WHY TEAM EXCELLENCE SHOULD BE PART OF YOUR MARKETING PLAN
- Tracey Langlois
- Sep 2, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 3
In our digital world of instant gratification, your savvy patients want answers and information immediately. Here's how to blend team excellence with marketing to keep your patients happy.
THE COST OF RETENTION VS PATIENT ACQUISITION
Traditional marketing may still be effective at building awareness for a brand, but acquisition campaigns can be some of the costliest marketing efforts. Many patients need to experience multiple touchpoints before they are consciously aware of your practice and what you offer. It can take some time before they feel compelled to schedule an appointment.
It might feel sensible to spend more time and money on acquiring new patients because new patients are important to the growth of any dental office. The problem is that it costs seven times more to obtain a patient than to keep one.
You don't have to throw money away on costly acquisition campaigns. Instead, you can positively impact growth and acquire new business by improving patient retention. According to Harvard Business Review, just a small increase in patient retention can increase profits anywhere from 25% to 95%.
In addition to that:
Existing patients are 50% more likely to schedule next appointments.
They spend over 30% more annually on average.
It's 60% easier to gain case acceptance from patients who have history with you.
You don't have to spend more money on retention. Simply start incorporating team excellence as part of your marketing strategy. This will help you build and influence positive growth in revenue, and attract new patients along the way.
CHANGE YOUR VIEW OF TEAM EXCELLENCE
Everyone on your team can have a hand in creating positive patient experiences that leave people smiling.
Case in point: former CEO of Morton's Steakhouse restaurants, Tom Baldwin, stated that while he was with the company they did not advertise in traditional channels like print, TV, and radio. Instead, his team was the best marketing tool they had.
Exceptional service and a customer-centric approach to doing business resulted in happy patrons. These customers were inspired to return and to share their experiences with others. There was really no additional investment or cost other than focusing on happy customers and empowering his team to actually serve his patrons. And this strategy works in dental too!
YOUR TEAM CAN DRIVE MARKETING EFFORTS
When you silo your marketing and service teams, you create a gap that makes it much harder for your marketing to do it's job.
Consider the employees in your office. Who has the most contact with your patients? Your team sees and speaks to patients on a daily basis. They can provide input on what patients love, what they dislike, trends in problems, frequently asked questions and issues, patient interests, and more.
Zappos is an often touted example of changing the role of customer service. Like many brands today, they're shifting to the customer experience model. When you create amazing experiences, you forge an emotional connection that people want to talk about. Research shows that brands who can make that emotional connection outperform competitors by 85% in sales revenue. Again, thsi can translate to the world of dental as well.
DISCOVER HOW TO MARKET YOUR DENTAL OFFICE EFFECTIVELY
When you combine team excellence and marketing, you're also opening up communication channels. Your teams can create such an amazing patient experience that benefits your bottom line if they work together.
To the surprise of many marketers and dental office owners, how they market a service and how their patients use it don't always line up. Next to your patients, your team has the best insights into how and why patients actually use your services. That little bit of collaboration can create some potent marketing campaigns that grab the attention.
YOUR TEAM IS ALREADY MARKETING FOR YOU
Social media is a major reason why dental offices blend team excellence and marketing. It provides an instant gratification loop for patients and puts them in close touch with their favorite dental practices. 95% of online adults (18 to 34) are likely to follow a brand on social media, and not just when they love the brand or want discount promotions.
Many dental offices have come to realize what they once saw as a marketing platform is also a fast pass for patients to get problems sorted. Social media marketing managers are filling a patient service role now more than ever.
When you can turn your teams to focus on the patient, you can drive amazing patient experiences! Be prepared for questions with team members that have a working knowledge of marketing and promotions.
Open communication so your team fuels your marketing with data to create more effective campaigns.
Tend to issues and respond to questions and comments faster resulting in better Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn page engagement. 71% of patients who have a good experience with a dental office on social media will likely recommend that practice to others. You'll also leave an impression on users who see how you professionally and rapidly tend to your patients.
CONCLUSION
The first step toward team excellence and marketing coming together to create better experiences is to start talking. Create an open-door policy so everyone can get the information they need to help a patient (or prospective patient) at a moment's notice. Everyone in the dental office plays a vital role in marketing the brand as well as serving the patient.
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