The Patient Attraction Podcast

Having trouble watching this video? Click here.

Patient Attraction Episode 1120

The Great Recession forced many baby boomer dentists to delay their retirement plans. But the effects of that downturn lingered for years, and it’s only been in the last 2 years or so that dentists’ incomes have begun to recover. That may not be a pressing concern for you right now, but the lesson from 2008 to 2010 should be clear. Any dentist’s retirement plans can be derailed if the economy goes south. After the break, I’ll tell you how you can insulate your dental practice against economic downturns. Stay tuned.

Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast™.
I’m Colin Receveur.
The lessons of the Great Recession are fading slowly while the country enjoys the longest economic boom in many decades.
But one thing is clear: History teaches that every boom is followed by a bust.
And when things go smash, people hoard money.
They opt for only maintenance dental care and defer or cancel any optional work.
People without enough money during a recession spend what they have on food, clothing, shelter, and utilities.
Any dental care moves way down the list.
That’s why dentists’ incomes nosedive during downturns.
Dentists who market to prospects who are strongly motivated by low price, specials, and insurance acceptance will be hit the worst.
Unfortunately, that includes most dentists, if not the vast majority.
It probably includes you.
Let’s be clear – I’m not saying that the sky is going to fall any time soon.
But the economic downturn, if not an outright recession, is coming.
It’s only a question of when, and whether you’ll be ready for it.
If your retirement projections are based on a certain income level and practice growth per year, those projections will need to be reset – unless you take steps soon to safeguard your practice.
Certainly you should consult your accountant, financial advisor, and attorney.
But those steps alone won’t assure your future.
Changing how you market your practice, and the prospects you’re marketing to, is the solution.
In almost any market, a significant segment of prospects are willing to pay more for the right dentist.
And they have the resources to keep paying even in the face of an economic downturn.
Those better patients aren’t attracted by discounts, specials, and low prices.
You won’t attract them by pursuing traditional dental marketing.
You have to give them reasons to choose you over your competitors.
You have to position yourself as the best and only logical choice to solve their dental problems.
You’ll need a strong and consistent media presence ...
A website with excellent navigation and helpful, authoritative content ...
High-quality doctor and patient testimonial videos ...
And dedicated, condition-specific email streams.
That’s a lot of work, probably too much for most dentists.
But everything I’ve just mentioned, and much more, is what SmartBox provides for more than 550 dentists on 3 continents.
SmartBox dentists not only get more patients; they get better patients.
Those better patients will help protect their practices against the next economic downturn.
Learn what our industry-leading Patient Attraction System™ can do for your practice.
Visit smartboxdental.com and reserve your free Practice Discovery Session™.
Free means free – no cost, no obligation of any kind.
In exchange for a small amount of your time, we’ll show you a Patient Attraction System™ that can double or even triple your practice.
And you’ll receive your free, individualized Patient Attraction Roadmap™.
You can get more patients, more profits, and more freedom.
And you can breathe easy when things go smash again … and they will.
Because you’ll know that your retirement plans can remain on track.

View Details

Play Video

Having trouble watching this video? Click here.

Patient Attraction Episode 1119

Testimonials and online reviews are the new “social proof” for dentists. They take the place that used to be occupied almost exclusively by word-of-mouth referrals. But just like in-person recommendations vary in their quality and believability, so do your testimonial videos. Most dentists have too many low-quality, generic testimonial videos that don’t speak to the specific needs and wants of dental prospects. After the break, I’ll tell what makes a great dental testimonial video. And I’ll show you how to get more specific testimonials that will influence more prospects to choose your practice.

I’m Colin Receveur, CEO of SmartBox.
Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast™.
Dental patient testimonial videos are a mainstay of online marketing.
Practically every dentist has a website featuring those testimonials.
More and more dentists are discovering YouTube as a platform for their testimonials.
Videos harness the power of sight and sound to influence prospects to choose you.
But way too many dental testimonial videos miss the mark.
To be fair, it’s hard to go wrong with “Gee, everybody at X Dental is wonderful” videos.
But if that’s all you have on your website or YouTube channel, you’re not getting everything you could be.
Here’s why: People with dental problems – not just those looking for routine care – have specific concerns.
They’re looking for solutions to those problems.
“Gee whiz” testimonials don’t speak to those specific concerns.
They certainly don’t provide the answers that your prospects need and want.
Your online marketing has to help prospects make the mental leap from problem to embracing the solution.
That’s not something you should leave to chance.
It really doesn’t matter what kind of practice you have.
Specialized practices such as orthodontics or cosmetic dentistry treat many, many patients with specific dental issues.
But almost every general practice has performed emergency dentistry or come up with an elegant solution to a patient’s specific need.
Those are the stories your prospects need and want to hear – directly from the patients themselves.
Your prospects want to know how those patients’ lives were improved through your actions.
They want to know that, like other patients, they can count on you and your staff to help them eat without pain, smile without embarrassment, and laugh freely.
Your prospects want to know that they can trust you to make their lives better.
That is the single most important point your marketing can accomplish.
It’s far more important than testimonials talking about how nice everyone is.
Nice is expected these days and does nothing to influence prospects to choose you.
It’s not always easy to get better testimonials.
A lot of dentists make mistakes in how the videos are shot.
A quick hallway interview shot on a handheld smartphone rarely comes off well.
Dentists also make mistakes in the timing of when they ask for the interview.
People who still have a mouth full of procaine are unlikely to say yes to appearing on camera.
Other mistakes include choosing people your prospects have trouble relating to, and failing to guide patients to tell a good and credible story.
The bottom line is that there are a lot of ways testimonial videos can go wrong.
Careful dentists plan extensively to get everything right in their testimonials.
That often includes extensive editing, because patients aren’t professional on-camera spokespeople.
It is a huge time commitment, but an effective testimonial video gives your prospects reasons to choose you.
On the other hand, a poorly done video gives them reasons to choose someone else.
Dr. Randy Schmidt, a Chicago-area orthodontist,

View Details

Having trouble watching this video? Click here.

Patient Attraction Episode 1116

You might think you’re getting a good number of new dental patients from your marketing. But have you ever wondered how many prospects you’re not getting? That includes prospects who are going to your competition because they’re not finding you online. Or because your online marketing just doesn’t answer their questions or give them reasons to choose you. Or because you need more consistency in how you approach the issue of attracting new dental patients. After the break, I’ll tell you how to gain consistency and new patients through the correct marketing approach. Stay tuned.

I’m Colin Receveur, CEO of SmartBox.
Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast™.
I know thousands of dentists, and I know how they promote their practices.
And based on my experience, I can tell you that it’s the exception when a dental practice has a consistent approach to marketing.
I’ve seen it all:
Dentists who try to attract big dental cases by advertising low price.
Dentists who try to be everything to everybody but wind up being very little to very few people.
Dentists whose online marketing contradicts their offline marketing.
Dentists who essentially do no marketing and wonder why they’re not getting enough new patients.
If there’s one thing that distinguishes most dentists’ approach to marketing, it’s inconsistency.
There’s a reason for that.
The vast majority of dentists market on price, discounts, and insurance acceptance.
They market that way because that’s what the other dentists in their area are doing.
Dentists who market on price wind up offering a variety of discounts and specials over the course of a year.
So they become the free-exam, free-X-ray, have-a-gift-bag, warm-blanket dentist.
Basically, they become nobody because they don’t have a firm online identity.
Those dentists pigeonhole themselves as “just another dentist.”
They’re not giving prospects any reason to choose them over the competition – which is increasing all the time.
So each dentist gets a smaller slice of the pie.
Just as a side note, it’s always amazed me how much dentists will spend, and keep spending, on crap marketing.
This is not the way to build your business.
You don’t need low-value patients with no loyalty to your practice.
But what are you doing to attract people who are willing to spend thousands or tens of thousands on implants, cosmetic dentistry, or full-mouth reconstruction?
Those better patients are a significant segment of almost every market.
But you can’t be the discount dentist and the high-end, preferred dentist at the same time.
If you truly enjoy an endless stream of routine exams and drill-and-fills, more power to you.
But if you’re serious about your practice’s success, you’ve got to stop marketing to everybody and market to the patients you want to attract.
That’s the essence of SmartBox’s industry-leading Patient Attraction System™.
We help more than 550 dentists on 3 continents get more patients, more profits, and more freedom.
SmartBox helps position dentists as the best and only logical choice to solve their prospects’ dental problems.
We position each dentist as the likeable, relatable, trustworthy dental expert.
We give them a consistent online identity and marketing approach.
That’s what we did for Dr. Thomas Feder of Belleville, Illinois.
Amazingly, he had done almost no marketing in nearly 40 years of practice.
But he needed better patients to realize his dream of transitioning out and enjoying his retirement.
Once he became a SmartBox dentist, here’s what he found.
He told us, “Our average case value has increased.
“People are coming in looking for dentures and implants.
“The practice is now overwhelming our dental lab.”

View Details

Having trouble watching this video? Click here.

Patient Attraction Episode 1115

At it’s core, dentistry is a trust-based business. Smile Direct Club is trying to change that model, asking patients to put their trust in a company rather than a dentist. However, all is not well in Smile Direct Club land. The company may be facing extensive investigation by a number of state dental associations and attorneys general. But is Smile Direct Club the tip of the spear when it comes to taking practicing dentists out of direct patient care? After the break, I’ll tell why the future of dentistry may be less certain than ever and how to prepare your practice to thrive.

Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast™.
I’m Colin Receveur.
Invisalign revolutionized the treatment of mild to moderate orthodontic problems.
The company opened up orthodontic treatment to any dentist who’s willing to complete their provider course.
All of a sudden, general dentists could offer clear aligner treatment for their patients.
And orthodontists felt the hit and are still feeling it.
Smile Direct Club is taking the clear aligner business a step further.
It offers significantly discounted clear aligners directly to the consumer.
The customer receives a kit that allows them to take their own dental impressions and ship them back to the company.
The aligners are produced using those impressions and sent back to the customer.
The customer can also go to one of nearly 30 “SmileShops” where teeth are digitally scanned rather than taking impressions.
Smile Direct Club has been in business for only about 3 years, but it’s already grown to over 1,000 employees and reportedly tens of thousands of customers.
It’s fair to say that the business model seems to be working.
And even Invisalign has taken note.
Invisalign is now Smile Direct’s exclusive supplier and owns a chunk of the company.
But it’s not all smooth sailing for Smile Direct.
The company has been plagued by delivery issues and customer complaints.
According to one source, there are also allegations that the company is having problems with customer service and product performance.
But most worrying is that the American Association of Orthodontists has filed complaints against the company in 36 states.
Those complaints allege that Smile Direct’s model is illegal and creates medical risks for patients.
At least 3 states have opened investigations, and Alaska’s dental board voted to send a cease-and-desist letter to the company.
For its part, Smile Direct claims to be a middleman in terms of delivering a product to consumers.
It also claims to facilitate contact between customers and licensed orthodontists who actually design the clear aligners.
It seems likely that the matter will be in the courts for a long time since Smile Direct’s model strikes at the very heart of dentistry: the relationship between the patient and a licensed dentist.
It’s anyone’s guess how this will play out, but it would be foolish not to think of the direct-to-consumer model as a taste of things to come.
As technology continues to develop, more and more patients will take advantage of the convenience and lower cost.
For instance, telemedicine is catching on in a number of states that have a medical practitioner shortage.
That doesn’t take the professional out of the equation, but it removes the in-person examination.
Warby Parker is now offering eyeglasses through a customer’s computer with no in-office exam needed.
That model may also be challenged down the road, but it’s clear that business is looking to profit by eliminating the on-site professional.
How will your dental practice respond to the challenge?
This is one time where you can get ahead of the curve and seize an advantage over your competition.
The direct-to-consumer “movement” offers lower price ...

View Details

Having trouble watching this video? Click here.

Patient Attraction Episode 1114

This is the last of a series of podcasts in which I’ve looked at how dentists can apply Robert Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Influence to get more new patients. Today’s podcast is on a subject near and dear to my heart – Consensus, or social proof, as it’s also called. Social proof is a powerful recruitment tool for dentists who want more new patients … if it’s handled right. Online reputation management is absolutely essential these days, because a handful of negative reviews can cause you to lose patients you’d otherwise get. After the break, I’ll be back to tell you how to make social proof work for you rather than against you. Stay tuned.

Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast™.
I’m Colin Receveur, CEO of SmartBox.
As the saying goes these days, if you’re not on Google, you’re nowhere.
Getting found online is crucial because that’s where more than 90 percent of prospects begin their search for a dentist.
But when prospects find you, what will they see people saying about you and your practice?
Patient reviews on your website, on Yelp, on Google +, and on other review sites constitute social proof.
Enough very positive reviews, and prospects will take that as confirmation that you’re the right dentist for them.
But online reputations these days are measured in fractions of stars.
Most review sites offer reviewers the chance to assign a star rating, usually from 1 to 5.
It takes very few 1-star ratings to knock down your overall rating.
And when prospects can choose between a 5-star dentist and 4.2-star dentist, which do you think they’ll select?
Many prospects don’t even read the reviews if the dentist’s rating is too low.
But a low rating is usually accompanied by negative reviews.
And when your prospects read those reviews, they’ll definitely click away and choose another dentist.
Dentists who ignore their online reviews and ratings are asking for trouble.
And yet, all too many of them do.
Managing your online reputation is essential, but it’s also an enormous time suck.
There are ways to make the job of overseeing your reviews easier.
You can set Google My Business to notify you automatically when a new review is posted.
You can do the same for Yelp and other review sites.
I recommend enabling those notifications, because a large part of recruiting patients online is interacting with them.
Be sure to thank everyone who leaves a positive review.
And emphasize that everyone who visits your practice can expect the same good experience.
But even more important is dealing with negative reviews.
You simply can’t afford to let those remain unaddressed.
But you also can’t afford knee-jerk reactions online.
Since bad online reviews can be personal, it’s often best to let someone else respond.
And you need to have a carefully considered plan in place before anyone from your practice addresses the review.
If at all possible, try to take the conversation offline.
If you can resolve the issue with the unhappy patient, consider asking them to post a retraction online.
So, interact with admirers and minimize the damage from disgruntled posters.
But the very best way to maximize your star rating is to request reviews from your patients.
The timing on asking is a bit sensitive.
If someone has been in the chair for an hour and still has a numb jaw when they’re walking out, that may not be the best time.
But you should have a follow-up system in place for every patient.
The more positive social proof you can present, the more new patients you can expect to schedule an appointment.
SmartBox dentists don’t have to spend hours after the workday managing their online reputations.
We include advanced, comprehensive online reputation management services as part ...

View Details

Having trouble watching this video? Click here.

Patient Attraction Episode 1112

Who likes to be thought of as being inconsistent? Nobody, that’s who. Dr. Robert Cialdini, a pioneer in the area of interpersonal influence, has done extensive research into how people are influenced to make decisions. His principle of Consistency is used widely in advertising to influence prospects to make buying decisions. Dentists can go to school on his work and on the experiences of many, many marketers. I’ll be back after the break to tell you how to use Cialdini’s work to attract more patients to your practice.

I’m Colin Receveur.
Thanks for watching the Patient Attraction Podcast™.
It’s been my experience that once people have committed to something, they’re unlikely to change their minds.
That’s particularly true if that commitment was made and witnessed by someone else.
That’s one of the psychological traits Dr. Cialdini was curious about and began investigating.
From his research emerged his principle of Consistency.
Consistency is sometimes called Commitment, but the basics are the same.
Once a public commitment to something has been made, people tend to act consistently with that commitment.
That’s something dentists can take advantage of in their marketing.
Let’s assume your website is showing up in local search results.
You’ve had the search engine optimization work done.
And you’ve got helpful information on your site written for your prospects’ level of understanding.
Now, will your prospects decide to book an appointment based on their first visit to your site?
Probably not, because there’s a lot of dental competition out there.
Once your prospect looks around your site, they’ll likely click away to one of your competitor’s sites.
That is, unless you give them a reason to learn more about you and your practice.
That’s where dental advertising lures come in.
You can offer something of value in exchange for their email address.
That something could be a free e-book written by you or a ghostwritten book.
It could be a white paper on a particular dental problem and solution, or a research article that laypeople will understand.
By agreeing to give up their email address for something of value, they’ve made a commitment.
And that commitment is to receive further information from you about their dental wants and needs.
The process of staying in front of your prospects via email is known as drip marketing.
You’ll need a series of emails about each particular dental problem or desire.
Typically, that series might run to between 7 and 10 separate emails.
Given the number of dental conditions you treat, writing all those emails is quite a large time commitment.
So that’s something you might want to outsource.
But once you have those emails in hand, you’ll need to send them out at carefully timed intervals.
Send emails too often, and you’re pushy.
Send them too seldom, and your prospects could be lost to a competitor.
This is an area where using an automated response system can keep you from making mistakes and save a huge amount of staff time.
With the right emails to the right patients at the right times, you’re continuing to influence them.
Since they’ve already committed to receive those emails, you can be reasonably sure they’ll read at least some of them.
And they’ll be more likely to choose you to solve their dental problems.
Dr. Michael Abernathy, founder of Summit Practice Solutions, knows the power of drip email marketing.
He said, “Automatically being able to drip on a dental patient through your website is just awesome.”
Taking full advantage of the principle of Consistency requires a strong web presence, carefully crafted email chains, and email automation.
All of those things I just mentioned are beyond the skill sets of most de...

View Details

I met Dr. Yar last year at the Profitable Dentist conference down in Destin, Florida with Dr. Woody Oakes. You might have heard of Yar as the crazy celebrity tooth collecting marketing expert that you might have heard bought John Lennon's tooth last year.

Dr. Yar Zuk and I hooked up and we've been doing some cool things together with toothache marketing and putting our brains together and giving dentists some real tools to pull in the kind of patients they're looking for to keep their schedules full and build up their practice.

<== Click play to listen!

Download Transcription (PDF)

View Details

Special guest Colin Receveur from SmartBox Web Marketing talks about how to unlock the mysteries of online marketing. Why are some Dr.'s offices having succes, while most others are struggling.

Has someone promised to get you on the first page of Google search and not delivered?

Take 50 mins and listen to what Colin has to say before spending another dime on marketing that is not getting you results.

Use this link to visit their site directly

Click here for the transcription (PDF) To learn more about Summit Practice Solutions click here. To learn more about DDS Strategies click here.

The Patient Attraction Podcast: Recent Episodes

SmartBox Dental Marketing