Do you market your practice for its dentistry? For its atmosphere? For the team? Something else? Tiff and Dana talk about why it's so critical to market the right aspect of your practice, and then following through on that aspect.

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Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:00)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. We are back again. I've got Miss Dana here with me. We are busting out a few podcasts today and I love this so much. ⁓ I just love podcasting with you, Dana. It's easy, it's fun. We get on tangents sometimes and soap boxes and it's wonderful. And I hope everyone out there, all the listeners, love it as much as we do. Dana, how are you over there? I know we're hot and it's like...

I know, we probably have like 3 % humidity, but we're feeling it. But anyways, how's it going?

DAT-Dana (00:32)

It's going good. It's going good. Today is a busy day, I feel like, you know, busy days help the day go by fast and helps me feel super productive. So I'm excited that podcasting with you gets to be a part of this busy day.

The Dental A Team (00:44)

thank you. Thank you. I love the word productive that you slid that in there. I have been very well, I think I could be more intentional about it. I say very, but I think I've been slightly intentional about it because I was talking with gosh, my sister or somebody I don't know, but they were like, how come? it was my sister talking about hairdressers, hairdressers. love you, Christie. I love you. But sometimes it's like, my gosh, I come out more exhausted than when I went in. And it's confusing. And I thought to myself, I think

This is just me thinking out loud. told my sister, I think that when you're asked, how are you, our initial, nobody thinks what's the best thing that happened to me today that I can tell this person, right? Because we're like trying to hold back and we're like, I don't want to make you like, I'm having this amazing day. We're buying a house, like, but I don't want it like, I don't know where you're at in your life. So I don't want to overshare and be extra and make you feel bad about anything in your life. So when you ask me that question, I'm going to say, well, I'm busy, like,

life is busy. How are you? Because I want to gauge how you are before I'm excited about my life, which is really sad if you think about it. But I thought to myself, everyone who sits in a hairdresser's chair gets this she's like, what's the news? What's what's new? What's what's going on? What's the drama? And you sit there and you spew all of this busy and anything that's like, exciting because drama is like exciting. It gets you pumped up, right? And they're

DAT-Dana (02:00)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (02:11)

their five people they hang out with the most are drama. So then I come in and it's like, my gosh, I'm so exhausted. So my point in that is my intentionality has been to try to be like, I'm I've been super productive lately. Because I'm always going to be busy. It's just life like you've got you've got a whole farm over there of animals and humans. Dana, I don't know if I'm the first person to tell you this.

But you're going to be busy for the next 10 years. You got 10 years left that you're going to be longer, but I'm going to give you 10. That's what I'm going to say today. You're going to be busy. So I've been trying to be like, I've been super productive. So when Erin's like, how was your day? I'm like, it was, it was good and it was productive. I don't know. It just feels better. Your words, words create your world. And I feel like it's so easy to just mute yourself and not celebrate.

DAT-Dana (02:41)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (03:08)

in this kind of world where we're like, I want to engage where you're at first because I don't want to be too much.

DAT-Dana (03:14)

Yeah, yeah, I agree with you. And I think a part of it too is like I sit in the turn, I'm like, wow, like she talks to a lot of people, like, how can I wow her? Right? Like, or how can I be different? Right? I know she hears about a lot of people's kids and a lot of people's this and a lot of people's that. So like, where do I come in with like my uniqueness or like something that like, also will make her day a little bit like better because it was more interesting than all the like all the same conversation that she hears. Yeah.

The Dental A Team (03:20)

Yeah. Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yeah, and I think it's every profession, you know, hairdressers are just like easy because you're stuck there. And I mean, you and I are stuck there for like three hours because I don't know why I'm a blonde highlight stick so long. And it's fine. Or like when you go get your nails done or coaching calls, you know, I'm like, Hey, how are you? And they're like, good, busy. I'm like, no, like, tell me about like, tell me about you. I want to hear about you. So like, we get the same

kind of response even, and hopefully people aren't walking away saying they're exhausted. Sometimes I think they probably are because I can be a lot, but you just let us know. You let us know what you need. But anyways, I think you made me think of that, the intentionality behind making sure that our words create the world that we live in. And I've been trying, if you guys remember the try, if you didn't see Summit or you weren't at our mastermind, you might not know, which means I haven't been very great at replacing busy.

with productive, but it's on my bucket list. That's my intentionality right now is to be productive. And I think that statement, just, you you say something and then my mind spins, but it really does relate to what we're talking about today because it's part of marketing. think I love marketing and people think it's wild. My fiance thinks I'm crazy. He's like, you're so weird that you love marketing. like, everything is marketing. How I present myself, how...

I hold myself, how tall I sit up, the words that I'm using. I'm constantly marketing to the people around me. I'm marketing to my friends. Was I a waste of your time today? Did I create value? Did I hold space for you? Was I intentional? Did I inspire you in some way? I'm constantly thinking of, gosh, how can I positively impact this person in front of me? And that is marketing. That's who I am to my core.

That's my culture. That's my, my mission. And to me, those are what create the marketing, right? We, we think Dana, marketing company and Google ads and Yelp, Brody has got his detailing business. He's like, is Yelp worth it? And I was like, well, you got to pay for it. Like we can go down to Yelp rabbit hole, but all you think of all these things and Facebook and meta ads and all these things are marketing a hundred percent. But in reality, we're constantly marketing to the people around us. Does you have

Bri, like tell me poke holes in that, Dana. I don't know. That's my mindset and people think I'm crazy for it.

DAT-Dana (05:58)

No, I agree with you

100 % in that because I feel like at the end of the day, yes, you can do Google ads and you can do meta ads and you can have the best website and you can have SEO that is tractioning beyond belief, right? But then what are you marketing? And it is you, the experience, your team, yes, the dentistry, right? But they did a survey not that long ago. I wanna say like right post COVID and it was like, hey,

What are you looking for when you choose a dentist when you go back? And I still think that like this 100 % stands today. And that was like honestly and truly the quality of the dentistry that they received was well below on the list than where I anticipated it to be. And it was truly that white glove experience. And so I think that you're 100 % correct that yes, those things are great, but you won't get traction on those things if the experience

The Dental A Team (06:41)

Yeah.

DAT-Dana (06:52)

the personality, sometimes even too, just like the appearance of the office. When I walk in, do I feel calm and serene versus it looks like it's chaos here and it kind of gives me more anxiety? All of those things are marketing. And two, all of those things will drastically impact anything that you spend money on for marketing too.

The Dental A Team (07:16)

I totally agree. Yes. And gosh, there's so many things. There's so many nuggets in there. I love it. I truly believe I tell, I tell doctors all the time and teams. I'm like, yeah, cool. You did an awesome filling. It was great by perfection. They didn't have to come back for an adjustment. Guess who doesn't know that some people have to come back for an adjustment. The patient that didn't have to come back for an adjustment. Guess who doesn't know that you picked the right shade of A2.

to match the filling so it doesn't look like they have a filling on tooth number two. The patient who has a filling on tooth number two, they can't see it, they don't know. It's like you can't even see tooth number two while you're filling it. You're like cranking your neck and your arms are all wild. Patients don't know what a good filling is. They know what a bad filling is, right? They know when it hurts, they know when their floss gets stuck, they know. But patients who aren't experiencing those things, to them it's everyday.

DAT-Dana (07:50)

Now, you can rarely even see tooth number two.

The Dental A Team (08:12)

normal life. They're just like, cool, thanks. Awesome. I'm good to go. They don't. He has like, we know we're like, heck yeah. Like I remember, I remember early in my dental days, this is slightly, this is really embarrassing. Actually, my doctor used to laugh so hard. And finally, he was like, Tiff, let me tell you what's supposed to be here. Because we would have our template for our notes, you know, I've never told this story. So so embarrassing now at 42. But when I was, know, 21, I had no idea what

DAT-Dana (08:16)

You were a dentist today? Great!

The Dental A Team (08:42)

was doing is just like write my notes and I'm like okay so I'd fill it in and then we do a written on I you know do the gutta percha length and I do all the all the different pieces and at the end it said like result I think is what it said like outcome result something right and so I'm like beautiful root canal because it was that was a beautiful root canal I like got a percha hit exactly where it was supposed to there was not

We didn't go past, we didn't perf, we didn't leave a gap. There was no, it was a beautiful root canal. And finally, he was like, while I appreciate the kudos, like, we just need to know like, it was a, like, it was done. Like, so he switched my words, right? But I was just like, ⁓ they don't know, I know, I can look at it and be like, dang, that was, that's a really good implant. That was perfect placement. That is an incredible implant. I can do that. You can do that.

the patient who got the implant is like, cool, I'm done. So I love that you said that because we're we so often market like best crowns in town, same day crowns, they don't patients who have never had a crown don't know that it doesn't get done in a day you you come in and you tell them, all right, it's gonna take two sessions. They're like, well, do I have to do that? Do I so same day crowns like people don't know. So when you're marketing for the dentistry, it's like cool.

DAT-Dana (09:35)

Yeah.

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (10:01)

you might get some patience for that. But when you're marketing for the feeling and the experience, and then you deliver on that. And when we remember Dana that we're constantly marketing, this is where that like busy versus productive, like if you're my friend, Dana, you know, on the street and you come up and you're like, hey, how was your day? And I'm like, oh, it was super productive. You're like, awesome, what'd you do? What'd you get done? Right? And I'm like, well, I worked.

And I got a ton of coaching calls done and I felt really inspired at the end because I impacted so many people. Totally different than, ⁓ it was busy because it was, it was busy and it was exhausting and I'm tired at the end of my days. I am exhausted. I've given everything all day, but versus productive, because I was, I was productive. It's a totally different landscape. when we're like,

When we preach that we're going to give an experience, we're going to deliver an experience, and then we forget to deliver that experience when patients come. Like you said, like how does it look? You know, my doctor used to make us walk around from the patient's perspective and see is there trash on the floor? We'd sit in the chair and we'd see are there water spots on the lamp above us? Like what does the window look like? So when we're not aware of those pieces, patients can come in. They're seeing that, especially post-COVID. Like they're looking for the dirt. They're looking for the trash. And if we're not

If we're not delivering that, we're not, stopped marketing. We marketed to get the patient in the door and then we forgot that we're constantly marketing and the patients who are coming in are choosing us again. They can choose to go anywhere and they're choosing us again.

DAT-Dana (11:42)

Yeah, I love that you pointed out just like I just want to caveat I know this is kind of taking us back to where we were but I think that it's super important in that you saying hey we saw each other on the street and you were like how are you and you said I'm super busy versus like I'm productive and I had this I think

on the other end, right? The feeling, which I think is what you're creating for patients, the feeling that I had for you is completely different. When you said, I'm super busy, I was like, I'm kind of bummed for her. Like, it doesn't feel like she's got any space for herself or like, that sounds like it was not a great day when she said busy. But when you said productive and impactful, and I got a lot of coaching calls done, that was like, my gosh, Tiff, I'm super happy for your day. Like, it sounds like a really great day, right? So I think that like that is...

The Dental A Team (12:21)

Yep.

DAT-Dana (12:23)

really and truly what we're trying to say in this podcast. is like the words, the things, images, everything that you create, right? That's what creates that experience or how the patient feels.

And I just thought it was important to kind of highlight that, all of them, when we say like everything is marketing, right? Well, everything that you do creates a feeling inside a patient. And that feeling is either, this is a great place to be. I feel super safe. I feel super relaxed. I feel super confident. I feel like I've got a lot of trust with them. I feel like they care about me, right? Those are the things. And so what we're trying to say is like marketing is, is everything that you do creates a feeling within a patient. And that is when you get raving fans.

That is when you get referrals and you don't even have to ask for them. Yes, asking for them is great, right? But when you look at marketing as the things that you do every day, how can you elevate them? How can you take them just one notch above where they are? How can you always look at it from a patient experience or a patient perspective? That is when you create the feelings that create raving fans.

The Dental A Team (13:29)

Totally

agree. Thank you for pointing that out, Dana, because that is exactly what it is. It's a feeling. Brody, I say this all the time, but Brody gets frustrated with me. Not so much anymore. He's 17 and I've been doing it his whole life. So I think he's gotten over it. He's like, that's just my mom. But I always acknowledge the workers at any store, wherever we're at, if you've got a name tag on, I'm going to call you by your name. And when he was little, he'd be like,

You remember like seven to 11, like they're super judgmental people. That human hated me. Everything I did was wrong. But it was like questioning. It wasn't necessarily wrong. Don't take that. It was just questioning. It was just like, gosh, why do have to be so extra? And I'm like, because it wakes them up. It makes them feel seen in a sea of people just checking out and paying. Like, did you find everything you needed today? Yep. Yeah, I did. Otherwise I wouldn't be at checkout.

DAT-Dana (13:58)

yeah.

The Dental A Team (14:21)

I hate that you asked me that question, right? No, I didn't, but you're not going to go find it now. There's people behind me and I'm not going to ask you for it, right? So I'm like, you know what? Today was great. Joanna, how's your day going over there on the other side of this machine? And she's like, what? It snaps them out and allows them to be seen and valued in a sea of nothingness. And we as humans are constantly walking around like that.

We're driving, you know, we're not acknowledging each other. We barely even see each other when we're merging on the street. We're not paying attention to each other. We're lost in our own worlds. And when they can come to a place that sees them, that values them, that is intentional with their time with this patient, that's what they're gonna come back for. They could have to come back for adjustments on that filling or crown. Their implant could fail. I've had it. I have had implants fail and the guy...

I had to send this patient, I was like, my gosh, this is so bad. He had three implants fail. I remember this was gosh, probably 16 years ago at this point. He had three implants fail and I had to send him to the oral surgeon. And I was like, I am so sorry. Like I am so and he was like, please don't be you guys are wonderful. My family and I have been coming here for years and we would never consider going anywhere else. That's why I tried the implant here first. The impact that

the whole entire team, our practice had made on him and his family. I still have like, just, have his daughter on our, on my Instagram. Like she just had a baby and I was like, my gosh, like Bianca, this is amazing. She's the same age as my sister. Like this, this is what I'm talking about. And that's marketing. And I think Dana marketing is perceived as salesy. Like we were trying to sell somebody on something, but like I'm not, I'm just trying to impact your life.

DAT-Dana (16:11)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (16:11)

I want

you to feel so good that you want to spend more time with me. And I want to invite you into my safety bubble where it's okay to be yourself, where it's okay to be excited about the accomplishments that you have because I had a productive day. I'm in a really good space and I loved it. So what's going well in your life? And you're so much quicker to be like, my gosh, that's awesome. Erin and I are buying a house. And you're like, ⁓ because I know you have.

the space for it, you know, that's my tangent. That's my marketing tangent. This is why I love marketing because it's so easy to just make one little switch in a word and completely change the outcome. And to me, that's marketing.

DAT-Dana (16:56)

Yeah, yeah, I agree with you. I think that like, it's just choosing to do that on an everyday space. think even like listening, we listen in, or we join a lot of marketing calls, right? And they're like, well, what makes you stand out? Right? And then they'll be like, I'm high tech. Okay, well, that's great. Does your patient know what high tech means? Do they know that that means you don't have to gag anymore, that you're super comfortable, that it's pain free, that it's less painful, that like we can relax.

The Dental A Team (17:10)

Yes.

DAT-Dana (17:25)

you and we can sedate you and we can do all these things. is that because you said high tech and I think to pretty much anybody that walks into a dental office or any medical office it's like they already feel like it's high tech. They're not questioning your tech really when they walk into your office. Those are the things I think that just gives like another layer an example of like truly knowing what sets you apart but knowing how to communicate what sets you apart.

knowing the things that the patient values when you say what sets you apart. Patients like they're just automatically going to assume their dentist has all the tech, right? Dentistry, healthcare, it's a tech place. So they're just going be like, yep, know my dentist has all that tech. But what they don't understand is the things that you have that makes the experience better for them, that makes the pain less for them, that makes recovery easier for them.

all those things. And so that is the marketing piece, taking the time to say those things, taking the time to show them, taking the time to explain, using them and letting them know, because we're using this, you should recover much quicker, right? You shouldn't have to go home and have any bleeding like as soon as you leave here, right? Even fluoride, right? As soon as you leave here, you can now eat those types of things. That's the marketing piece. That's the words. Those are the things that impact the patient.

The Dental A Team (18:39)

Totally agree. And on that point, you mentioned the marketing companies and the marketing companies like what sets you apart vetting a great marketing company. And my opinion is like hiring someone on your team, right? Which it's easy for us to see that because we have marketing people. We don't, we have a marketing department. We didn't hire a marketing comp. We have hired marketing companies. Currently we don't have a marketing company working.

behind the scenes, have marketing people on our team. And so it's easy for us to see that and we help plenty of practices that marketing companies, which is, hard marketing companies marketing. It's a hard space because just like we just said, it's really about changing a dial a little bit and seeing what the result is. And then changing the dial a little bit and seeing what the result is. There's no like, this always works because it's different for everyone.

So marketing is difficult in that way, but when you've got your systems and processes in line at the office, you're inspired humans who are looking to impact more humans. It makes the marketing company's job so much easier because they're marketing you and the experience, not your tech, which nobody knows what a CBCC skit is. Like I barely know what it is, right? I can't read it. I've been in dentistry forever. I have no idea what I'm looking at.

Patients don't either, they just don't. And so when you're looking for a marketing company, really looking at it the same as you would hire a team member onto your team, what would you expect of that team member? How do they show up? What's their integrity level? Do they match your core values? Can they show up to live your core values and your vision? And then once you get your marketing manager, does that marketing manager jive with you? Are they relatable? Are they somebody who's listening to you? Would you hire that person?

to be on your team because I do think Dana, that is a huge piece of external marketing that we've never really considered before.

DAT-Dana (20:34)

Yeah, I agree with you. think like...

test their response time with you, look at how they respond to you for things, look at how if you ask questions, do they truly answer them? Do they get to the bottom of it? Or do they even admit, hey, I don't know this, but let me figure it out. And then they do figure it out and they get back to you. Like all of those things that you would test in a working interview or you would ask on a phone interview, right? Oftentimes it's just like, hey, we get through your logistics. This is what we do. This is what we can offer you. Hey, say yes or no. And I think that it is okay. Marketing is a big investment. And you know, sometimes we pay

marketing companies as much as we pay team members, right? And so I agree with you, Tiff, in that like they are now a part of your team, whether it's external or internal, they're a part of it. And so do they live and breathe those things? Does the things that you're wanting to accomplish with them inspire them? Are they responding? Are they actively engaged in your account and come up with really great ideas?

The Dental A Team (21:32)

I love that. Yeah, drop the mic. Those are what you need to write down if you're driving when you get to the office or when you get home or the hair salon, wherever you're headed to. ⁓ Rewind and write all those things down that Dana just said. That was incredible, Dana. Thank you. Yeah, I loved this. I think we went into this one like, okay, well, let's see where it takes us. And I think it went on a really fun journey. So Dana, thank you for always ⁓ tracking. you just, we are just like the same brain sometimes.

Same brain, but different, you see different aspects. So thank you for today's conversation. think it was really fun. And everyone, go about your marketing company. I think your action items are to take inventory and maybe even have your team take inventory of the experience that your patients are perceiving. So what's the perception that you're putting out to your patients? Is it in line with your vision, mission, core values? Is it in line with what you want it to be? And then check your marketing, your true marketing.

DAT-Dana (22:06)

Yeah, thanks.

The Dental A Team (22:30)

Are you talking about same day crowns? Are you talking about we can save you time? Because saving me time is a bigger ask than a same day crown, especially if I don't need a crown, by the way. So go check your marketing. Does it make sense? Does it speak to the patient experience? And can you deliver the patient experience that you're speaking to? You guys, this was really fun. I hope you loved it. I know you did. I know you loved it, because these ones are really fun. When we get ramped up, these are the ones that impact the most. So leave us a five star review.

Let us know your biggest takeaways. We'd love to hear it. [email protected]. you need help, if you want Dana's questions, rewind. We're not going to remember what she said unless we rewind. So go rewind, get all of the things and we will catch you next time. Thanks so much, guys.