Doctors starting their first dental or ophthalmology practice are faced with a variety of challenges. With a daunting list of duties that include balancing staff schedules, practice financing, patient appointments, marketing materials such as dental posters, ophthalmology posters and newsletters, physicians often have little assistance growing their practice from the beginning.
In today’s fast paced, business-minded environment, practices increasingly recognize the importance of focused marketing efforts. However, most ophthalmologists do not have time to manage their own marketing plan.
Marketing your practice is vitally important to its success. Choose a reputable marketing company that will work with you to create and deliver quality marketing materials in a timely manner. We encourage you to keep the following ideas in mind.
Communication and education are key. Hire strong, teamwork-oriented staff members, who will help you relay messages to your patients about available services, special promotions or office events. Hold regular meetings with your staff to educate them about the specific services you are marketing. The more you inform your staff, the more excited they will be to take your practice’s message to your patient base.
Remind staff members to ask patients how they heard about your practice. Were they referred by a friend? Or, did they see your marketing materials? Did they see your dental poster, orthodontic poster or your practice newsletter? This helps you determine the most successful modes of advertising for your dental or ophthalmology practice.
Setup all your practice marketing materials in central, high traffic areas such as the front desk or exam rooms. Posters should be placed at eye level and newsletters and flyers should be within reach. Let your marketing and promotional material stand out and garner attention. Place them in areas where they are not drowned out by waiting room literature, magazines or toys.
Set aside a percentage of your projected annual billing toward practice marketing efforts. Develop a campaign strategy to maximize the effectiveness of your materials. Compliment direct mail pieces like postcards and billing inserts with posters, flyers and counter cards within the office. This method allows your patient base to see your marketing materials at home and at your location, and keeps your message fresh in their mind.
As your practice marketing efforts continue, it is important to have sincere and informative conversations with your patients. Avoid blatantly pushing your services, but keep an open dialogue that creates conversation and action.
Sending your direct mail pieces to the right people is just as important as the marketing campaign itself. Purchased or rented mailing lists are effective, but only when they are utilized properly and fit a very specific and targeted demographic. There are myriad of different mail list options available, including target specific zip codes, income levels, number of family members and more. When building your practice’s mailing list, it is important to be as specific as possible.
Remember, positive experiences are contagious. If the initial marketing referrals are happy with their visit to your office, they are likely to tell their friends and family about their positive experience. This is powerful! As these referrals continue to build, so will your practice.
Gather testimonials of happy patients and display them in a way for other prospective and current patients to see them. Doing this builds trust and acts as a further reminder of the services you offer. The main goal is to keep your name and services fresh in the minds of your current and future patients.
Marketing your practice is an ongoing task. Your practice marketing efforts may not have immediate effects on every patient, but they will over time. An informed patient, who understands risk factors and the services you offer, will recognize symptoms early and seek your expertise.
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