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Patient Attraction Episode 1070

You could be getting more new dental patients, but you’re not for one simple reason. The people you market to don’t have a reason to choose you over any other dentist. That sounds harsh, but it’s true. The things that dentists believe impress patients aren’t what patients value. Basically, they’re marketing to the wrong people in the wrong way. It’s a matter of perspective, and if you want to have more new dental prospects calling your office, you’ll need to adjust your perspective. I’ll be back after the break to tell you how to make your dental practice a preferred destination for prospects.

– Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast™.

– I’m Colin Receveur.

– There’s a universal truth that dentists may not be aware of.

– And many of those who’ve heard it are reluctant to believe it could be true.

– Dentists are viewed by dental prospects as being equally competent.  

– If that got your hackles up, I don’t blame you.

– My dad’s a very successful dentist, and I know thousands of practicing dentists.

– I have a very good idea of what it takes to complete postgraduate dental training courses while working full-time.

– And I understand that dentists with additional training and hands-on experience in various areas are likely to be more able than other dentists.

– I get it … but your prospects don’t.

– To the great mass of people, dentists are all advance-degreed professionals.

– That title and that degree confers legitimacy to your prospects.

– But since all dentists have the same basic credentials, they’re all considered equal.

– One is basically as good as another, except in rare cases.

– Your prospects don’t care whether you’re a DDS or a DMD, and they don’t understand the difference.

– They don’t care whether you’re a fellow of a particular professional organization.

– The vast majority don’t even care whether you belong to the ADA.

– I know, that’s hard to believe.

– So dentists are basically viewed as being interchangeable, and most dentists’ marketing does nothing to correct that view.

– I get why that happens – you went through four long and hard years of dental school.

– You paid off or are paying huge school debt.

– You’ve probably taken some postgrad courses.

– You’re justifiably proud of what you’ve accomplished, and you want the world to know that.

– Your website touts your credentials, your state-of-the-art equipment, and your expertise.

– Your marketing is full of dental terms and jargon.

– You might even have videos of dental procedures that do nothing but scare your prospects away.

– Basically, you’re marketing to impress other dentists, which does nothing to give your prospects a reason to choose you.

– Because almost every other dentist’s website has the same crap on it.

– I say “crap” because all of that is essentially worthless for achieving your goal of putting more new patients in your chairs.

– I’ll say it again – your prospects don’t care about any of that.

– The low-value prospects who are price- and insurance-driven care about cost, period.

– The ones who aren’t driven by finances – patients who can and will pay more for the right dentist – want something else.

– And if you want not just more patients but better patients, your marketing has to give those better patients what they want.

– They need reasons to choose you instead of one of your competitors.

– They’re looking for a dentist they feel they can trust and relate to.

– They want a dentist who explains, in terms they can understand, how he or she is going to make their lives better.

– Do that, and you can get the lion’s share of the 20 percent of your market who will stay, pay, and refer.

– You’ll get patients who are prepared t[...]