’s social media presence is probably a good idea.

Bobrow and Zamora both agree that any practice jumping into social media to expand its online presence should have one staff member as the point person for the efforts. It doesn’t need to be the doctor, but should be someone who understands how to use the systems and has the good sense to keep things on a professional level.

Baugh ended up handling it for her practice because of her role managing the office and her comfort with computers. If a practice does not have someone comfortable with personal interaction via the Internet, social media marketing may not be a good fit, Zamora said. While every practice should stay aware of reviews-both positive and negative-efforts to expand a practice’s visibility through social networking should only be undertaken by those who can be dedicated to the efforts.

“Social media amplifies a dentist and a practice’s patient relation skills,” Zamora said. “Someone who has natural people skills may find social media marketing much more enjoyable and a lot easier than someone who doesn’t really appreciate the nuances of networking.”

Noah Levine is a senior editor for DPR. Contact him at nlevine@advanstar.com.

2009 was a year filled with opportunity and challenge (more of the latter than some may have preferred).  As the pace of change continues to accelerate, we should expect no shortage of challenge and opportunity in 2010.

Much of this opportunity for growth will continue to be found online, specifically, in the area of reputation management. The challenge will lay largely in trying to keep up without being distracted from what you find fulfilling and profitable.

My friend and mentor Bill Blatchford suggests that the decision to engage in any activity be made by answering two simple questions:

1. Will it contribute to my livelihood?

AND

2. Will it enrich my life?

If the answer to both questions is no, then don’t do it.  While that sounds simple, sometimes we don’t know the outcome of a given activity until we try it, and therein lay the challenge.

84%
of consumers said they were more likely to check online for reviews prior to making a purchase compared to twelve months ago, according to a recent survey by Brand Reputation

Source: Retail Bulletin, October 2009.

The E-volution will not be televised

I use E-volution to denote the Electronic Revolution sweeping over us. One area where growth and change are particularly great is the relatively new phenomenon called Online Reputation Management (ORM), which, according to Wikipedia (as of 1/2010) is: The practice of consistent research and analysis of one’s personal or professional business or industry reputation, as represented by the content across all types of online media.

I offer a slight refinement to that definition: Effective Online Reputation Management, or E-ORM, is the process by which an entity (or a representative of that entity) exerts control over how its perception is formed, maintained, and accessed via the Internet.

I feel this definition is more useful because it: Asserts that E-ORM is a process, which goes beyond the simple gathering and analysis of information and it’s an ongoing, ideally proactive, process of controlling how perceptions are formed and maintained.

The great divide

As noted above, there is an accelerating trend where people turn to online media to research and purchase local services (like dentistry).

Though 63% of consumers and small business owners turn to the internet first for information about local companies and 82% use search engines to do so, only 44% of small businesses have a website and half spend less than 10% of their marketing budget online, according to research from Webvisible and Nielsen.

This disparity between how business owners act as consumers, and how they market their own services, is termed The Great Divide.

The generosity of strangers

Another trend is the use of third party review sites such as Yelp, Angie’s List, Health Grades, etc.

Manage Smarter’s 9/09 Issue reports that 83% of online shoppers said they were interested in sharing information about their purchases with people they know, while 74% are influenced by the opinions of others in their decision to buy the product in the first place.

Perhaps more surprising is the online role complete strangers can play in a web surfer’s purchasing decision. North American Internet users trust recommendations and opinions posted by unknown consumers online more than advertisements on television, on the radio, in magazines and newspapers, or in other traditional media*.

*A. C. Nielsen Online

70%
of Americans say they consult product reviews or consumer ratings before making a purchase, according to an October 2008 survey by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, a research and consulting firm.

Source: Business Week, October 2009

Priority one: Blogging

If you don’t yet have a blog, get one. It’s one of the easiest ways to get noticed by search engines.  And, be sure the blog is linked to your website so your efforts yield maximum SEO Benefit.  In general, limit your postings to 1200 characters or 200 words, and be consistent with your rate of postings.  Search engines prefer to see a steady stream of posts than they do a spate of postings followed by inactivity. A good way to prevent this is to ‘bank’ a series of articles so you don’t hit a ‘dry spell’ of inactivity.  Also be sure to use appropriate tags.

You will likely find the need to expend more effort initially to effectively set up both the look and feel, as well as content of your blog, then shift into ‘maintenance mode.’

Priority two: Encourage positive reviews from your patients

Make it easy for your patients to post reviews of their favorable experiences with your practice on Google Local, Yelp, Angies’s List, Merchant Circle, and Health Grades, or a number of other sites.

“From an SEO standpoint, Google Local is best” says Adam Spiel of Pro Host Management, a Boise, ID-based I.T. consultancy.  First encourage, and then demonstrate the process, of submitting reviews, so your patients will do it.
And, if you do receive a negative review, it’s most often best to ignore it.

“The key is to ensure that the majority of reviews interested parties find are positive. Then, you don’t need to sweat it if one or two are less than flattering. In fact, it may actually add to the credibility of the reviews if not all of them are glowing.” continues Spiel.

It’s also important to have the positive reviews rank above any negative.  While not easy, it is possible to accomplish this, in part, by working with a group which optimizes its own website, based on your practice name (such discussion is beyond the scope of this article.

You can also consider setting up accounts with Yelp and Angie’s list to advertise there, as well as permit more flexibility with respect to responding to any less than flattering reviews.

Priority three: Post articles, video and press releases

Regular posting to other sites, with reference to your website address, helps create back links, which, in turn helps increase your website’s position on the search engine results page (S.E.R.P.) when people are searching for you by name, practice name, or for a high quality dentist in your area.

Upload your articles, videos, and press releases to article and video directories and press release syndication websites.  Among the better known of these are: YouTube, Facebook, ArticlesBase, PRNewswire, and EZine Articles.

To derive maximum benefit, be sure you understand how to structure your message and where to use and properly place keyword tags and your website link.

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Priority four: Manage social networking sites

Most practices are well served by creating and maintaining accounts with YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, but there may be additional sites to consider, depending on the characteristics of your target audience.  To help identify such sites, Google a phrase like “social networking site demographics.” Facebook also offers an advertising option which, depending on how it’s structured, and the demographics of your area, can be a profitable venture.

Set up your “Calendar of Events”

Pro Host’s Spiel suggests a ’30-30-30’ Plan, characterized by first identifying the thirty Top Questions your target audience would have and want answered about you and your practice. Next, provide answers in the form of thirty articles and thirty videos (don’t worry about a highly polished production, as too much quality can actually lower the perception of credibility).  Then distribute those articles and videos to those sharing sites, which most closely match your desired demographic.

Launch!
The final step is to update your chosen social networking sites which, as they are discovered by your target audience (and search engines), will allow their Top 30 Questions to be answered by linking back to your website.

Regular posting of content to various sites can be time-intensive. One way to minimize the time commitment is by using what are termed aggregator sites. Such sites e.g. www.Ping.fm permit you to submit the same posting to all your sites simultaneously.

Ongoing Priority: Keep Alert(s)
Success with E-ORM means knowing what’s happening online.  This is important because, as noted above, you are not the only one involved with forming your online reputation.

One such tool is Google Alerts, but there are many more.  To find these, use your browser for results for the term ‘free online monitoring tools.’

Effective scheduling and prioritizing of the tasks required to establish and maintain a positive online reputation can yield big results for your practice.  Just be realistic and don’t panic if you should, from time to time, fail to keep to your schedule.  As you become comfortable with the concepts and process, you’ll find that E-ORM can actually be a lot of fun!

Daniel Bobrow, MBA, is president of the American Dental Marketing Company, a dentistry marketing and patient communications consultancy. He is also Executive Director of Dentists’ Climb for a Cause™. Readers interested in learning more about integrated marketing and patient communication products, systems and services are invited to contact Mr. Bobrow at 312-455-9488 or DBobrow@AmericanDentalMarketing.com or visit AmericanDentalMarketing.com.

Sources
For another great article showing more local business stats – click here

And then these are a great websites with social media, user reviews, ecommerce and SEO stats – Bazaar Voice. Socialnomics.

With the economic prosperity of the eighties, and advances in esthetic dentistry and technology, many dentists became of the opinion that treating new patient emergencies was a waste of the dentist’s and team’s time.

Symptomatic of this is what one heard when calling such a dental practice after hours:

“If you are a patient of record with an extreme dental emergency you may call xxx-yyy-zzzz.”

New patients were deliberately discouraged from calling.

Today, many practitioners have been reminded and recognize that emergencies represent a singular opportunity to establish a solid, long term relationship with a new patient.

William McCune, whose practice Creekside Dental is located in Buffalo Grove, IL says: “When I started in ’87, I built my practice on needs, not wants, and the most commonly expressed need is a need to be relieved of pain.  I can think of no better way to win a patient’s trust than to relieve their discomfort. That’s all the more true if they already have a dentist, but that dentist will not or cannot see them.”

To illustrate the positive impact welcoming emergencies can have on a practice, McCune shares that, in one week in March of this year, he performed more root canals and other emergency treatment than he did in an entire quarter last year “…because I am not shy about letting my patients and my community know I am here to serve their immediate needs.”

Among the techniques McCune employs is adding variations of the term ‘dental emergency’ to his Google adwords campaign, and including a telephone number in the ad:

With the economic prosperity of the eighties, and advances in esthetic dentistry and technology, many dentists became of the opinion that treating new patient emergencies was a waste of the dentist’s and team’s time.

Symptomatic of this is what one heard when calling such a dental practice after hours:

“If you are a patient of record with an extreme dental emergency you may call xxx-yyy-zzzz.”

New patients were deliberately discouraged from calling.

Today, many practitioners have been reminded and recognize that emergencies represent a singular opportunity to establish a solid, long term relationship with a new patient.

William McCune, whose practice Creekside Dental is located in Buffalo Grove, IL says: “When I started in ’87, I built my practice on needs, not wants, and the most commonly expressed need is a need to be relieved of pain.  I can think of no better way to win a patient’s trust than to relieve their discomfort. That’s all the more true if they already have a dentist, but that dentist will not or cannot see them.”

To illustrate the positive impact welcoming emergencies can have on a practice, McCune shares that, in one week in March of this year, he performed more root canals and other emergency treatment than he did in an entire quarter last year “…because I am not shy about letting my patients and my community know I am here to serve their immediate needs.”

Among the techniques McCune employs is adding variations of the term ‘dental emergency’ to his Google adwords campaign, and including a telephone number in the ad:

The tactic entails bidding for the terms an emergency patient might use, and including a telephone number in the resulting ad, making it quick and convenient for the patient to reach the practice. This can have the added benefit of reducing your outlay for paid search because Google does not charge for impressions, but only clicks, to your website (hence the name pay per click). So, if someone calls, instead of clicking, no fee is assessed.

Emergency patients also represent an opportunity to diagnose and deliver complete as opposed to ‘patchwork’ dentistry.

Pain is not the only thing that can hurt

Dr. John Cranham, Clinical Director at The Dawson Academy, who practices in Chesapeake, VA, says: “Sometimes front desk people assume there must be pain for there to be an emergency. It can also be esthetic. Consider a patient who breaks a tooth just before her wedding. To her, that’s an emergency.”

According to Cranham “The emergency appointment is an opportunity to educate your patients about your philosophy and commitment to complete dentistry. Be sure to have, and promote, a policy which states your commitment to seeing patients with an emergency as soon as possible.”

Avoid tunnel vision

Not withstanding such innovations as CAD CAM dentistry, it’s important to recognize that, if the emergency is not a patient of record who you’ve seen regularly and, therefore, whose dental history you know, delivering a permanent restoration is probably inappropriate. Only a comprehensive exam will determine for example, if the tooth is compromised in other ways. You can do a quick, but effective, ‘fix’ using e.g. a composite resin, without a permanent restoration. Once you’ve addressed the immediate need, use the appointment as an opportunity to perform a general assessment.

Cranham continues “Dentists sometimes miss the boat when they do not recognize that an emergency represents a pivotal point during which the patient’s perceptions of the practice are formed.  If you want to establish yours as a practice focusing on comprehensive care as opposed to ‘patchwork dentistry,’ avoid tunnel vision: do not recommend a permanent solution without a thorough evaluation of the patient.”

Train the team

Your dental team will likely be the first to connect with the emergency patient, so they need to thoroughly understand, and be able to effectively communicate, the practice’s policy with respect to emergency appointments.  They also need to be adept at conveying empathy and determining what constitutes a true emergency.

Dentists have lives too

The extent to which a doctor is willing to meet a patient after hours depends, of course, on a sometimes ‘gut’ assessment of the patient’s situation, as well as desire to grow the practice.

Dan Marut, DMD owner of Today’s Dentistry, a private practice based in Ashland, OR, and Founder of Complete Dental Plan says “Balancing ones professional and personal lives can be a challenge. Establishing an emergency protocol helps when the inevitable emergency calls. I always ask myself, ‘If it were me or my family, what would I do, and what would I want done?’.”

If the emergency is not a patient of record, a decision should be made on a case by case basis. Active listening is a key skill in helping identify the true extent of emergency.

Emergencies welcome

To attract emergency patients, you’ll want to include reference to them in your promotional strategy. Consider the following:

• As part of your referral marketing protocol, suggest your team use the following verbiage when checking out a new patient, whether or not it was an emergency visit: “We’re glad we were able to help you today.  Relieving pain is obviously an important part of what we do.  But even more gratifying is when we’re able to help people avoid discomfort before it arises.  So if you know anyone who is not currently under the regular care of a dentist, I hope you’ll give them my card and share with them how we helped you today.  Prevention is always preferable to, and less costly than, treatment.”

• Emphasize the importance of prevention, but also your willingness to treat emergencies in your newsletter (both print and Email-based)

• Your on-hold message should convey your readiness to treat patient emergencies, as should your outgoing message (unlike the example referenced above)?

• If you know that a patient is planning to travel in the near future, encourage them to receive an examination prior to their departure.  Of course, not all patients will come in for a check-up prior to an extended trip, so consider incorporating this suggestion into your printed and electronic communications.  You can even include tips for what to do in the unfortunate event your patient needs dental care while out of town.

Remember too that, even if the patient you treat does not become a permanent part of your practice, as might happen if the patient is only visiting the area, if you deliver great service, that news could well travel around town (to the limo driver, concierge, restaurateur, meeting planner, the visitor’s host(s), etc.). Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool too. You never know whom an out-of-towner will tell about their positive experience with your practice in their time of need.
About the author

Daniel Bobrow, MBA, is president of the American Dental Marketing Company, a dentistry marketing and patient communications consultancy. He is also Executive Director of Dentists’ Climb for a Cause™. Readers interested in learning more about integrated marketing and patient communication products, systems and services are invited to contact Mr. Bobrow at 312-455-9488 or DBobrow@AmericanDentalMarketing.com or visit AmericanDentalMarketing.com.

As the distinction between oral and overall health continues to blur, the opportunity to develop patient referral sources from both within and outside of dentistry continues to expand.

Referrals from health professionals outside dentistry

Dental specialists have long known the value of cultivating relationships with their general practitioner colleagues.  G.P.s have similar opportunities to connect with colleagues outside of dentistry, the public at large, and even fellow dentists if they offer a service their colleagues are unable or unwilling to offer, or in other ways demonstrate ‘added value.’

Dr. Allan Gross, president of bizcentsfordocs says “Most dental specialists are not comfortable referring potential new patients to just one general dentist considering the relationship he/she has with others.  There is (however, potential) within the medical community.”

Gross relates one example where a dentist noticed a local physician offering alternative medicine.  “The dentist had not placed amalgams for years and thought this doctor might be interested in meeting him.  The doctor was so excited…not only did he become a patient, he sent over 80 patients to his office in a period of less than one year….and how much did that cost in marketing? About 2 hours of his time.”

Other ways to encourage physician referrals is to contact each patient’s physician to receive additional information about anything revealed during the initial medical history, or if any change in status is observed.   In this way, the practice becomes known for its thoroughness and concern for the patient’s health.  This message is not lost on the physician’s team either.

Sleep Apnea care wakes up your referrals?

Treatment of sleep apnea and related conditions is one of the fastest growing areas of oral health care.  According to Philip Goduco, DDS of Goduco Smiles, “I set up lunches with both physicians and dentists, the latter starting with my list of dental school classmates, and continuing with those I know who do not care to affix the oral appliance. I also contact the sleep labs, either directly, or by calling my physician friends and acquaintances. It’s also possible to search the Internet for ‘sleep centers, sleep laboratories’, and so forth.”  Goduco then sets a time to meet, not only with the doctors, but their technicians too, to let them know he is “…looking for a center to which to send my patients to have two studies done; one to establish a base line, and one for titrating the oral appliance.”   Goduco also lectures on the topic, which is another valuable way to create awareness and enthusiasm about his service.

While there is an investment of time and money required to become proficient, Dr. Goduco considers it to be one that has already paid off, and whose return will only increase over time:

Do well by doing good?

Dr. Gross says “There are many ways to be embraced by your community.  A food drive at Thanksgiving, a toy drive at Christmas, a blood drive (have the van in your parking lot), a walk/run charity event that can be co-sponsored are just a few ideas and opportunities that can build your reputation as one who is committed to your community on many levels.”
Promotion is accomplished both inside and outside your practice. Internal promotion channels include:

• On Hold Message

• In-Office Display Items e.g. Posters, Lapel Buttons, etc.

• Fund raising web page

• Social networking sites

• External tools include:

• Press Releases

• Personal Networking

• Social networking sites

• Fund raising web page

For an example, visit smiletree.org

Rally the troops?

Consider a team meeting whose topic is identifying ways to communicate to the health community how your practice demonstrates its commitment to collaborative care (and why, therefore, your referrals will be made to look good in the eyes of those they refer).

Seek out opportunities to exchange information with fellow health care providers and act in a collaborative way to better and more efficiently deliver care to those patients you have in common.  Once that bond is established, just watch the referrals build.

Strength in numbers

While you might ‘get lucky’ and receive as many referrals as you can handle from a single source, it’s more likely you’ll need to develop and cultivate several sources.  I built my dental marketing practice largely by networking over the years to where now hardly a week goes by that I do not receive a referral from one of dozens of sources.  Did every attempt at establishing a referral source result in success?  No way!  Were I to venture a guess, I’d say that one of every 25 to 50 attempts bore some sort of fruit.  And sometimes, it took many years for that to occur.

The medium IS the message?

Realize that it’s not always what you say; it’s how frequently you say it, and that you say anything at all.  For example: if you regularly communicate with your patients, referral sources, the media, etc., the very fact you are reaching out to them reminds them of your existence and, with hope, reinforces your brand identity (just don’t overdo it or you’ll be perceived as a nuisance – in my experience, dentists more often err on the side of too little, as opposed to too much contact, however).  What you are sending to them becomes almost incidental.  How often has someone responded to a letter or telephone call asking you about something completely unrelated to what you sent or said?  It’s happens to us almost daily, and you can bet we don’t care why they’ve called, only that they’ve called!

Cultivation keys?

Gross recommends sending flowers or candy throughout the year as a “…thank you for everybody in the office to see.”  This is a small expense to pay to be noticed and appreciated, not only by the referral source, but quite possibly by its patients.

In general, the successful referral program:
1.     Develops over time
2.     Is a ‘numbers game’ in that the more you attempt, the more successes you have
3.     Involves a learning curve in that the more you attempt, the more proficient you become
4.     Draws from a number of varied sources
5.     Makes your referral sources look good in the eyes of its patients
6.     Makes your referral source’s job easier by e.g. providing timely and complete feedback on the status and treatment of the referred patient
7.     Automates the process to the extent possible e.g. through social networking sites, without ever losing its ‘personal touch’
8.     Is reciprocal

The sooner you begin reaching out beyond your patient base, and perhaps your comfort zone, the sooner you and your practice will reap the benefits.

Daniel Bobrow, MBA, is president of the American Dental Marketing Company, a dentistry marketing and patient communications consultancy. He is also Executive Director of Dentists’ Climb for a Cause™. Readers interested in learning more about integrated marketing and patient communication products, systems and services are invited to contact Mr. Bobrow at 312-455-9488 or DBobrow@AmericanDentalMarketing.com or visit AmericanDentalMarketing.com.