Ask The Dental Practice Marketing Expert: How Do I Build Credibility With My Dental Advertising?

Dear Dental Practice Marketing Expert,

I am tired of having to offer discounts and such just to get new patients in the door. I want the patients to see how trustworthy, and honest I am, as well as how much experience I have (I've been in practice 35 years). How can I convey this through my dental advertising?

Signed, Average Frustrated Dentist

Dear Average Frustrated Dentist,

While it would be nice to simply go on the seniority principle when we promote dental practices, that is not the type of society we live in anymore.

Today's consumers are increasingly smart (no matter what Britney Spears and Paris Hilton may say) and are looking out for their best interests when shopping for anything. This includes dental care, and considering dental advertising.

With that being said, here are the five rules for building credibility in your dental marketing.

Credibility rule #1: What others say about you is 1000 times more convincing than what you say about yourself.

Using testimonials from current patients saying how good you are at what you do is much better than telling them yourself. Self promotion has it's place, but third party promotion is always better. Try and integrate this into your dental practice marketing strategy, and see what happens.

Make sure the testimonials are sincere and convey a direct benefit to the consumer. A testimonial saying "You're great!" is not as good as "I enjoy coming to your practice because you always take the time to answer my questions!"

Credibility rule #2: Nobody cares about the letters.

I call this the show off rule, because it has turned into a contest over who can put the most letters behind their name. You see it all the time in dentistry, John Smith, DDS, MBA, MAGD, FAACD.

Nobody knows what those mean, and thus they are ignored. Sure, you have the qualifications to put them after your name, but save it for your business card. If anything, keep it simple and just use DMD, or DDS. Those, although not known by everyone, are the most commonly recognized acronyms in the dental profession.

Credibility Rule #3: Third party endorsements are huge.

Take the concept of a testimonial one step further, and you have a third party endorsement. This includes getting a separate non-related party to write about, or feature you as an expert.

This includes writing an article for the newspaper, or getting featured in an article.

It really doesn't matter what this article says, just the fact that you give a quote about an issue, or have your practice featured in a charity event adds to your credibility. This may be more time consuming, and costly, but it is well worth it to be labeled as an expert.

Credibility Rule #4: Educate to excess

You need to educate people so they can make better choices. Writing articles for newspapers, speaking for groups, or anything else you can do to get your name and mind in front of people.

This should be simple information. A report like "Seven signs you may need a crown" is a good one, and would instantly make you look like the crown expert. This not only builds your credibility, but people will pay more to see the "expert."

This also goes for your patient newsletter. Put good solid information in there that is easy for the regular person to understand. Then, if one of your patient's friends has a problem, your patient can say "Oh, Dr. Smith wrote about that in your patient newsletter, you should go see him." Plus, if a patient is looking for additional services, they can learn from the newsletter which is right for them.

Credibility Rule #5: Don't be afraid to give them the test drive

Finally, as the saying goes, "Don't tell me, show me." One of the best ways to prove how nice, competent, gentle, and kind you are is to give a test drive. This means giving a special offer so the new patients can come and experience for themselves your credibility.

Once they se it from their own eyes, they are more likely to return, and refer their friends. Don't be afraid to give them a small discount to get them in the door, then treat them like a celebrity, whether they are or not. They new patient will realize how credible you are very quickly.

With these five rules in your dental marketing arsenal, you should have all the credibility you need to run a smooth sailing dental practice. Realize that these five rules are powerful in and of themselves, but if you combine all five of them, you can crank up your credibility and believability to levels previously unseen, and you will be rewarded.

About the Author

James Erickson is the President of EMC Dental Marketing which gives Dentists a resource for turn-key dental marketing programs and dental practice marketing education including new patient attraction, and internal marketing systems. Visit www.EMCdental.com and get a free practice
building kit sent directly to your home or office.<

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Various Forms of Internet Based Marketing

With the advent of the internet, there came various forms of marketing used to be able to advertise ones products or service and to make a home based business or other business a going concern.What one is trying to do with internet based marketing is to create strategies where there will be an increase in the level of sales and also where goals of a business can be achieved.It is not only of benefit to corporations but is also of benefit to private individuals and home based internet businesses.

So what are some of the types of internet based marketing?

Network Marketing

If you have a new product that promises to be one many people will be interested in, it is possible to set up an internet marketing strategy around that product.

Or for the less dynamic individuals you can become a distributor.As a form of marketing this first came into being in the United States about 50 years ago with Amway.With network marketing one can have a network of distributors of a product where you are building a team under you and the larger your team and the more active they are in promoting the product, the more successful you will be.You are basically forming a chain of sales people under you.The payment plans for network marketing companies vary and are set up in different ways.These often are worldwide affairs.

Email Marketing

One can use email marketing to promote and advertise their product.

There are companies that have leads that they have generated by surveying people or getting opt-in lists where people are interested in a particular product.One can email to these leads or have a service do it for you.Today due to the amount of spam generated, one has to use judgment and discretion so as not to be involved in spamming.Email has probably lost a good amount of its effectiveness due to this aspect, however email marketing is still a way that one can get his message out there about his product or service.

Viral Marketing

The concept of viral marketing is to get people to pass along information about a product or service and by word of mouth spread it far and wide.

In the past this was mainly by providing a sample.Today it includes things like videos, ebooks or text messages.The word viral is related to the word virus with the same concept of spreading like a virus.The idea in terms of the internet is to get it to spread from computer to computer.It is another successful tool one can use to advertise.

Internet marketing has advantages of being able to get your product known at minimal expense or with any budget you see fit.As long as you see the results of your efforts that is what counts.You also have ways to track how your efforts are doing and adjust them so they are doing better such as with the use of Google Analytics.

So the world is really open to you if you put your nose to the grindstone and get to work promoting and learning all there is to know about internet marketing.Most people do not stick with it long enough or make the needed effort to start making the money they desire on the internet, but there is really no such thing as failure, only an insufficient push through to success despite what some or even many may tell you.

About the Author

Gregg Forscher creator of Discount Web Content Provider

has a web content membership site and

guides for internet marketing.

http://discountwebcontentprovider.com

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4 Reasons Traditional Advertising Doesnt Work for Law Firm Marketing

One thing is certain: if your law firm is going to continue to grow, it must grow its client base as well. Clients come and clients go but not all clients come back again. As a rule of thumb, people try to avoid putting themselves in situations that even require an attorney. Most repeat clients only need your services on a spatial basis and that is not enough work to create the growth you want. This is the reason you have implemented your law firm marketing program; to accommodate this growth required in your client base.

Is the law firm marketing program you are currently following filling that void adequately Chances are, not as well as you would like. The question is why is not producing like you had hoped Does this frustration seem all too familiar to you If so, you are not alone. The growing pains of expanding any law practice go with the territory. Now you must decide where to go from here. If your law firm marking plan is based on a traditional advertising model, that may be a large part of the problem you are experiencing. This type of advertising simply doesnt work well for law firm marketing.

Traditional advertising as a law firm marketing plan drains your budget, costs many hours of time and leaves your waiting room virtually empty. Does this frustration seem all too familiar to you If so, you are not alone. The growing pains of expanding any law practice go with the territory. Now you must decide where to go from here.

Successful marketing requires diligence, patience and some good old-fashioned creativity in order to turn prospects into clients. For this reason, you must first determine who are your most likely clients and determine the best way to reach them.

Legal clients are seeking a trained professional who can learn the facts, present them to others and convince the offending party that their clients deserve what is being asked of them. Legal clients are not the same as those targeted by a car salesman or an insurance company. Legal clients have specific needs that can only be met by your law firm.

Here are four reasons why regular advertising methods dont work for you and what you can do to change it:

1. In many cases, the owner of the law firm who placed the ad ends the campaign too early. Advertisements take a long time to produce noticeable results. If you have only just begun to advertise your legal services, you cannot expect clients to come knocking at your door after the first week or two. Until they begin seeing your marketing efforts
consistently, they have no idea that you even exist.

2. It is vital that you find ways to measure and compare the results of your law firm marketing efforts. Paying no attention to how your marketing efforts are working for you is just a waste of your time and money. You must test campaigns against each other to discover which ones work well and which ones you should abandon. Unfortunately, results from advertising are notoriously difficult to measure. Therefore due diligence is required to separate the seed from the chaff. This goes for the actual determining of who will be a good prospective client and who is just a bad prospect.

3. Often, the downfall of an advertisement is that it misses its purpose. This purpose is to create a desire within your target market to buy your product or service over and over again. It is not to make people laugh, win awards, use special effects or to be clever.

4. Many companies tend to advertise only when they are desperate for new clients. Your law firm marketing has already fallen short of its mark if you have reached the point where you need new clients in order to stay afloat. The best time to advertise and reach more target markets is when you really dont need them. When you are at the top of your game and have a case back-log, this is when you would do well to seek additional clients.

A lawyer who shows genuine interest and concern for a clients needs and is willing to work them into a busy schedule is much more likely to win over a new client than one who is barely treading water and has no cases in the works. A quiet office, an empty calendar and no phones ringing tell prospective clients that you arent busy because you arent that good.

The best way to continue putting forward your best efforts in the realm of successful law firm marketing is to ask yourself this question: If you were looking for a good, skilled and reputable lawyer, where would you begin looking Think long and hard about the answers that first come to mind. These are likely the places most people seeking legal counsel would go to first; that is where your marketing efforts must also be prominent.


About the Author

Stephen Fairley is CEO of The Rainmaker Institute is the nations largest law firm marketing company that specializes in helping small law firms generate more and better referrals and create a 7 figure law practice. Over 6,000 attorneys have benefited from our proven Rainmaker Marketing System. Attorneys: claim your FREE legal marketing CD 7 Keys to a 7 Figure Law Practice at

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