subject: Cultural, Economic and Marketing Changes Part 5 What's really going to bail out the American economy? [print this page]
It won't be government spending. It will be the good ole American entrepreneurs and small businesses that keep on trucking through this time of super-rapid change. Ingenuity, new technology and the dogged tenacity of the individual citizen to make life go right where he or she lives will eventually correct the current economic woes.
A telling phenomenon occurred this week that heartens one's sense of justice and fairness. In several cities across American, common, everyday folks took to the streets to demonstrate against the new spend and tax policies. These came from people who do not include themselves in the demonstration cognoscenti - in other words, people who are never to be found demonstrating, now are.
Thegood news of our current situation is that it will correct. American politics are characterized by swings too far left and then too far right. Most of the time, government operates in the middle of the two extremes. Those are the good times in the main for the economy and public. Right now, that pendulum has swung to the far left. How long it stays there will be up to you and me and every other American.
The constant now in the mind of the public is change. Change so rapid that very few Americans have "caught up." (I wonder how many members of Congress read and understood the enormous spending bills they have recently rushed through Congress?)
This changing can be very de-stabilizing for most of your patients and staff and maybe even you. So what should you do?
Three things:
1. Preparation you have to become more flexible, nimble and ready to adapt quickly in every portion of your practice. You have to "stay on your toes" and able to move rapidly should the need or opportunity arise.
2. Controls You need more information about your current status as a practice from objective measurement of the operations. These numbers will tell you specifically how you have done. These are the numbers of the past performance. These are very useful for looking at the areas that are doing well so similar actions can be continued to "keep the good thing going." Likewise, areas that are not doing well can be recognized and corrected. Few dentists perform this analysis of their numbers.
But there is a second set of numbers you need that predict your future. Even fewer dentists use these. These are the numbers that measure the amount of communication to your existing clients and to your prospective ones. These are the numbers that measure what you are doing to ensure your continuing success into the future. These include planning, training, this program, strategy, goals, purposes, projects, etc. While current performance of operations is important, these numbers only reflect your current condition. The numbers that show what you are doing to proactively create your practice can be more meaningful.
You need both. Most dentists have neither! (That should have been a big Ah-Ha. If it wasn't, read it again. If you still don't get it, call me or email me stat.)
3. Over-engineering Just as you over-engineer the bio-mechanics of your dental cases so that the dental work can last for many years, able to withstand current bio-mechanical forces and the accumulated stresses on the dental materials for many years hence, so too, should you over-engineer the marketing and case presentation processes of your practice. This concept is vital today. It is your "insurance" for your own practice, written by you with you as the beneficiary. The especially good news is that your premium does not disappear into the gaping jaws of some insurance company's treasury, but into your warm, green practice bank account, with more profits than before. Here are some of the principles you can apply:
1. Examine each step in each marketing sequence. Are there enough steps? Most Drs use too few steps and stop too soon. Dr, dentistry has a high transaction value so you can afford more steps in your lead generating and lead nurturing marketing communications.
2. Ensure you have a marketing process for every area of your practice you want to promote. Choose wisely. You can't be all things to all people.
3. Make you message clear. Clarity is refreshing, simplifying. The public want that more than ever.
4. Give your patients and prospective patients the reasons why (logically and emotionally) they should do what you ask. This applies to both marketing and case presentation.
5. Publicity and media relations are more available than ever and should be used.
6. Hybrid marketing that connects both offline and online marketing is the new standard. You need to use both and connect them.
7. Marketing to your existing patients has become larger than ever in importance. You should segment your list and communicate away.
8. If you want case acceptance on more big cases, examine every step of the persuasion process and ask yourself this question, "Will it (my process) be enough to influence and convince?" This means what would it take to work so well that you are surprised when patients don't say yes.
9. Slant your approach to those patients that have the needs you like to serve and the affluence to pay for it. That sounds like one of those "duh" moments, but you would be surprised at what Drs will focus on, treating some facets of dentistry more like a hobby without any real possibility of making any profit.
10. Synergistic marketing. You are now smart to use multiple channels for your marketing, with each channel connecting to at least one other and maybe more. The synergism comes from every message getting additional influence through the additive effects of the messages. This has always existed, but today you should plan for the synergism purposely.
Best,
Charley
P. S. If you haven' seen Slumdog Millionaire yet, it is worthy. And next time, I'll share a lesson from that movie that caused me to laugh and my wife to gag.
P.S. S. We will be going over these concepts presented here and a lot more at the next conference. You should be there.
