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The Power of Direct Mail
After years of seeing the effects of both good and bad advertising tactics used to promote dental practices I have formed the strong opinion that the single most effective marketing tactic to create new patient flow is targeted direct mail. Believe me, I’ve tried them all and nothing “pulls” quite like a direct mail campaign that is well executed. Broadcast formats such as radio and television don’t have the shelf-life that direct mail has and with magazine and yellow page ads you are often swimming in a sea of competing offers and messages. The other problem with many advertising tactics is that they have way too much reach and are too expensive for a dentist to benefit from the consistent frequency of the brand and the offer.
Even though I feel as strongly as I do, a lot of dentists have had negative results from their own direct mail efforts. Such poor results can almost always be attributed to breaking one or more of the rules that make direct mail so effective. Direct mail is not as simple as flinging a postcard into a few thousand mailboxes and watching the new patients lining up at your door. First of all, direct mail requires a comprehensive demographic analysis of the area to be targeted before one dollar is spent. Next, an aggressive offer is absolutely imperative. Offers such as, Free whitening for new patients, a free i-pod for a new ortho start, or 50% off in-office whitening are examples of offers that are effective. Offers such as free cosmetic consultations or $20 discounts on cleanings are weak and won’t have the impact that more aggressive offers do. When I consult with dentists who have failed in past direct mail efforts, the first question I ask is whether the mail piece contained an offer. In almost every case, I hear something like, “well, I didn’t want to have to give anything away,” or “I want patients to come to my practice because I’m a good dentist, not because I was luring them in with something free.” Remember that we live in a world that is bombarding consumers with hundreds of marketing messages every day. If you want your advertising efforts to be effective, you’ve got to get the consumer’s attention, and weak offers or no offer at all just don’t cut it anymore.
Quality printing, paper, photography and top graphic design are also must-haves for your direct mail efforts to provide a great return on investment. Remember that purchasing a quality mailing list that is accurate and contains up-to-date names of new move-ins is important as well as using a mail house that accurately fulfills your mailing.
Another misconception with direct mail marketing is that 1% is an acceptable return. Somewhere, in some twenty-year old marketing text book, this statistic stuck in everybody’s mind. The truth is, 1% is a home run. In fact, 1% is out-of-the-park. A more realistic number for dental direct mail marketing is .020% to .035%. That means that a 10,000 piece direct mail campaign should result in 20-35 new patients. However, a 1% return would be 100 patients. Although a 1% return is not unheard of, it’s a safer bet to expect something less. Now, I have seen results approaching 1%, however, those results are never the norm. It’s kind of like the diet commercials that promise 50 lbs. of weight loss in sixty days. It’s possible, but not likely. Typically, such results are seen in markets that are growing rapidly and everyone is looking for a dentist. Las Vegas comes to mind.
Fortunately for dentists, 35 new patients that are appropriately folded into a practice can be worth substantially more than the investment for 10,000 pieces of direct mail. In fact, over time, 35 patients who refer friends and family members and accept treatment that is presented correctly can be worth many thousands of dollars.
Direct mail has to be executed precisely to be effective. The quality of the printing and design, the mailing list, the offer, and the timing are just a few important considerations. Do it right, and make it the foundation of your new-patient acquisition strategy.
Joel Harris, is CEO and Co-Founder of Intelligent Dental Marketing one of the Nation's leading Dental Marketing companies focused exclusively on dental practices. Intelligent Dental Marketing provides powerful marketing tools to help dentists grow their patient base, increase their profit and improve their image. He can also be reached directly at 877.942.8855
Interested in speaking to Joel about your Direct Mail marketing campaign? Email him at Joel@thedentistsnetwork.net
Interested in having Joel speak to your dental society or study club? Click Here
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Planning For Your First Associate
Like all business decisions, the choice to recruit your first associate requires thoughtful planning and consideration of those factors that may affect your personal and professional financial success. For some, recruiting an associate will provide more free time for you or increase the utilization of your practice’s resources without any long term commitment. For others, a qualified associate is the first step in long-term transition planning to develop a partnership or a short-term decision to facilitate a practice sale. No matter your motivation in hiring an associate, several important steps should be taken to ensure the associate relationship benefits your practice, your patients, and your bottom line.
1. Determine The True Size of Your Patient Base
An adequate patient base is a necessary component of all successful transitions. The number of active patients can help determine whether your practice can effectively support an associate. Busy practices show signs of “saturation,” a condition which offers opportunity to grow, by transferring the care of “excess” patients to the new associate, as the practice continues to expand. For a typical general practice, saturation equals 1,500 to 1,700 active patients. Active patients are defined as those who utilize a practice’s hygiene program at least once every twelve months. For practices which skew toward a higher proportion of aesthetic and complex restorative services, the saturation point is even less — roughly 1,200 to 1,400 active patients. Saturation is a key indicator of probable success in transitions, and provides insight into the appropriateness of a decision to hire an associate.
2. Conduct A Chart Audit
Conducting a chart audit is the only way to identify how many patients actively participate in your practice’s hygiene program. Once the chart audit is complete, you will know whether your patient base can support a full time or part-time associate. If you have 400 to 1,000 patients who have not been seen routinely in hygiene, reactivation efforts should pay a good dividend for your associate. Reactivating 70 percent of these patients for hygiene services would provide a new associate with a base of 280 to 700 patients, who may become his or her regular patients.
3. Determine Part-Time vs. Full-Time Feasibility
It’s unrealistic for many practitioners in an urban setting to require a full-time associate since the number of patients required maintaining an associate will be substantial. A “rule of thumb” is for every 200 to 250 active patients; you will require one full day per week for an associate to meet their needs.
4. Experience Pays
In many instances, “first-time” associates may not have sufficient clinical or private practice experience. To ensure a smooth transition, a structured probationary period of three to six months is appropriate. We suggest using a scheduling template to assure that your associate meets minimum production goals, during this time, initial production may vary between $900 to $1,300 per day, based upon the associate’s skill level. Additionally, this is a good time to begin an aggressive patient reactivation program and to schedule reactivated hygiene patients (two to four daily) with your new associate. Chances are likely that these “lost” patients will accept your new associate as their doctor and will continue with routine treatment. Subsequent hygiene appointments should be regularly scheduled with your hygienist(s).
5. Determining Fair Compensation
Although most associates are paid a percentage of collections, new associates should be placed on a mutually agreeable guaranteed salary for 90 to 120 days. This takes the financial pressure off your associate during the initial period and lets the young doctor focus on clinical skill enhancement and patient management. This time frame also allows the associate’s Accounts Receivable to build up since he/she will be paid on collections. Many General Practice associates in the are being paid 33 to 37 percent of collections minus a percentage of their lab bill.
6. Provide Opportunity To Learn And Grow
To seamlessly integrate your associate into your practice’s routine, we recommend new associates be assigned to the most experienced dental assistant during the initial months. This simple consideration provides new associates with ample opportunity to learn valuable efficiency tips and patient record keeping guidelines and procedures. Since an experienced assistant most likely will know reactivated patients, it promotes a good opportunity to acquaint the patient with the new doctor.
7. Have An Open Door Policy
With a new associate, communication is imperative. Regularly scheduled weekly meetings are a must to discuss patient and clinical matters. Monthly meetings are also needed to review practice statistics and to provide a new associate with better insight into his/her progress. These scheduled meetings, as well as having an open door policy for matters of concern, provide opportunity to review practice management issues together, and develop solutions as a team.
8. Develop A Transition Plan
Although some practitioners never contemplate selling an interest in their practice to their first associate, those who think otherwise must develop a comprehensive plan. If a practice transition is the objective, whether it may be a partnership or practice sale, a practice valuation should be completed within the first twelve months of employment to establish a base-line value. Terms of the buy-in or buy-out should also be fully disclosed. With adequate forethought, successful associate relationships can produce great rewards for both you, and your associate, as your practice matures and grows.
Dr. Thomas L. Snyder, is Managing Partner of The Snyder Group, LLC, a nationwide practice transition and financial management consulting firm. With over 75 years of experience in the field, The Snyder Group can provide you a full range of services relating to practice transition matters and retirement planning. They can also be reached directly at 800.988.5674.
If you would like additional help regarding implementing an associate into your practice, email Dr. Snyder at Drsnyder@thedentistsnetwork.net.
Interested in having Dr. Snyder speak to your dental society or study club? Click Here.
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