Marketing trends are so much more effective when you focus on relations instead of transactions.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dee Meacham of iTooth Dental in Cupertino, CA. Dee explains how her office incorporated a relationship marketing strategy that has created a major shift in their patient relationships. This will absolutely amaze you how effective this simple Marketing Trend is…
Kindness it’s a simple concept, and it’s one that a lot of times we take for granted. This blog is all about one thing. It’s about teaching people how to be nice to each other. That’s it. I mean, that’s what this blog is. I teach people how to be nice to each other.
My blog post is all about going into the dental niche today. I’ve never highlighted the dental industry before.
Here are three key components I learned from Dee to make sure that patients will keep returning to your practice long term, even if or when their insurance changes;
- Relationship building
- Building loyalty
- Great service
Anyone in the dental field, health field, chiropractic field, health – in any of these fields know that there are good times and there are bad times. It’s very cyclical. Think about it, clients have to pass dozens of offices to get to yours with such things as insurance changes and things of this sort and patients can change right along with that.
Going above and beyond is critical to stand apart from your competition.
Sending them a welcome letter is great and plays a necessary part, but this letter is laced with insurance and financial arrangements and all the other things about the dental office and staff. These are people trying to get to know you. It’s imperative they have a good experience because they’re coming to you by way of word of mouth. So you need to stand out.
Now, don’t get me wrong all offices send emails, text messages, and let’s not forget Facebook. Businesses do all of those things. But that type of appreciation is here and gone in an instant.
Greeting cards with a heartfelt message is a tangible and powerful marketing trend. First of all, a greeting card in the mail is 11 times more likely to be opened and cherished than any other piece of mail. In fact, it goes right to the top of the pile. Most of the collection goes in the garbage, but the greeting card always gets opened.
Also, a second thing that I want to share with you is to make it personal to the person you were sending it to. Form letters have all the business stuff in it, and well, that’s business. That feels like a business interaction, not a personal communication.
This is where relational vs. transactional comes in. I’m sure you can even feel the difference in energy just saying those words to yourself as you read this.
Here’s an example of something you could send to patients with today’s marketing trends of relational vs. transactional;
- send thank you for referral cards
- send nice to meet you cards to new patients
- send the parents a pic of their child at the office
When you make it about the kids, and you send cards like this, to the parents, they want their friends to experience that. Talk about referral marketing. They don’t even realize that you are actually branding your dental or business office.
Last but not least celebrate your valued staff that keeps your office running like a well-oiled machine. They deserve appreciation. This makes for a pleasant atmosphere in the office, great relationships with co-workers and all the patients appreciate the happy energy flowing throughout the office.
It is so vital these cards and tangible touches that you’re sending out, come from your heart. You’re trying to show people that you genuinely care about them. You’re creating a relationship with them.
There’s a reason that the word relationship comes first and marketing comes second. You want to be focusing on relationship 80% to 90% of the time without even trying to market anything, and doing the marketing 10% to 20% of the time.
The hardest thing about Relationship Marketing is to teach a business person how to get the relationship into the greeting card, so it doesn’t feel like marketing.
When you’re appreciating your customer, taking the time to just listen to what the customer/patient is saying, then this creates a friendship level. Consequently when they are your friends versus just a patient, business is going to follow because they love the experience. People want to do business with the type of people that they already know, love, and trust.
Typically within any business of this type like dental offices, especially with the insurance playing a part, the patients have the choice to go wherever they want. But if you want them to stay with you, they’re going to stay with you, not because of your practice, they’re going to stay with you because they’re your friends.
“Don’t ask for the referral, deserve it.”
Look, asking for a referral can feel weird and awkward. But you really don’t have to ask for a referral if you’re just nice and kind to people. I’m teaching a philosophy, kindness that’s it!
In closing I want you to realize this, it doesn’t really matter if you’re a dental officer or not. This marketing trend in business works with people who deal with people, period! If you deal with people, you want to tan experience. And that hear experience is all-encompassing.
Thanks for taking the time to join me here, be sure you share this marketing trend with all your friends and neighbors so they can get to the heart of their personal and business relationships to 🙂
See you soon,
Kody B
p.s. Visit me at https://www.facebook.com/kodybateman/ to learn about your specific industry
