Orthotown December 2020 - 39

Of course, the area of marketing includes everything
to do with marketing and advertising, but it's also broader
than that. You should be communicating not just about
your services but also about all that you do and stand
for in the community. Your reputation has a lot to do
with whether existing patients are proud to refer you
and potential patients are attracted to your practice.
Too many doctors neglect-or ignore-marketing
because they think that if they're outstanding clinicians,
the practice will continually grow through patient
referrals. That is rarely ever the case long-term. No matter
how many referrals you get from existing patients, you
should always be investing in marketing to attract new
patients. A steady stream of new patients is the lifeblood
of any practice; it replaces ongoing attrition and creates
the net gain that generates year-over-year growth.
In addition to the financials that reflect the past,
a smart prospective buyer will look at your history of
new patients to determine if you're still on a growth
path or if you've plateaued. If the latter is the case,
that could be a sign that your reputation in the
community isn't a very good one-or, due to lack of
marketing, you're woefully unknown. New owners
will likely have their own ideas about marketing, but it
will be much easier for them to build on momentum,
rather than having to start from scratch. If you've
ignored this key business strategy, it will be reflected
in a lower offer.

The good news is, marketing does not need to
be nearly as complicated or as costly as you might
think-but it does need to be done consistently. It's
also a function that can be easily delegated to a creative
team member who has some marketing savvy, or you can
outsource it altogether. Whether your campaigns are in
print or digital, via mail, email or social media, proven
fundamentals of marketing will keep you growing and
position you for the most profitable sale:
* Identify your desired target audience: families,
mothers of young children, teens looking
forward to prom, brides preparing for weddings,
and so on. Design messages that will resonate
with those potential patients-not other dental
professionals-and motivate them to improve
their oral health or beautify their smiles.
* Test and tweak your campaigns, knowing
that marketing is a trial-and-error process
through which you learn what works well for
your individual practice. Instead of getting
discouraged by those that don't perform well,
adjust your strategy based on learnings. And
before sending out, make certain every word is
correct, links work, the site says what you want it
to, the phone number is correct and that calls
will be handled effectively.
* Track how much you spend on a piece or
campaign, and how many new patients you get to
determine ROI for that specific marketing effort.
Have team members who answer the phones ask
callers how they heard about the practice, so you
can tie those new patients to a specific campaign.
* Scale campaigns that get consistently good
ROI by distributing to larger audiences. Rerun

orthotown.com \\ DECEMBER 2020

OT1220_Geier_Growth-Part-1.indd 39

39
11/24/20 2:20 PM
http://www.orthotown.com
Orthotown December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown December 2020
