GAP Australasian Dentist Mar Apr 2020

112 Austràlàsiàn Dentist A tale of two cities By Carl Burroughs google enquiries D ue to the increasingly competitive nature of the dental sector and the need for all facets of marketing and communication to work seamlessly, à find more and more that à am taking on management consultancy roles as well as my usual marketing roles. One such case is two small practices in rural Victoria. Both owned by the same dentist and located approximately 40kms from each other and with very similar demographics. àhe following is an excerpt from a memo we sent out to the staff that highlights the need for exceptional communication skills within a practice and also the negative impact it can have when a dentist vacates a practice early because the diary is void of another patient for the day. à have the permission of the practice owner to reprint this, but à am simply calling them ‘Practice One and Practice àwo’ for the sake of privacy. Word of mouth is by far the best formof marketing there is. Firstly, it does not require a financial investment like a newspaper advert or Google Ad Words campaign does; but more importantly, it is a litmus test on how well a practice is performing. àf patients are recommending our services to others, then clearly they are leaving the practice happy and we have made a positive impression on them. àhese days, praise from patients not only comes in the form of them recommending their family members and friends but also in the form of Google and Facebook àeviews. àn December, [Practice One] received 47 new patients, 32 of which came from marketing activities, 6 from word of mouth, 5 from Victoria Oral Health and the rest unaccounted for. For [Practice àwo] we gained 40 new patients, 16 from marketing activities, 13 from word of mouth, 7 from Victoria Oral Health, 3 staff members and 1 DVA. àen years ago, word of mouth, would have counted for about 80% of all new patients in a good practice. àoday, this figure is more like 50%, which is due to shifts in society as well as increased competition. àhis means the role of marketing is more important than ever before, which is a shame as it is yet another cost a practice has to wear that it did not previously. How the phone is answered, how e-mails are responded to and how walk-ins are handled has always been a vital part of how successful a practice becomes. We all know that just about all patients are anxious to some degree, so conveying compassion and caring in all our communications is the key. As is providing the service we are advertising. Over summer we have focused on emergency dentistry from a marketing point of view as we opened throughout the holiday period at both practices, with the exception of public holidays and àundays. àhis has proven to be a successful strategy and one we plan on replicating every year. Because of this focus, we have seen more emergency patients and the hope is that most of these patients become loyal and ultimately refer their family and friends. àn his book, ‘Pillars of Dental àuccess’, Dr Mark Costes estimates that most patients in his practices spend about $10,000 over a 10 year period. His practices are in low socio-economic areas and this $10,000 is made up of routine hygiene visits plus the need for the odd crown or àCà. à would suggest this figure is about correct for us also. Mark also says that most of his patients will introduce a friend or family member every 2 to 3 years and these people will spend the same. àhis means that every new patient will generate about $50,000 in revenue for a practice through what they spend and the value of the people they introduce. ào, when we cannot accommodate a patient, this is what we are potentially losing – not the revenue made on the day. àt is worth keeping this in mind when we handle enquires in all their forms. A missed phone call could cost the practice $50,000; a poorly handled e-mail could cost the practice $50,000; an emergency patient turned away could cost the practice $50,000. àow, à fully understand these figures will not play out in each and every case, but firstly there is no way of knowing if they will or not, and secondly, if we handle every patient as if it would play out this way, we will be focused on providing the very best service we can. Memo: Practice Matters – January 2020 To:à Practice One From:à Carl Burroughs CC:à Practice Two Date:à 13/01/2020 Re:à Understanding the importance of a well managed enquiry Category àoluàn tà