- What Marketing CAN'T Do

Marketing is a very hot topic in dentistry right now. Dentists are competing for discretionary dollars of patients in unprecedented ways. While there is no question that a good marketing program can boost a practice to new heights, it is also important to understand that marketing can’t fix your practice by itself. You have to do that.

Michele Pariza Wacek, the author of Got Ideas? Unleash Your Creativity and Make More Money states that there are at least 4 things that Marketing CAN’T do for you. This month we examine what those things are and how they relate to your dental practice.

1. Marketing Can't Make You An Overnight Success.

Making a commitment to market or brand your practice to boost the number of new patients is a great idea. And just because you spend some big money to start making your presence in the local media, it doesn’t mean that you will see an increase in new patients right after it. Most dentists get upset when they spend a fortune on some beautiful ads and then don’t see immediate results. Marketing is a continuous effort to project a level of quality in everything you do. The rewards that come from such an effort take time.

Branding yourself to get people to see you as a specific type of professional can’t be done with ads and commercials alone. We often tell dentists, that it takes 7-10 years to become and “overnight success” in dentistry. To become known as “THE cosmetic dentist in town” or “a solver of complex problems” you need to work really hard at all the little things that create this kind of a fantastic reputation.

If your practice is under considerable financial stress, a good marketing program may not be enough. In fact, it can make the situation worse if you are not careful. Any effort needs time, creativity & expertise to become effective. It will also require a continuous financial commitment. So, before you spend the money, realize that branding & external marketing are long term efforts that only support (not guide) your game plan for the next decade or two.

2. Marketing Is Not About Doing Something Once And Forgetting About It.

If you have ever marketed in dentistry before, you know this one well. Great marketers are always testing ideas and doing it a lot. Many of the most successful marketing dentists will tell you that they have had as many failed marketing efforts as they have had successful ones.

One thing is for sure, they understand that there is no off button. It is only a valve that you open and close based on your knowledge and success. Once you turn it off for a few months, you become greatly susceptible to the severe ups and downs of the production waves.

If you are planning on being successful in your dental marketing, you have to understand that this road never ends. Persistence in projecting your reputation is a vital key to how successful you ultimately become. This includes your integrity and ability to deliver on the promises you and your practice promise.

3. Marketing Can't Fix A Bad Experience.

If you only get a few new patients a month, there is a reason for that. Your search for this reason must be relentless. Many dentists that get 3-5 new patients per month think that a little marketing will bring them to the greatly desired land of 15-20 new privately referred patients. In truth, a practice with very few new patients can’t spend enough money to create practice solvency. External marketing will only work long-term if it is done with integrity. Promising a unique & extraordinary image and then having patients experience something less than that can be fatal.

As Harry Beckwith says in his fantastic book Selling the Invisible (which should be required reading in dentistry), “Unfortunately, this focus on getting the word outside distracts companies from the inside, and from the first rule of service marketing: The core of service marketing is the service itself.”

So before you spend big money to attract patients from a broader market, make sure the experience that patients have in your office is so incredibly unique and extraordinary that people are emotionally moved by their interaction with you and your team.

4. Marketing Can't Fix A Flawed Business.

Let’s face it. Dentistry is a profession in which everyone believes they have an “exceptional practice.” Finding complacency in this belief can often defective leadership trait.

Marketing can’t fix staff problems or cash flow issues. Quite simply, marketing can’t fix your business. Many times dentists see conflict with team members or financial crunches as critical times in which the anecdote is marketing. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Marketing is best suited for a team that believes with great passion in their leader and the purpose of the practice. If you continuously have problems with the people around you, there will be very little effectiveness in how successful your practice marketing ultimately is.

On the financial front, if your practice overhead is high, no amount of marketing will ever relieve your stress. Chances are, you will spend some serious money to outrun the overhead monster that keeps you from spending more time with your family.

Marketing is a wonderful and exciting component in today’s world of dentistry. Being realistic about its role in aiding your practice growth is something that has to be clearly understood. Waiving the “marketing magic wand” will never fix your practice by itself. Its magic can only be realized when your commitment and expectations of it are sound.