Happy patients are a dentist’s most valuable marketing assets! They already value your skills and trust your opinions, and best of all, they never hesitate recommending your office to everyone they know.
Check out my video to find out the best ways of communicating with patients to ensure they keep referring their friends and family to your practice now and into 2017!
Do you remember the 1980’s Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America?
In a classic scene, one of the supporting characters is a businessman who owns a restaurant named McDowell’s, NOT McDonald’s. He explains it best:
“Look…me and the McDonald’s people got this little misunderstanding. See, they’re McDonald’s…I’m McDowell’s. They got the Golden Arches, mine is the Golden Arcs. They got the Big Mac, I got the Big Mick.”
And in fact, the owner of a local McDonald’s near the filming location approached the set design team and threatened to sue for trademark infringement, completely unaware that this “new competitor” was actually part of a movie set.
So how does this apply to dentists?
While this scene provides plenty of laughter, there are also important real-life lessons that could be learned from this fictional scenario, especially when it comes to branding and trademarks.
There are two very common mistakes many dentists make when it comes to dental practice branding:
Failing to brand the practice
Many dentists don’t realize the power of branding. It’s the reason you immediately picture the golden arches when you read “McDonald’s”, but it’s not just for large corporations. A dentist’s brand is what differentiates one dentist from the next. It’s his/her practice identity within the community, both online and in person. Simply put, without a brand, it’s difficult to effectively promote your practice.
Failing to protect the brand
At the core of any dentist’s brand is the practice name. Whether it’s in the name of the doctor, or something more representative of the services, philosophy or local community, the practice name is incredibly important – and valuable. And when working with my Pride clients to develop a new practice name, I always advise them to hire a business attorney to trademark the new practice name.
Why?
– First, when you’re developing a new brand and name for your practice, you want to ensure there’s not already a dentist in the local area using the same name. Not only would that cause mass confusion among local patients and waste your marketing dollars, but if another dentist has filed a trademark on your potential new name, it could cause you significant legal hassles.
– Once you’ve conducted a search and verified there isn’t another practice using the same name in the local area, have your attorney file a trademark on the new name (both the words and the logo). This will protect you in the event a new dentist wants to use the same name in the future.
Is this rare? Yes. Do trademark issues actually affect dentists? YES. Taking the necessary steps to properly brand your practice from the start will minimize any future legal headaches, patient confusion and wasted marketing dollars later. It’s well worth the time and energy to create a practice name that is all your own – and protect it!
*Please note: I am a marketing expert. I am not an attorney nor do I play one on TV. Consult your business attorney for a more complete discussion on trademarking your dental practice.
Dentists today are bombarded with sales calls promising to boost their online reputations or guaranteeing the top spot on Google.
Just as there’s no magic bullet for achieving optimal oral health, there’s no shortcuts when it comes to building a dynamic digital presence.
Check out my recent video here to find out the most important steps every dentist should take when developing an effective online strategy.
You went to dental school, not business school. You specialize in exams and extractions, not marketing and social media. So how do you even begin to build a savvy online presence for your dental practice?
Here are 5 tips to demystify online marketing for every dentist:
To dive deeper into these strategies, and discover 5 more simple yet effective methods of improving your online marketing, check out my recent article in Dental Products Report to ensure you stay in the driver’s seat of your online reputation.
You’ve likely heard of sites like Yelp, Google and Healthgrades and you’re probably aware of the prevalence of patient reviews in today’s online culture. However, knowing that you should ask patients to leave reviews and actually asking them are two different things altogether.
Watch this video to find out why dentists actually need to have positive reviews and learn the best ways of asking your patients to post their comments online.
According to research published by Atlas, video is six times more effective than print or online promotions. Videos give prospective patients a glimpse into your dental practice, allowing you to introduce them to your wonderful staff and your bright, inviting office, all before they ever make their first appointment.
And all you need to create videos for your practice is a computer with a camera, or even a smartphone. While it may take some planning, you can produce videos that can:
Some quick tips for making a successful video:
Finally, make sure your video goes viral by posting it on your practice website, blog, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – any and all relevant online platforms. The more you post your videos, the greater the chance prospective and existing patients will see them and respond.
For more tips on how to utilize videos to promote your practice, see my recent Dental Products Report article “7 Steps to Creating Dental Practice Videos”.