Uncategorized Archives | New Patient Attraction Automation | Increasing Practice Production

A heart attack at the park

This week, we are going to take a departure from our regular dental marketing and practice growth message format. There is no video because this story is better told in words. But there is a valuable lesson and confirmation what we do as dentists is not only changing smiles, but also the ability to save lives.

This tale is about a scary situation my family came across this past weekend.

As dentists, we are trained for emergency in OUR dental office. We have a plan as well as the necessary equipment and mediations on hand to deliver life saving care. But when we come across an emergency situation on the street, or in this case, in the middle of a public park- it is whole another ballgame!

Because it was a nice day this past Sunday my entire family, including the dog, went to the park to finally get outside after being cooped up for several days.

While we were there, a grandmother who had taken her 3 granddaughters to play appeared to be having an asthma attack. She was out of inhaler with severe breathing difficulties when we found her. The panic on her face was overwhelming.

Here she was in a public place alone, in dire need of help, and her young granddaughters were playing across the park unaware of what was happening.

She had started to call 911 but she couldn’t talk to tell them where she was.

Can you image how that must have felt?

When this happens in your office with a patient, you have a chart with their name, their health conditions, mediations and emergency contacts. In this situation, we had nothing. This was total stranger we knew nothing about in distress slumped over.

Ron and I were able to work with the dispatcher to help assess the situation. Just as the EMS team got there, she collapsed and lost consciousness as she went into cardiac arrest. She was holding on, literally for dear life, until she knew help was there and someone could assist with her grandchildren.

That’s one strong grandma!

We got her care, got the girls pulled away so they didn't have to see what was going on while my kids did their best to keep the granddaughters pre-occupied. We were able to locate the girls’ mother back at home to let her know what had occurred.

Grandmother got to the hospital and Mom met us at the park so her family could get to the ER to reunite with her. The EMS team was awesome and thanks us for being there to help.

I am so proud of my family at how cool and calm they were during the whole thing to help out. Everyone had a role and they executed it perfectly.

I believe there are no coincidences in life, or in business, even if we don’t understand them at the moment. All you can do is prepare yourself with the best information and develop your skills so you are ready for whatever comes.

-Ginger

Making Good Marketing Better Part 1

Part 1 of 4 part series.

This week we are going to dive into actual good print marketing examples from outside of the dental industry, dissect them, identify what is working, and how it these good examples are even BETTER.

Dr. Ginger is going to tear into her personal swipe files and give input, ideas, and shows how to add mobile marketing to drive prospects to your office to engage with patients and build relationship…on autopilot.

Watch the video below and see what you can take back to your office and use.

Best,

Ginger

Doing What You SAY You Are Going to Do?

My hubby, Ron, consults in dental hygiene offices around the country. We are the exact opposite of the typical husband/wife combo (female dentist with husband hygienist) in dentistry but it has given it unique insight into practice development and growth.

He went to hygiene school years after I opened my practice when we saw a huge demand for motivated, quality, patient care oriented hygienist. (He should have done it sooner. He is fantastic at it!)

We were at a point where things were really taking off in the practice but there was still a huge void in the hygiene department that we couldn’t turn around until we had an insider in hygiene steering the change. So Ron decided he was the one to do it and went to hygiene school.

We had a running joke because it is a common belief that some hygienists can be Prima Donnas that keep the office on high tension with their demands. But we had a “Prima Ron-na” in our office that was only there to treat patients, grow a successful clinical team, and contribute to the office’s success.

Ron sometimes comes home frustrated after a consulting visit and has stories about offices that are so close to achieving everything they want but lacking the one thing that is standing in their way. AND it has been there for years.

This obstacle is usually something moderate in size and more like a hurdle rather than a monstrous mountain. Yet…they don’t take action and get over it!

They think they need some kind of magic bullet to make change happen.

“What’s Your Magic Bullet?”

EVERYONE is always looking for that magic bullet. Everywhere. Every day.

The one simple thing you need to go to lose 20 pounds.

The trick you need to make an extra million dollars in the next 2 years.

The secrets to turn back the clock and look 15 years younger without plastic surgery.

Magazines rely on this to sell us glossy page dreams. The cosmetic industry is based on this whole concept to make women run to the cosmetic counter or the drugstore for another jar of glop.

And unfortunately, scammers are out there preying on our desires to make a quick exit with our money.

In reality, there isn’t One Thing "out there" that is going to solve our problems.

Because it’s “inside us” and we are our own magic bullet.

So many doctors want their teams to be motivated to grow the practice by recommending care that patients already needs. But often, the doctors will say that their team members “don’t like to sell or be pushy.”

I don’t know about you, but any medical professional who is in charge of treating me or any member of my family better always recommend the best option for our health! Period.

That’s not ‘selling’, that’s the standard of care and we demand it.

And that same health professional better remove all the obstacles to make sure my family or I can get that recommended best care.

They better have quality systems in place to make scheduling easy, well trained staff to answer our questions, pain control for all stages of treatment, and financial options to make care accessible.

These are all manageable hurdles for you in your practice with the proper systems and guidance to get there.

If you want change, you have to commit to change. By having the integrity to do for you what you say you want to do is the true magic bullet to any transformation.

That’s where Ron comes in during his visit. He sees the real problem. And he sees what’s hanging them up (and most of the time it’s all between their ears), gives the system to make sure everyone know what they are suppose to be going, builds their confidence to handle anything that comes along, and makes them accountable to each other for the office's success.

Change isn’t easy but it is manageable.

Having a road map and guide makes the journey easier sometimes. But you still have to be committed to the change.

Targeted, Focused Approach To Hitting Your Practice’s Goals

I just completed a major move and I am sitting here in my favorite chair in my new house taking a mental and physical break.

I enjoy dentistry and I enjoy marketing and practice development. But I found recently is that what your head and heart want aren’t always the determining factor of what you have the physical capabilities to do for your career.

I believe now God has other plans for me and he has forced me to take one path over another. To make a long story short, my body decided I couldn’t take the day-to-day demands of practicing any longer.

So this summer I said goodbye to one chapter of my life that has served me well, as I enter a whole new direction. And this new direction included a new city and a new environment.

As disappointing as it is to not to be able to treat the patients who have become extended members of my family, I now celebrate all the other patients I have an opportunity to indirectly help receive the care they need, want and deserve while helping their doctors have better practices/better lives.

No longer do I have to keep my eyes on two separate directions, but rather my focus is now like a laser-targeted missile on just one thing.

I have new goals and I am getting the opportunity to take what I’ve already learned and apply them to my new direction!

Life changes. But we don’t always change our goals. We are too busy living our lives by reacting to what’s going on around us like a lost tourist whooshed into rush hour traffic.

What’s are your goals? I’m sure you have them. They were ideas and objections we all have to achieve our dreams. But are they current? Are your goals on tract to what is going on in your life or are you still just zooming along driving mindlessly with the flow of traffic?

Only 3% of people have written goals. I imagine if you are reading this, you are probably in that group. If you’re not, then you should be.

Are you revisiting that goal list every day to keep it at the top of your consciousness?

Are your goals specific, targeted, and measurable? Brian Tracey says a 5 year old should be able to determine if you reached your goal or not because they should be so crystal clear and definable that even a child recognizes it.

What would your ideal day look like? Who would you spend it with and what would you do? How would you feel?

Most dentists say they want to increase their practice. But what is that number? How do you know when ‘you hit it?!’

What about your personal life? To say you want to be a better spouse or parent is not enough. What does that mean to you and your family? Is it spending individual time with each child or committing yourself to be at the dinner table with the family every night? Give yourself the exact wording so your goals jump off the page visually.

Focus and clarity are harder to find the busier we get. Life gets in the way. But if you want to get somewhere, you need to be honest with yourself where you are at first, so you know how to get where you want to be.

Because without direction, what’s the point of taking the journey of life…

Pet Passionate Patients are Pure Profits for Professions

Catering to Rover Isn’t Just For Veterinarians

According to Delivery Magazine (www.deliverymagazine.com), pet owners are one of the largest growing groups in the country.

Some important facts about this group that you might not fully appreciate:

· 22.5% of baby boomers own a pet
· Correlation between increased household income and pet ownership (people with money have pooches!)
· Average lifetime cost of a pet in America is $10,377 (they like to spend money on Fluffy)
· 23% of pet owners shop the internet for their pet

“The humanization of pets (being part of the family) is popular, especially among senior citizens and Baby Boomers. Those segments of the pet-owning demographics are more likely to spend on times that are “nice to have” vs. “need to have.” Kristen Levine, president, Fetching Communications.

The question isn’t IF you should be catering to this group to get their attention but rather HOW.

Since this group likes to humanize their pets, it’s time to use another method to get people’ attention. One of the easiest ways to build rapport with this group is have a column each month in your newsletter written from the doctor’s dog or cat that sent to patients and prospects. These are often humorous short ‘tails’ written in the animal’s ‘voice’ discussing upcoming events in the office or personal things about the doctor that the animal has observed. A photo of the pet seals the deal.

These newsletters could also be left at businesses where pet lovers already shop- pet store, veterinarians’’ offices, groomers, boarders, and the list goes on and on.

It’s pure fun and gives patients another areaway to relate to you and LIKE you.

If you aren’t one of majority that has a household pet, you can ‘adopt’ a mascot for the office from a staff members’ pet, a fish from the office fish tank…use your imagination.

Another easy idea with quick results is a joint venture with a local veterinarian. Once a year during February, (which is not only Children’s Dental Health Month, it is also Veterinary Dental Health Month, as well) we send out an endorse mailing to our patients recommending my veterinarian, who was also a patient of the office. We tell the story of our common concern for dental health and how he had been through a full month reconstruction on the patient side. Along with my letter, he included a letter who an invitation to come into his office during the month of February with a new patient introductory offer for veterinary dental services. This letter has a clear offer with a call to action for response.

To reciprocate, he also sends out a mailing to his client list endorsing me to his patients and recommending our office. That mailing includes a letter from me with an invitation to come in along with an offer for free teeth whitening during the month of February.

It was a win-win situation for all.

Brainstorm what ideas you can implement to appeal to animal lovers out there and attract this passionate group to your office.