|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
Love My Dentist
I love my dentist! When is the last time you could say thatabout yours? True, dentists do tend to get a bad rap (remember Steve Martin's sadistic character in the movie, Little Shop of Horrors?). But even real-life visits to the dentist aren't high on the list of relaxing things to do. So what does my dentist have to do with marketing? Everything.And the reasons why my dentist has more private pay clientsthan they can handle and is a referral-receiving machine, aremarketing lessons we can all take to the bank. This is not so much about how to market a dental practice, asit is an illustration of how smart marketing strategy canpermeate every aspect of a busy professional service firm. During my last appointment, Dr. Penski and I talked about herpractice and approach to marketing. Here's what I learned: Clear Positioning: Fresh out of Georgetown University's Dental School, shecouldn't get funding for her vision of a practice that wouldcater to women. In her words, "Anger was a great motivator," soshe set out to fulfill her dream by catering to private-payprofessional women and moms, two very influential forces when itcomes to how families spend their dental dollars. From the start, she and her business partner knew they wouldbest serve this niche by offering "dentistry with a caringtouch." This vision permeates everything, setting a baseline forhow they package and promote their services, their approach tosales, the care they provide, and day-to-day performance forthe entire staff. Thoughtful Packaging: Dr. Penski explained how they created their practice "identity"on a dime. Over dinner with spouses, the couples discussed howto "package" the new practice including uniforms, office decor,business stationary, and welcome brochure. A husband suggested they use the symbol of a fern, since it was "old, natural, and graceful -- just like they were!" The silhouette of a fern, plucked from Dr. Penski's garden and created on her copy machine, shows up everywhere. Nature is also the theme in the waiting room where you canrelax browsing nature art books, listen to soothing spa musicand a fountain, and enjoy an herbal neck wrap. The caring touchis reinforced with an album bursting with patient letters, babyannouncements, wedding photos, and thank you cards. A photoalbum of before and after shots demonstrates credibility in yetanother way. Smart Promotion: I found Dr. Penski on the Washingtonian Magazine list of topdentists. A smart place to appear, if you're catering toprofessional women in DC. I immediately knew something wasdifferent when the receptionist told me that my firstappointment would be for the doctor to get to know me first, aswell as assess my dental needs. The day after I made my first appointment, I received a "Welcometo our Practice" package, that included a simple but sincerewelcome brochure, medical and insurance forms to completebefore my appointment, a health assessment that also asked me,"If there was one thing you could change about your smile, whatwould it be?" and clear payment policy. All of these things served to set a standard, manage myexpectations, welcome me, and connect with me before myappointment. It was also a smart way to start up-selling meeven before my first visit. Sophisticated Persuasion: The practice takes a phased approach to bringing a new patienton board. This is also a sophisticated way to build trust and encourage further use of their services. The first appointment was all about assessment and relationship-building. In addition to the most thorough, tooth-by-tooth assessment and set of x-rays I've ever experienced, Dr. Penski took her time getting to know me as a person, about my background, and my concerns or fears about going to the dentist. When I mentioned an interest in whitening my smile, she talked me out of it, showing me how itwould look unnatural. My trust in her credibility and interestin my wellbeing continued to deepen. I asked Dr. Penski why, in 30+ years of regular dental care,was this the first time I'd ever received this thorough of acheck-up? Her response: they break all the prescribed rules forhow much time to spend with each patient, which gives them thefreedom to be as thorough as possible. The business model works because they spend more time withhigher-paying clients, who specifically value the approach Dr.Penski and her partner take. They don't have to make up forlower insurance reimbursements with a higher volume ofpatients. There is an overall atmosphere of calm, nurturingfocus on each patient. Everyone wins. Before leaving, my second and third appointments were set upfor cleaning and another minor procedure. I was up-sold on thespot and happy about it! Relationship-Building Performance: Dr. Penski explained that the cornerstone to the practice istheir daily all-staff meeting. Held every morning, they discusseach patient coming in that day as a whole person: her dentaltreatment, what's going on in her life, what issues or fearsshe might have about today's procedure, and other things thatmatter to her experience and treatment. The meetings serve tocenter and refresh the doctors and staff every day, so thatthey're really focused on each person as an individual when shearrives. The caring approach and relationship-building performancecontinued with a follow-up call to see if I had any questionsfrom my first appointment and to provide me contact info for anew doctor referral I mentioned needing as I was leaving. Never did I think I'd become a raving fan of my dentist, butthere you have it! When I asked Dr. Penski about what they specifically do tomarket the practice, she said, "We don't have to market!" Thetruth is, they market every day because of how they choose torun their practice. Here are some ideas you can borrow to create your own raving fans: 1) Pick a clear niche that you really want to serve and goafter it. You've got to really love your niche, or your efforts to penetrate this niche will ring hollow and fall flat. As important: make sure your niche has money to spend and is willing to pay for what you can deliver. 2) Think of ways you can start the marketing process before youeven meet new prospects. How do you want them to first knowabout you (i.e., on the Top 10 List of something that matters to your target audience)? What will build your perceived credibility in the eyes of your target audience (i.e., the album of patient thank you notes and photos in the waitin room)? Surprisingly, Dr. Penski's practice does not have a website,which is an essential marketing tool for any professionalservice firm! But that doesn't stop them from doing the samethings offline through low-cost printed materials and othercredibility-raising, trust-building tools. It's how you usethese tools that matters. 3) One you've got their attention, what can you do, say or sendthat will invite prospects to connect with you and set the standardthat you are different (i.e., a Welcome Package,self-assessment or maybe a "Checklist to Help You Pick the RightCPA for Your Business")? 4) Be consistent. Does what your firm stands for permeateeverything you say, do, offer, print, show and produce? Youdon't have to have a big marketing budget to infuse your visioninto everything you do. 5) Invest in relationships. Would you rather have as manyhigher-paying, appreciative clients as you choose or beconstantly running to keep up with lower-paying,high-maintenance volume? It's a choice you have. 6) Pay attention to the details. Clients who are willing to paygood money for your professional services will not stick aroundif you don't attend to the details. Dr. Penski's daily staffmeeting is her vehicle for making sure nothing falls throughthe cracks. What's yours? No website, home-grown graphic design, far fewer patients perhour than recommended, chatty staff and personal relationshipswith patients... Is this any way to run a professional service firm? You bet! (c) 2004 TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Small Business Marketing Tip - Focus on a Niche or Target Market I think selling and marketing today often feels a bit like talking to a brick wall and that in interesting metaphor to help grasp the importance of niche marketing especially when it comes to small business marketing. Imagine for a moment that you are attacking that brick wall with a hammer, randomly hitting it everywhere. What would be the effect? Practically no effect at all. You might knock off a few chips but come back a day or so later, there will be no evidence you were even there. Telemarketers Dont Like Them? Heres An Idea For Ya! Telemarketers... ooohhh... I'll bet we've all got a nice story to tell about these guys & gals don't we? Secrets of Trade Show Success The ropers at Annie Oakley's Real Western Dudette Ranch were all riding high in the saddle. It was just before their first ecotourism and adventure travel trade show in Chicago, and they just knew they would rope in big sales. Get Results: Start with Your Marketing Message and Objective Recently I was talking with a very bright traditional marketer on the value of integrating Internet marketing into an enterprise's marketing mix. Personally, I have witnessed significant and measurable increases in the online results of an enterprise when they include traditional marketing strategies like direct mail, radio, television or publicity with their internet marketing strategies. Make Your Marketing Solve a Problem You may be engaged in a marketing activities that are working against you. Or, at the very least, are making sales more difficult. It's a common problem - marketing that focuses on what your company can DO and what your company KNOWS and how much experience you HAVE. Assumption Based Marketing Vs. Fact Based Marketing One of the most common mistakes in marketing is making decisions based on assumptions rather than fact. You think of an idea for a marketing piece and believe that it is a great idea. Stretching Your Marketing Dollars--7 Cheap and Easy Ways to Market on a Budget Just because you have to stretch your marketing dollars doesn't mean their effectiveness will decrease. The easiest marketing solution is often to simply throw money at a problem. But that is rarely the most effective. When Businesses are forced to use creativity and ingenuity to market on a budget, that is when some of the best results happen. Go Guerrilla Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term guerrilla marketing, which I define as low-cost, creative and typically self-implemented public relations techniques. The Secret to 100% Success With Your Marketing There's a secret to marketing, which is so simple, yet so effective once you learn it and apply it, you'll be amazed at the great results you can produce. This secret will prevent you from failing with your marketing pieces. 25 Ways To Make Your Next Direct Mail Campaign Work This list contains 25 powerful strategies to improve your direct mail results. It would be wise to use this as a checklist to ensure you've included as many as possible in your advertising. Any one of these strategies could measurably boost your response. How many of these are you using? Take It To The Customer In the past, purchasing ad space was the solution to every entrepreneur's marketing challenge. Then it was direct mail, followed by telemarketing. But with advertising and postage costs on the rise, these tactics have lost some of their appeal. Color Part 2: Formats and Systems There are several color formats and systems available for mixing and specifying colors. Here, we explain three of the most common systems: RGB, CMYK, and Pantone colors. How To Market Effectively Even If No One Understands What You Do So how do you effectively market your product or service when one knows anything about them because you're in a new and emerging industry? How can you expect to get customers if no one understands what it is that you do? Build your Trade Show - Virtually Virtual trade shows are gaining momentum as a way to encourage participation in the event - both live and online. Here are a few ideas to help you expand your trade show - virtually. Ditch Coupons Before Customers Ditch You Everyone wants to feel like they're getting a good deal. Merchants often attempt to capitalize on this desire through coupon offers, rebates, and "special discounts." Coupons have become the promotional drug of choice to woo more business from new and old customers alike. Unfortunately, coupons can destroy customer relationships almost as fast as they are made. Break Even On Your Next Direct Mail Campaign...And Still Generate Huge Profits With direct mail, you can break even and still claim success. The reason for this can be understood only when determining the lifetime value of each customer brought in and the likelihood of those customers responding to subsequent offers. Here is a concrete example to illustrate my point. Business In 2010: A New Face of Marketing The term "internet marketing" was virtually non-existent a short 8 years ago, now it is a growing phenomenon that is raking millions every year. Because of this expanding industry, the internet landscape it changing. Where are the changes going to be? I fully expect a growth in interactive end-user experiences - an online environment catering to the individual preferences of a singular visitor. I also foresee a massive change in the way we market online. A change could include "personalized" advertisements embedded so deeply into the product that the user does not realize it as an ad. Adapting Blog Technologies To Corporate E-Newsletters Every January, trade publications put out a list of predictions for the coming year. They discuss products, services and trends that they think will change the way business is done, labeling these "disruptive technologies." The idea of disruptive technologies comes from Clayton Christensen's 1997 book, The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. A disruptive technology is a method, procedure, skill, device, or material that redefines the competitive standards. Note that the technology doesn't have to be a physical item and that it often forces us to re-examine the way we work. InfoWorld's list of disruptive technologies for 2003 included open source, self-service CRM, digital identity, and my personal favorite, Weblogs. How can a simple, Web-based journal be disruptive? For starters, it's worth describing what a Weblog is. Basically, a Weblog or "blog" is a personally created, online, time-stamped web page that includes the thoughts, ideas, and comments of the "blogger." The musings are usually brief, but they are published frequently and consistently. People can subscribe to receive the blog updates via e-mail. Often, the blogger is an expert on the subject he/she is discussing. At first glance, it doesn't appear that blogs would be at all disruptive. So why all the hype? If we look closely at the structure and intent of blogs as a communications tool, we can see some powerful ideas at work. Blogs are a direct, one-to-many vehicle for communicating ideas. They expand an individual's ability to communicate. They are fresh and timely. The blogger, in order to maintain interest, must communicate often. Blogs enable a single person to share ideas, insights, and useful knowledge with an audience. Thanks to the Web, the audience can be a global one. Whenever a new tool or process-such as e-mail- expands communications, the effects are far-reaching and dramatic. Even though blogs have been around for 3-4 years, they could be the next big thing. Blogs Are The "Real Voice"Two important characteristics of blogs are that they are written by a person who is knowledgeable and passionate about the topic, and that they are written in a "real voice." This is a cosmic shift from the marketing and public relations materials that are the staple of business communications. Often, when information goes through a formal marketing or PR process, the end result is an attractive, expensive, stale, diluted document written in corporate speak. This result is generally due to the processes that evolved to accommodate the costs and standards of print technology, rather than to the incompetence or malevolence of corporate communicators. The edge, the authenticity, and the voice of the professional speaking to his fellow professionals is lost. Blogs offer the human voice that can be loud, controversial, and even wacky. But the realness of the blog inspires trust and piques people's curiosity. A blog can create a community and a dynamic discussion. If you are a product manager working in the chemical products industry, chances are that you would rather hear about the real experiences of other product managers in your industry than read a glossy marketing piece put out by the marcom department. Blogs fit this communications requirement perfectly. Blogs Are SimpleWeblogs are easy for people to publish, read and respond to. They can foster a community of like-minded individuals and be the catalyst for spirited discussions. Blogs are an inherently proactive form of communications. Weblog participants can subscribe to receive scheduled postings to the blog. Weblogs are inexpensive to produce and they can include a variety of multimedia content (audio, video, files, etc.) and hypertext links that add value to the discussion. Blogs Empower The IndividualThere are a host of tools on the Internet that make blogging a snap! Blogs empower a single person to capitalize on the reach and ubiquity of the Web. And they don't require the investment or recurring costs of print technologies. Blogs Empower The EnterpriseBlogs empower the knowledgeable people within a company to share their insights, know-how, and expertise. The value to a corporation is that this knowledge can be organized, distributed, and leveraged to increase the value of different product and service offerings to the customer. If a corporation is going to use a blog, however, it should understand that controlling the content of the discussion is difficult. If you want an authentic exchange, you have to be willing to accept the stone-throwing and critical comments that often occur in a blog. This requires extending trust and giving up some of the control a company would normally have when it publishes a press release or hosts its own online forum, for example. The upside is that people will listen to a real voice. Adapting Blog Concepts To Your Newsletters You can adapt blog technologies to your corporate electronic newsletters by taking advantage of the underlying concepts. You can, for example: * Publish a small amount of well-organized information frequently and regularly * Include content from individuals who are knowledgeable and passionate about their work* Make it easy for your employees to communicate directly in their own, human voice* Respect the reader by making sure your e-newsletter provides value and that he/she wants to receive it. E-newsletters geared towards educating a marketplace, rather than those focused on advertising or marketing, turn out to be particularly effective. E-newsletters offer an affordable, direct way for the experts in a company to communicate with an audience. This means that a product manager or an engineer can enhance the flow of information and make it more accessible to those who want it. Think of your channel and the information needs of your partners. Your company has a wealth of information that would help them sell your products more effectively. There is much insight within your partner community that could be leveraged throughout the channel. And your technical experts and engineers have critical knowledge and understanding that everyone could utilize. What's often missing is an easy way for the "know-how" keepers to capture their knowledge, organize it, and deliver it. The best e-newsletters are written in a real voice, not in corporate speak. Two years ago, the book The Cluetrain Manifesto shook up the business community (see http://www.cluetrain.com/book.html). The revelation? That business is about humans. As Wall Street Journal columnist Thomas Petzinger Jr. writes in the foreword: "I was dumbstruck. There in a few pages, I read a startlingly concise summary of everything I'd seen in twenty-one years as a reporter, editor, bureau chief and columnist for my newspaper. The idea that business, at bottom, is fundamentally human. That engineering remains second-rate without aesthetics. That natural, human conversation is the true language of commerce. That corporations work best when the people on the inside have the fullest contact possible with people on the outside." It turns out that the human "voice" is an underserved or ignored need. In a world of 6+ billion inhabitants, the individual craves to speak and to be heard. References Blogs As Disruptive Tech: How Weblogs Are Flying Under The Radar Of The Content Management Giants, By John Hiler, CEO, Webcrimson, http://www.webcrimson.com/ourstories/blogsdisruptivetech.Htm Making Room For Disruptive And Emergent Technologies, By Hugh Blackmer, Science Librarian, Washington & Lee University, http://home.wlu.edu/~blackmerh/sabb/nitle2.html* Blogs As Disruptive Innovation: What A Brave New World Blogging Is Building!, by Dr. James V. McGee, Professor, The Kellogg School Of Management, http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2002/05/15.html Weblogs At Harvard Law, Bookmark List For ABCD Weblogs Meeting, By Dave Winer, http://Blogs.Law.Harvard.Edu/Stories/Storyreader$199 The Top 10 Wild and Wacky Ways to Market Yourself for Big Visibility In today's competitive world of business, it takes moxie and pizazz to sell a great product, idea, or service. This list will provide you with ten unusual and creative marketing strategies which will help you to stand apart from the competition and to increase your visibility. Small Business Pricing: Setting A Price For Your Product / Service The importance of pricing can not be underestimated as incorrect pricing can often result in the failure of a business. New businesses often make the mistake of either charging too little or too much for their product or service. So to help you avoid making one of these mistakes, the following section will outline some of the guiding principles of price determination. Price is a key part of marketing. Setting prices is called pricing.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
