Sail to marketing success in 2022
Promotional FeaturesPosted by: Dental Design 21st January 2022
Does marketing float your boat or make your heart sink? Dr Grant McAree tells us what marketing is, how it works and how the whole team can get involved in this in 2022?
In my practices, marketing has always been a family affair; it runs in our veins and is something the whole team is involved in from the get-go, like any part of their training. When someone joined my team, they became an important cog in our marketing machine.
But why? What is marketing, how can it benefit you and your practice, and why should you consider getting your whole team involved in it in 2022?
Sink or swim
Anyone who knows me will know I am passionate about marketing. It has been a key aspect of the success of all my dental businesses, from my practices to my training courses. It’s always been something I have enjoyed doing myself, and it comes naturally to me. Still, I know from the hundreds of dentists I have interacted with via my courses and dental business marketing Facebook group that not everyone feels the same.
Dentists are particularly wary of marketing, and it’s no wonder as, traditionally, we weren’t allowed to do any. In my dad’s day, you put a gold plaque up on the wall, and that was it. And, even when I started out, there were restrictions on what you were and were not allowed to say and do.
What puts most people off even trying marketing is fear. People are frightened to spend money on something they think they don’t have a clue about. The fear of not knowing and losing money on the not knowing is what holds them back.
They believe giving it a go is sink or swim. That it will either be a success or ruin them, and that’s not really the case. While putting out ill-advised marketing messages or a really terrible campaign could damage your business and put patients off, you don’t just get one shot at it. It’s really not that difficult to market successfully, and you need not worry about sinking with just a few tricks up your sleeve. As I always say in my Dental Business and Marketing Course, “it ain’t rocket science,” and I truly believe that every professional needs to try and do at least some of it for themselves.
Do it yourself
Marketing is an extremely effective way of attracting more patients to your practice and engaging with the existing ones to keep them coming back time and again, but a lot of dentists shy away from it. They don’t realise that at least 60% of marketing is something they can easily do themselves.
So, what are the benefits of doing it in house and getting your whole team involved?
Doing your own marketing puts you firmly in the driving seat. After all, who better to shout about how amazing your practice is than you and your staff?
Your team already knows your brand, philosophy, and culture, so they know what your patients are most interested in, what your practice is known for and who your target audience is.
Another factor is, of course, cost. It is far more cost-effective to do your marketing yourself. Many dentists end up paying out huge amounts of money on stuff they could do themselves, and that would take up just 10 minutes of their time.
Most people don’t know it, but marketing is not just about the adverts you place or the social media posts you put up. Fundamentally marketing is a vehicle for sales, and sales are happening every time you walk through your clinic door. Every time your team picks up the phone, every time they talk to a colleague, every time they smile at a patient in the corridor.
When I was running my last practice, before I sold it, marketing was inbred. I put automated systems in place so that, from day one, my staff were trained up on what their role in our marketing was.
If a team member is particularly keen to be more involved, you can encourage that, but I always made sure my whole team had their roles to play and all worked towards the same outcome.
By making marketing a team exercise, it is always there ticking away in the background. The other advantage of involving the whole team is that old adage that “many heads are better than one”. Your team could have creative ideas to contribute, and involving them can be a bonding experience for you all, especially when you see the results. When your marketing is successful, your business is successful, and your team can share in that.
About the Author
Dr Grant McAree is an award-winning dental marketeer, coach and experienced practice owner supporting the growth of dental businesses.
