Chris Barrow – International Dental Business Coach Part Three
In parts one and two Chris Barrow covered the three critical services offered by a dental business coaches. In this article we will delve further into the three tiers of Dentistry and the impact of dental marketing.
Dentistry is a 3 Tier Business
Dentistry as a business can be broken up into 3 tiers, each leading onto the next and understanding these levels can help you attract patients in Australia:
1. Emergency Dentistry
The first type of patient will likely walk in on their own accord. These patients’ primary concern is getting rid of any pain they are in or fixing something that is broken.
Pain relief and functional care is a service that patients seek out voluntarily and the best strategy our dental marketing business coaches at Dental Focus recommend for this is that you be visible online. A quick organic Google search of “Emergency dentist Edinburgh” for example, can lead to 20-25 new inquiries each month for the practice that comes up on page 1.
2. Long Term Care / Preventative Dentistry
Once you have solved the patient’s problem in tier 1, the opportunity to move them to tier 2 is open.
A simple question like “Now that we have taken care of you and gotten you out of trouble, why not stick around? – perhaps become a member of a long term care plan.” keeping patients once you have helped them is important and making them understand the importance of preventative care will keep them coming back.
3. Cosmetic Dentistry
In order to move the patients that are in tier 2 to tier 3, you need to have a conversation about what is offered in cosmetic dentistry, and how it could possibly help them. Perhaps asking “Do you have any events coming up in your life?” could lead to a conversation about orthodontics for a future bride, or whitening for a photoshoot. Different patients will be interested in different procedures, perhaps it’s the Millennial who is interested in whitening while a professional person in their 30’s would benefit from invisible braces. Someone in their 50’s may need implants or restorative work and an elderly person in their 70’s could require a permanent set of dentures.
Whatever the age of the patient or the reason they may need or want cosmetic dentistry it is important to remember that the point of the procedure is to make them more confident. Improving self-confidence is the key to converting long term care patients to cosmetic procedures.
What are patients looking for?
You attract patients in the UK and Australia by being attractive. It sounds simple enough but understanding what is considered attractive and to whom is important and fundamental to dental marketing.
Firstly patients have to be able to find you, the SEO we offer at Dental Focus will make this possible but once they find you it is up to you to be attractive, the first impression of what you do and the kind of people you serve will result in ideal and relevant patient inquiries:
What patients are asking themselves when they click on your website or social media pages is; “Do people like me, go to a practice like this?” – can they imagine themselves in your chair and waiting room? Would they fit in? A website with pictures of smiling children at their first dental appointment is not going to appeal to the professional in the city. Likewise, a 21-year-old Zoomer looking to straighten her teeth is not going to spend time on a website where it looks like geriatrics are being fitted for dentures.
They will want to know if “enough people like me have been here.” And have enough people like them given a good account of their experience? Dental marketing and third party media in Australia helps patients to make these decisions. So knowing who you want to target and how is very important and something that a dental business coach can help you with.
Book your free Discovery Consultation to explore your needs and situation together with us, start growing your business and attracting more patients. Call us on (03) 8362 3319 or send us an email to get in touch today!