SmartBox Dental Marketing

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Patient Attraction Episode 1129

40 years ago dentistry was pretty much a completely male-dominated profession. Today, male dentists still dominate, but to a much lesser extent. Women are now about half of new dental school enrollees and roughly 30 percent of practicing dentists in the U.S. And while being female in a traditionally male profession doesn’t convey any advantage, women dentists as a group are approaching dental practice in a way that offers both challenge and opportunity for solo dentists. After the break, I’ll tell you how women are impacting the practice of dentistry.

– I’m Colin Receveur, founder and CEO of SmartBox.

– Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast.

– I want to start out by saying that I’m not taking sides in a male dentist versus female dentist debate.

– Women dentists will become a strong competitive force in the dental industry fairly soon.

– I’ve always believed that dentists need to know how to compete effectively.

– And in the coming years, more female dentists will also be competing against other women.

– Right now, dentistry is still male-dominated.

– One of the things about a male-dominated industry is that the older segment of that industry is also male.

– Right now, well over half of dentists under age 44 are female.

– With male dentists retiring and females making up half of dentists entering the workforce, the demographics will continue to shift.

– By one estimate, female dentists will be in the majority by 2020.

– You will almost certainly be competing against women dentists if you’re not already.

– So, where will all those women practice?

– Studies suggest that female dentists are less likely overall to open solo practices.

– Instead, they tend to form or join group practices.

– Group practices enjoy some advantages over solo practices.

– There’s just one administrative staff handling the needs of multiple dentists.

– The practice can order supplies in larger quantities, which usually means at a discount.

– Professional malpractice insurance can be obtained for the group at a reduced rate.

– The advertising budget for a group practice can be roughly the same as for a solo practice, but the group can accommodate more patients.

– And they can do it on a more flexible schedule.

– Those are some of the advantages of a group practice.

– However, for a variety of reasons, female dentists are less likely to work as many hours as male dentists.

– The average seems to be about 30 hours per week.

– There’s nothing wrong with working fewer hours, decreased availability of one or more dentists is a weakness you may be able to exploit.

– A certain segment of the population values seeing the same dentist each time.

– Corporate dentistry is famous, or infamous, for shuttling patients between different dentists.

– That’s the extreme case.

– But depending on demand at a given time, existing patients of group practices may have difficulty obtaining an appointment with the same dentist.

– If yours is a solo practice, that’s not a problem.

– If you have an associate, do your best to keep patients with the same doctors, barring emergencies.

– Promoting individualized care and consistency of provider goes a long way to keep patients loyal to your practice.

– But there are other competitive advantages for women that men will have to work to overcome.

– One is simply hand size.

– It’s not a secret that women tend to have smaller hands, and that there’s a perception that women may have a gentler touch.

– For the nervous or anxious patient, smaller hands and more gentle dentistry are reassuring.

– Obviously, it’s generally level playing field among women dentists in those areas.

– But male dentists will have to make sure tha[...]

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Patient Attraction Episode 1128

There’s no doubt that the science of dentistry advances relentlessly. Most of the time, those advances are better ways of doing something that dentists have always done – oral scanners, panoramic X-rays, better dental drills, laser gum treatment. But there’s news out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham that may spell the end of several significant revenue streams for most dentists. After the break, I’ll tell you how to safeguard your practice against the advances of dentistry. Stay tuned.

– Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast.

– I’m Colin Receveur.

– Drill-and-fill dentists should take note of an announcement from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

– In animal studies, those researchers demonstrated how a molecule they created can block the ability of Streptococcus mutans to form biofilms on teeth.

– The molecule is completely selective in its action.

– It’s very easy to synthesize.

– It’s easy to apply.

– That is a potentially huge development for dentists.

– Think about it: no biofilm, no dental plaque.

– No dental plaque, no calculus.

– No calculus, no dental caries.

– If the results from animal studies prove out in human trials, you’re potentially looking at the end of a huge amount of drill-and-fill cases.

– But that’s not all.

– You could be looking at less need for your dental hygiene department services.

– You could be facing a sharp decrease in the occurrence of gingivitis and periodontitis.

– You might be looking at fewer endodontic procedures.

– And the list of potential impacts goes on and on – cosmetic dentistry, prosthodontics, dental implants, oral surgery.

– To be fair, there’s still a long way to go before this new molecule is approved for clinical use.

– So it’s not like you need to man the lifeboats right now.

– You’ll still be drilling and filling for quite a while.

– But this news should get you thinking about what you can do to position your practice for success in the face of prevention breakthroughs.

– Because now that these researchers have demonstrated proof of concept, it’s only a matter of time before a similar agent is approved.

– And the application of a biofilm inhibitor may not require your services.

– Who’s to say that the molecule couldn’t eventually be added to toothpaste?

– If it’s not this breakthrough that changes dentistry as you know it, it’ll be something else.

– Again, it’s only a matter of time.

– As a place to start, think about what your practice would look like if you did a lot less drill-and-fill.

– How much more rewarding would it be – emotionally and financially – to do more of the cases you love to do?

– You don’t have to wait for science before you decide to target the dental prospects you want.

– And you don’t have to wait to begin increasing your collections.

– SmartBox works with more than 550 dentists on 3 continents to help them get more and better patients.

– Our industry-leading Patient Attraction System can double or even triple your practice.

– The first step is to visit smartboxdentalmarketing.com and reserve your no-cost, no-obligation Practice Discovery Session.

– The end of dental caries may be coming, but it doesn’t have to sweep your practice away.

– Join me for our next podcast.

– Until then, keep moving forward.

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The post Is Your Practice Ready for the End of Dental Caries? appeared first on SmartBox » The Patient Attraction Podcast.

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Patient Attraction Episode 1127

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and the expectations are high. Hopefully, your plans are already finalized. This is the observed commercial holiday when a certain number of actions and a certain performance level are expected … if not demanded. It might surprise you that Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, can serve as a model for dental practice success. If that sounds like an outrageous idea, hang around. I’ll be back after the break to tell you how to make the principles behind the modern Valentine’s Day work for your practice.

– I’m Colin Receveur.

– Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast.

– Valentine’s Day used to be very different.

– There is a long historical tradition of sweethearts exchanging tokens of affection on Valentine’s Day.

– Those tokens might have been poems, trinkets, or something else that wouldn’t break the bank.

– Valentine’s Day began to be commercialized in the 19th century.

– And yes, even then, there were voices wailing about how awful it was that the original meaning of the day was being lost.

– In the early 20th century, Hallmark began selling Valentine’s Day cards.

– And the rest is history.

– Today, Valentine’s Day is a billion-dollar industry.

– So, what does this have to do with dentistry, you ask?

– Just this: Those early marketers seized control of the conversation around a single topic.

– They used that control to define expectations and expected practices.

– And they thrived.

– The vast majority of dentists don’t take that approach – controlling the conversation and shaping expectations.

– At least, not outside of their practices – and certainly not in their marketing.

– Most dentists advertise their services the same way that Target advertises:

– Low prices, specials, savings, and discounts.

– It’s a time-honored tradition of dentists pitching their products to the public.

– But that tradition’s time has come and gone, because there’s simply too much competition today.

– It’s like every restaurant in a metropolitan area going on an advertising blitz at the same time.

– It’s enormously expensive and ultimately not very useful.

– What if you refused to play the same old tired game as your competitors?

– What if you could seize control of the conversation around dentistry in your market?

– You could reshape expectations for your prospects and quite a few of your competitors’ prospects.

– You could get more patients, and even more important, you could get the cream of the crop, so to speak.

– Those early Valentine’s Day marketers did it.

– They convinced people to spend money for something that historically was free or nearly so.

– And now a large chunk of the population spends a lot of money on Valentine’s Day.

– Let’s be clear – it takes time and effort to reshape expectations and convince people to act differently.

– It’s not something you can hope to accomplish through advertising.

– Advertising isn’t a conversation, it’s a speech.

– Today’s conversations are happening online.

– Conversations happen in social media, on your blog, and on your website.

– The online environment is the ideal modern venue to seize control of the conversation.

– But it’s not a quick-hit success strategy.

– And it’s a lot of work, more than most dentists can manage.

– In a nutshell, taking control of online conversation and reshaping expectations is what SmartBox does for more than 550 dentists on 3 continents.

– Our industry-leading Patient Attraction System works 24/7 to help dentists get more and better patients.

– And we do that in large part by changing the dialogue around dentists and dentistry for our doctors.

– I’ll let Dr. Sean Hanson of Salem, Oregon, tell you about[...]

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Patient Attraction Episode 1126

Forget the rumors about email marketing being dead. Staying in contact with your prospects until they’re ready to choose you as their dentist is as important as ever. Once a prospect opts in to receive communications from you, don’t waste the chance to send them useful and engaging emails that speak to their dental concerns. But not all emails work equally well. When we come back, I’ll tell you how to monitor your email click-through rates and how you can get that number higher. Stay tuned.

– Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast.

– I’m Colin Receveur.

– At SmartBox, we know the power of dental email marketing … when it’s done right.

– The ultimate goal of all your marketing is to put more new patients in your chairs.

– But there are indicators that can tell you what’s working and what’s not working in your marketing.

– One of the key indicators is click-through rate, or CTR.

– CTR applies to all your online marketing that offers the opportunity to click on a link.

– That includes pay-per-click ads, links in social media or blog posts, or links on Google+, for instance … and, of course, the emails you send out.

– Getting new patients to pick up the phone and book an appointment is a process.

– Each email you send should move your prospects closer to that point.

– There’s no “rule” for when a prospect “should” click on a link.

– People enter your sales funnel at different stages of readiness.

– For that reason, you need to know which of your emails are getting the highest click-through rates – and which are getting few or no responses.

– Because click-throughs show that your emails are working to move your prospects closer to being appointed patients.

– You’ll need an email automation program to accurately know what your click-through rate is.

– Those programs have a ton of benefits for dental practices.

– Among other things, automating your marketing email makes sure you get the right emails to the right people at the right times.

– There’s no better way to lose younger prospects than sending them emails on dentures.

– You can also lose potential patients from sending the right emails but too often or not often enough.

– Automation keeps your busy staff from making mistakes that can cost you new patients.

– Email automation programs also include the capability to insert special links that report back to a database when they’re clicked.

– They’re even able to know which of your emails get opened most often.

– This means you can experiment with your subject lines to see which get the most opens, and your call-to-action message to see your CTR.

– You can also change the content – text and graphics – to find out which emails are engaging your prospects the best.

– And you can determine the frequency of mailings that work best for different segments of your prospects.

– When you think about manually exploring all the possible combinations of subject lines, content, calls to action, and frequency, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

– But automation makes that exploration process fairly easy and much less time-consuming.

– Email automation programs vary a lot in how easy they are to learn and use.

– They also vary in cost and the features they provide.

– But if you’re looking to increase your click-through rate, automation is a valuable tool.

– Now, what kind of CTRs can you expect from your email marketing?

– Overall, a CTR of 2 to 3 percent is considered good.

– That may not sound like much, but when you think about your average case value, you can see why even a small increase can mean a lot more revenue.

– Still, the process of automating email marketing can be too much for a lot of dental practices.

– Dr. Mitchel Friedman of Linc[...]

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Patient Attraction Episode 1125

When people start looking for a dentist, they begin that search online. It’s estimated that roughly 90 percent of dental prospects consult the internet before anything else. That by itself is a major difference from even 15 years ago. But the way prospects search the web is also changing. The 3-year-old website that you’re so proud of may not be serving you well any more. After the break, I’ll tell you what’s changed in search and what you need to do to be found online. Stay tuned.

– I’m Colin Receveur, founder and CEO of SmartBox.

– Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast.

– Almost nobody remembers, but when the internet was barely a thing, you had to type in long strings of code to do anything with it.

– It wasn’t until the late 1980s or early 1990s that the internet evolved into web browsers with a lot of built-in conveniences.

– Google was founded in 1998 and rapidly transformed how the world finds things online.

– Since then, the internet and how we use it has changed in ways that were unimaginable just 20 years ago.

– One of the huge changes that’s still evolving is voice search.

– By one estimate, searches from mobile devices made up 60 percent of all searches.

– People using mobile devices to search are relying on digital assistants like Siri, Google Voice, or Cortana.

– Even at home, more and more people are using voice search with assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Echo.

– Those digital assistants are basically artificial intelligences.

– And as the assistants evolve, more and more people will use voice search.

– Voice search is different from what you’re probably used to.

– For starters, it’s longer and more conversational than the typical search typed into a laptop or desktop computer.

– Voice search is typically phrased as a complete command or a question.

– “Siri, where’s the closest hotel?”

– “Cortana, show me movie theaters near me.”

– “Computer, who’s the best family dentist in Milwaukee?”

– Google and the other search engines handle that kind of query differently than they do a few simple short-tail keywords.

– Those are words like “dentist,” “filling,” and “whitening.”

– The short-tail keywords you used for your website content probably aren’t going to get you the results you’re used to.

– The search engine optimization process is one of the fastest-changing things about the internet.

– What worked a few months ago has been replaced by something else.

– Staying current on those SEO changes is practically a full-time job.

– If you’re a dentist with a real talent for doing SEO work and have a buttload of spare time, you might be able to handle it.

– Remember that you’ll need to optimize not just your website for voice search, but also your blog and social media.

– It’s a heavy lift for a nonspecialist.

– But if you want prospects to find your practice online, somebody has to do the work.

– Here’s a thought, though.

– If you have that much free time, something is already going wrong with your dental marketing.

– And doing your own SEO work doesn’t make you a single cent.

– It’s just not a good use of your time and talents.

– Dr. Jonathan Gilbart, a cosmetic and implant dentist in Hagerstown, Maryland, didn’t want to spend his time on SEO work.

– He told us,“I wanted to find a company that could do everything, as far as marketing, for me, and put it all together without me having to spend a ton of time learning what search engine optimization was or Google AdWords.

– “I’ve been very happy with SmartBox and their ability to take all the stuff, put it together, and handle that aspect so I can focus on my patients.” 

– SmartBox does “all the stuff,” including state-of-the-art SEO, for our dentists.

–[...]

The Rise of the Corporate Dental Machine

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Patient Attraction Episode 1124

I’m not a huge science fiction fan. But I do know that one recurring theme is that our machines rise up against us, and we have to fight for our lives. I don’t want to sound alarmist, but the machines are already rising up against private dental practices. I’m referring, of course, to the corporate dental machines – the chains. If you think they’re not machines, you need to take another look. The corporate offices have systems that put yours to shame. After the break, I’ll be back to tell you how to not only survive but actually thrive in the face of the corporate dentistry uprising.

– Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast.

– I’m Colin Receveur.

– I’ve been sounding the alarm for some years about the rise of corporate dentistry.

– One existing model may serve as a guideline for what the impact of the corporate offices will mean for private practice dentists.

– And that model is Walmart.

– Corporate dentistry isn’t Walmart – yet – but there was a time when Walmart wasn’t the Walmart we know today.

– When Walmart moves into an area now, small businesses that try to compete suffer.

– That’s because Walmart has one of the world’s greatest advertising budgets.

– They also have economies of scale in operational costs that small businesses can’t possibly match, and price points that are ridiculously low on thousands of items.

– In fact, trying to compete has driven many, many small businesses out of business.

– Like I said, corporate dentistry isn’t Walmart yet.

– But many of the chains are forecasting phenomenal growth.

– And just as with Walmart, if there’s money to be made in a given market, corporate dentistry will be in that market.

– The only question is when, not if, they’re coming to your area.

– You’ve got a couple of choices.

– You can do what too many dentists do and try to ignore the whole thing.

– And if s ome of those dentists get out of the business soon enough, that strategy may work.

– But it’s not the best course of action for several reasons.

– One reason is that you typically won’t have much warning that one or more of the chain practices are moving into your market.

– Whether you plan to stay and fight or try to sell your practice, you’ll be reacting instead of acting.

– And in business, that’s not the position you want to be in.

– Businesses succeed when they have a plan and stick to it, modifying that plan only when needed.

– But the odds are that the plan you’re using to promote your practice won’t work when corporate dentistry arrives.

– Are you advertising low prices, specials, insurance acceptance, and availability?

– Those are exactly what the chains market their practices on.

– Once the chains arrive, you’ll be the small store trying to compete with Walmart.

– And Walmart has notched up a huge tally in the win column.

– The small stores, not so much.

– I mentioned that you have a couple of choices.

– The second choice is to learn to compete in the areas where corporate dentistry is weak.

– There’s one area where the chains really struggle, and that’s trust.

– There is story after story about patients not seeing the same dentist twice.

– There are even more stories about patients being gouged by unscrupulous chain practices.

– Corporate dentistry is short on trust.

– You can capitalize on that fact.

– Here’s your winning strategy: Let corporate dentistry market to the low case value patients.

– You focus on attracting the segment of your market that wouldn’t be caught dead in a chain practice.

– That segment is at least 20 to 30 percent of prospects in most areas.

– Those better patients have the ability and willingness to pay more for the[...]

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Patient Attraction Episode 1123

Dentistry is listed as one of the best professions, but it can also be one of the more stressful ones. Outside of the physical aches and pains that most dentists live with, managing the business side of a dental practice can be a major source of stress. A dental practice lives or dies by the overall well-being of the owner. And if you find that you’re not shaking off the workday or workweek as well as you used to, you need to make some changes now. After the break, I’ll share some tips for managing stress to help you avoid burnout. Stay tuned.

– Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast.

– I’m Colin Receveur, founder and CEO of SmartBox.

– Like you, I’m a small business owner.

– My business helps dentists like you get more and better patients.

– That’s what I find most rewarding, pretty much like you probably enjoy solving patients’ dental problems the most.

– But there’s a huge amount of business involved in running a small business.

– And a lot of my time is taken up by overseeing those other things.

– I’m sure it’s the same for you as a dental practice owner.

– I’ve had to learn some things about managing the stress that comes with wearing so many different hats as a business owner.

– Now, I’m not a dentist by any means, but the mechanics of running almost any small business are pretty much the same.

– So I’m going to share what I’ve found works for me to help me stay relaxed and focused.

– The first one is taking time away from the business.

– Being able to focus on the things I find relaxing and enjoyable really helps me re-energize.

-Don’t get me wrong; I love owning and running a successful business … just not 24/7/365.

– I realize that getting time away isn’t always easy for solo dentists.

– You either have to close your doors or find someone else to cover while you’re gone.

– It wasn’t easy for me to take time away for some years, either.

– So I learned to make the most of evenings and weekends.

– I stopped burying myself in articles and how-to business books, or hopping back on the computer to review things at the office.

– Now, I spend as much time as I can with family and friends.

– I take as many longer vacations as I can manage, and I thoroughly enjoy them.

– The second thing I learned to do was delegate.

– That may have been the hardest step to take.

– I was a one-man show when I started out.

– I did everything, from optimizing dentists’ websites to handling the billing, and a thousand other things.

– I finally realized that demand for my services had grown to the point where I had to bring on talent and trust them to do their jobs.

– That was tough at first, and I admit that I’m still probably a little more involved in areas where I’m really not needed.

– So that brings up the third thing – I had to learn to set boundaries.

– I’ve got world-class people working for me, but this is still a small business of more than 70 people.

– It’s easy for me to get sucked back into things that I really don’t need to get involved with.

– I had to learn how to say no to my staff, and no to myself.

– I had to learn when I was really and truly off from work and make that stick.

– It’s an ongoing process, as my staff and my wife will tell you.

– And with those 3 things more or less working, I realized that I needed to take better care of myself physically.

– That’s a work in progress too, but I’m feeling healthier, and my stamina has increased.

– These changes weren’t events; they were and are processes.

– So, take what you can from my experience and begin the process of managing and minimizing your stress.

– There is something SmartBox can do to help minimize your stress.

– I already mentioned that small busin[...]

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Patient Attraction Episode 1122

Almost all dentists know that there are times of the year when their practices aren’t nearly as busy. These slumps in patient visits and new patient starts are generally predictable – the beginning of the year, just before the end of school, and after school begins. Depending on the nature of your practice, your downtimes might be different. Still, there are downtimes, and savvy dentists will take steps to address those. When we come back, I’ll share 3 tips to help you do exactly that.

– I’m Colin Receveur.

– Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast.

– I know thousands of dentists, and I practically grew up in a dental practice.

– I know the impact that slow times have on dentists’ incomes.

– And I know that most dentists don’t have a solid plan to deal with those low points.

– You don’t have to grin and bear it when your chairs are empty.

– I’m going to share 3 tips to help insulate your practice against downturns.

– And then I’m going to give you the best tip of all.

– Tip Number 1: Set up a series of public events throughout the year.

– The exact nature of the events that will work for you depends on your practice and your market.

– But here are some ideas.

– Educational lectures on various dental problems and solutions are always a good idea.

– By getting in front of the public, you become more than just another faceless dentist.

– You become a known quantity for prospects in your area.

– And if you present yourself as likeable, approachable, and expert, they’ll remember you.

– July and August are often slow months, so consider holding a lecture during one of those months.

– Tip Number 2: Expand your hygiene department’s availability.

– Cleanings and exams can be a steady source of income during slow times.

– Offering a half day on weekends or extended hours a couple evenings a week can bring in new business and even out your cash flow.

– And some of those opportunistic cleaning appointments can turn into ongoing patients.

– That means repeat appointments throughout the year.

– Tip Number 3: Take advantage of seasonal opportunities.

– New patient starts are usually slow in December.

– Consider running a special on teeth whitening to appeal to the pre-holiday party segment.

– Whitening patients can become regular patients.

– Those are all pretty good ideas for closing the gap during slumps.

– But there’s a better way.

– That better way is to get more and better patients.

– Let’s be clear – everybody deserves quality dental care.

– But better patients are better for the dental practice.

– Better patients aren’t motivated by dental insurance, low price, or specials.

– What those patients value is an ongoing relationship with a dentist they trust, like, and regard as the dental expert for them.

– And usually, once they choose that dentist, they’re fiercely loyal.

– When you have a much higher number of loyal patients who aren’t afraid of the cost of care, you don’t have to fear the slow times.

– That’s because your slow times will still be as high or higher than your good times before.

– The proven way to get more and better new patients is with SmartBox’s industry-leading Patient Attraction System.

– More than 550 SmartBox dentists on 3 continents are enjoying more patients, more profits, and more freedom.

– You can, too.

– Just go to smartboxdentalmarketing.com and reserve your free Practice Discovery Session.

– We’ll show you a Patient Attraction System that can double or even triple your practice.

– And you don’t need to concern yourself with the downtimes.

– Join me for our next podcast.

– Until then, keep moving forward.

The post Keep Your Dental Practice Out of the “Slum[...]

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Patient Attraction Episode 1121

A lot of dentists still believe that all they need to get enough new patients is a great website. That was true at one time, but the online environment has moved on. These days, dentists also need a strong social media presence to stay competitive. Why? Because your competition is catching on to the fact that prospects use social media. But not all social media platforms are created equal. And not all those platforms are worth dentists’ time. After the break, I’ll tell you how to maximize your return on investment by focusing on just three social media sites. Stay tuned.

– Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast.

– I’m Colin Receveur, founder and CEO of SmartBox.

– If you’re not social media savvy, it can be kind of bewildering.

– There are thousands of sites with odd names like Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat, and many, many others.

– With so many choices, how are you supposed to know which ones your dental prospects are on?

– Even if you’re on social media, it’s hard to know where to invest your time and attention.

– SmartBox’s research and experience shows that there are just 3 social media platforms worth the effort for dentists.

– Those 3 are Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn.

– Let’s start with Facebook, the undisputed king of social media.

– Facebook claims to have over 2 billion users worldwide.

– There are 200 million users in the U.S.

– That’s nearly 2 out of 3 people in the country.

– The sheer number of people using Facebook is reason enough to focus on it.

– The odds are overwhelming that most of the prospects you want to attract have Facebook accounts.

– The demographics you want are on Facebook, too.

– Roughly 53 million users are between the ages of 25 and 34.

– 38 million are between 35 and 44.

– And 32 million are ages 45 to 54.

– More women than men are on Facebook, and women are usually the dentistry decision-makers in a household.

– Facebook has been limiting the organic reach of posts.

– Currently, it’s below 6 percent and headed downward.

– But paid Facebook ads offer a host of options for targeting the people you want to reach.

– If you were going to focus on only one social media platform, Facebook would be it.

– But dentists need to look at a wider audience.

– Over 90 percent of people today begin their search for a dentist online.

– Google is still the undisputed king of search with a three-fourths market share.

– And when people search for a dentist in your market, hopefully they’ll find your practice.

– Once they do, they’ll see your Google+ page.

– Your Google+ page is essentially a build-out of your Google My Business page.

– The sidebar that appears in a search can contain patient reviews about their experiences in your practice.

– And it serves as a source of additional information for prospects.

– Dentists want to carefully consider how they can best use Google+ and make it a vital link in their marketing efforts.

– The last vital social media platform for dentists is Twitter.

– With its current 280-character limit, Twitter is the easiest and fastest way to engage current patients and prospects online.

– The demographics of Twitter are in dentists’ favor.

– 37 percent of Twitter users are between ages 18 and 29, and one-quarter are 30 to 49 years old.

– Facebook, Google+, and Twitter are the 3 most profitable social media platforms for dental practices.

– However, maintaining a strong social media presence is something almost all dental practices struggle with.

– The whole purpose of social media is to create engagement between people, or people and companies.

– You and your staff are busy, and there’s no time for responding promptly to online comments and qu[...]

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Patient Attraction Episode 1120

The Great Recession forced many baby boomer dentists to delay their retirement plans. But the effects of that downturn lingered for years, and it’s only been in the last 2 years or so that dentists’ incomes have begun to recover. That may not be a pressing concern for you right now, but the lesson from 2008 to 2010 should be clear. Any dentist’s retirement plans can be derailed if the economy goes south. After the break, I’ll tell you how you can insulate your dental practice against economic downturns. Stay tuned.

- Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast™.

- I’m Colin Receveur.

- The lessons of the Great Recession are fading slowly while the country enjoys the longest economic boom in many decades.

- But one thing is clear: History teaches that every boom is followed by a bust.

- And when things go smash, people hoard money.

- They opt for only maintenance dental care and defer or cancel any optional work.

- People without enough money during a recession spend what they have on food, clothing, shelter, and utilities.

- Any dental care moves way down the list.

- That’s why dentists’ incomes nosedive during downturns.

- Dentists who market to prospects who are strongly motivated by low price, specials, and insurance acceptance will be hit the worst.

- Unfortunately, that includes most dentists, if not the vast majority.

- It probably includes you.

- Let’s be clear – I’m not saying that the sky is going to fall any time soon.

- But the economic downturn, if not an outright recession, is coming.

- It’s only a question of when, and whether you’ll be ready for it.

- If your retirement projections are based on a certain income level and practice growth per year, those projections will need to be reset – unless you take steps soon to safeguard your practice.

- Certainly you should consult your accountant, financial advisor, and attorney.

- But those steps alone won’t assure your future.

- Changing how you market your practice, and the prospects you’re marketing to, is the solution.

- In almost any market, a significant segment of prospects are willing to pay more for the right dentist.

- And they have the resources to keep paying even in the face of an economic downturn.

- Those better patients aren’t attracted by discounts, specials, and low prices.

- You won’t attract them by pursuing traditional dental marketing.

- You have to give them reasons to choose you over your competitors.

- You have to position yourself as the best and only logical choice to solve their dental problems.

- You’ll need a strong and consistent media presence ...

- A website with excellent navigation and helpful, authoritative content ...

- High-quality doctor and patient testimonial videos ...

- And dedicated, condition-specific email streams.

- That’s a lot of work, probably too much for most dentists.

- But everything I’ve just mentioned, and much more, is what SmartBox provides for more than 550 dentists on 3 continents.

- SmartBox dentists not only get more patients; they get better patients.

- Those better patients will help protect their practices against the next economic downturn.

- Learn what our industry-leading Patient Attraction System™ can do for your practice.

- Visit smartboxdental.com and reserve your free Practice Discovery Session™.

- Free means free – no cost,