This article is written for doctors who are starting a new practice, opening a new office and for doctors experiencing declining new case starts / slow growth.
There are fundamentally three areas to acquire new patients:
1. GP Referrals
2. Patient Referrals
3. Other – (marketing)
What we know:
For many Orthodontists referrals from GPs are declining or difficult to get started.
Patient Referrals are unpredictable or slow to build momentum. In general, it is difficult to control "the rate" at which someone will refer you.
Conclusion: If case start levels are to be maintained or growth is to occur, lost referral volume must be replaced or new volume must be stimulated. The only logical option for growth must be generated from the Marketing category.
1. GP Referrals - the hard facts
A segment of the GP community is becoming competitors and providing their patients with orthodontic services.
In some areas, possibly because of liability concerns, GPs are referring more than one Orthodontist. This is not good if you were the doctor with the monopoly.
There is a generational bias that exists in the industry. As older dentist retire, established Orthodontists are not getting as many referrals from younger dentists.
If you are starting a practice, dentists have their referrals already directed to specific doctors. Changing the GPs referral habit may take time and some will never change current relationship channels.
Relying on GP referrals to help grow your practice is no longer a guaranteed strategy. Other alternatives need to be considered to maximize income.
Patient referrals are a very important part of any practice, but can you control the rate of referrals? Can you influence current patients to refer more families?
I would argue you can not consistently control referral rates – no matter how creative the contests become in your office or how much you may pay a consultant.
Both GP and Patient Referrals have an important role to play – but they are passive strategies, forcing the Orthodontist to be reliant on others. This dependency culture creates a practice environment unable to grow to its full potential.
A “proactive” option is needed where actions can be taken to increase the number of consultations regardless of referral rates.
3. Marketing – the missing link
The only proactive option available to stimulate new case starts is marketing. To put marketing in the context for an Orthodontic application we will define marketing as;
“Specific actions that influence decision making behavior resulting in families selecting you as their Orthodontist.”
The same elements that bring results in Orthodontics are the same elements that bring success in marketing:
Analyze the current conditions
Plan a strategy to achieve desired goals
Execute those plans consistently and with quality over a period of time
Random acts of marketing over sporadic time frames do not work – save your money.
To achieve consistent growth, Marketing must become a core system in your practice. Just like scheduling systems and accounting procedures, marketing is critical to achieve more control over desired results. Marketing is not about rolling the dice. There is math and logic driving all good marketing ideas.
The Best Marketing Solution
The most logical marketing option to increase new case starts is Demographic Mail. It is by far the one idea you can invest in and get proven results… if done correctly.
The fact can be supported that there is no better way to “proactively” increase new case starts than to communicate directly to the families that have the highest probability of engaging in orthodontic services in the near future.
How do we find and communicate to these “high probability” families?
First, let me define the target audience - families that have the correct demographics:
Correct income levels for services
Children in the appropriate age ranges
Homes in close proximity to your office
This demographic list can be compiled for your specific community. A professional mail piece can be designed and delivered to target family’s encouraging them to visit your practice for a consultation.
This “invitation” is sent at a correct frequency rate during maximum read times. Impressive statistical results can be forecasted if a campaign is managed correctly.
The other mathematical reality is this; if zero attempts are made to reach high probability families - there is a 100% chance no one will respond.
Caution!
Demographic Mail campaigns have many moving parts that must be in synchronization to get results.
It is important to understand that Demographic Mail is both a science and an art. It is not just about printing and mailing postcards.
There are many major elements that must come together to get results:
Frequency strategy
Attention / interest design technique
Quality copy
Use of effective photography
Print production cost control
Correct list acquisition
Mail rate optimization
Database parameters that fit your market
The management of all these variables and MORE determines failure or success of a campaign.
Most Orthodontists are not prepared to execute a successful Demographic Mail campaign… neither is the local printer.
A specialist is required to get results.
Time for Action?
Orthomarketing is a specialist in managing Demographic Mail campaigns for Orthodontist. There is a difference in working with a firm that understands Orthodontics.
If you have not already done so - please review the “Mathematics” article on Demographic Mail also on this website. We want to provide you with the facts that can help you make an informed decision.
One thing is certain - Change is occurring in how new patients are acquired. There will be a shift in market share as proactive doctors using demographic mail win over more of the families in the market than the “referral only” practices.
What will your response be to a changing industry?
Gary Smith is a graduate of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where he received his BS degree in Marketing. Mr. Smith is also the president of The TransForm Group, a company he founded in 1985. TTG serves over 3500 clients nationally. OrthoMarketing is a specialized marketing-operations division of TTG that provides turnkey marketing services to Orthodontists that need to increase new case starts. Mr. Smith resides in Atlanta, GA with his wife Margaret and their four children.
To make a phone appointment with Mr. Smith.
Please contact us by phone or email: 800.226.2564 ext. 404 or email gsmith@thetransformgroup.com
The Logic for Demographic Mail
