Marketing Your Endodontic Practice

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Marketing YourEndodontic Practice

• The Chocolate Wars

Diane Griffiths
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The Battlefront

• A TDO doctor from Florida called me. He was
  concerned as his 1 referrer had stopped sending
  him patients. Every time someone brings him a
  box of chocolate, he sends all his patients over
  there.
• I advised him You had better get over there with
  some chocolate right away.

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Who Is The General In That Office?

• Does that referring doctor even like chocolate
  that much???? Probably not.
• So why does this seemingly insignificant box of
  sweets affect referrals so dramatically?
• How do you find out who is really
• making the referral decisions
• for that practice?

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The First Contact

• Either you or your office manager can visit your
  potential referrers office and meet the Front
  Office Staff.
• Bring them a small, inexpensive seasonal gift.
• Marketing does not need to be expensive.
• If you give them a gift they
• will feel obligated to give you
• some of their time.

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Survey Potential Referrers

• Create a survey asking about the referrers needs
  and referral habits.
• Give the front office person your survey and ask
  them to fill this out.
• In order to better serve you and your patients I
  would appreciate it if you would take a moment to
  fill this out.
• Watch their reaction carefully.

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Available on www.tdo4endo.com
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Is The Front Office Calling The Shots?

• If that Front Office person takes the survey and
  begins filling it out, that person is your
  decision maker.
• If the Front Office person says I will put this
  on Dr. Wonderfuls desk and he can fill it out
  between patients. Dr. Wonderful is the decision
  maker.
• A general dentist will never admit they do not
  make their own referral decisions.

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Cultivate Quality Relationships

• Target your marketing efforts towards the
  decision maker in the practice.
• Taking Dr. Wonderful to lunch or dinner may be
  very ineffective.
• Your may get farther with chocolate than golf
  tees.
• Get the facts for an effective marketing
  strategy.

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Record Your Marketing Efforts

• Set a marketing budget.
• This can be a percentage or a flat rate.
• Schedule for future marketing using the TDO Task
  List.

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Are You Going To Accept Referrals From This GP?

• Do the survey responses coincide with your
  practice philosophy?
• Remember! It is a privilege to refer patients to
  the practice of a highly skilled microscopically
  trained endodontist.
• The precedents you set now are
• the roadmap for your career.

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A Referral Relationship Is A Partnership

• Do you really want to work with this office?
• You have a choice. You can choose to work with
  high quality restorative dentists or referrers
  like Dr. Primate...

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The Second Contact

• Make an appointment with the front office and
  possibly the doctor to show your TDO Web
  Services.
• Prepare a demonstration patient complete with
  recalls, prescriptions, clinical photos and final
  reports.
• Save some of your best cases
• for this purpose.

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Mark Great Cases To Query Later

• Right Click to View Cases For Current Value to
  see the complete list

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It Is Your Time To Shine

• Bring a sample full page final report to the
  meeting.
• Print it on glossy paper.
• Include digital radiographs and photographs.
• Make sure the patient is smiling in the patient
  picture.
• Include the referring doctors password and ID to
  access your website.

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Customize Your Sample Report

• There are over 400 types of information that will
  automatically insert into TDO reports and
  correspondence.

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Develop A Presence On The Internet

• Todays patients are researching healthcare
  options on the web before selecting their doctor.
• Websites do not need to cost thousands of dollars
  to be effective.
• Avoid excessive flash animation.
• Flash can take a long time to load and can appear
  unprofessional.

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Impress Referrers with TDO Web

• Website set-up for as low as 250.
• You can edit content and photos at any time at no
  additional charge.
• Patient information, medical history, pain
  history and post-op evaluation can be entered by
  your patients from home.
• The information downloads into your database in
  real time.
• Saves 30 hours of front
• office staff time per month
• in a 1 doctor practice.

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Make Your Site Rank High During Searches

• Use metatag keywords such as microscopic,
  digital, paperless and root canal to make
  your site search engine friendly and attract more
  visitors.
• Repeat your city, state and specialty on every
  page.

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The Third Contact

• Assess the first two contacts with this office..
• Do you want to move forward with this
  relationship?
• Call the referrer and invite them to breakfast or
  dinner.
• Lunch can be difficult for you and your referrers
  due to busy clinical schedules.
• Make sure and confirm the day before.

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Almost A First Date

• Select a nice, quiet restaurant with few
  distractions.
• Do not worry about 5 star dining.
• You are on a budget and this referrer remembers
  what it was like when they just got out of
  school.
• Remember to talk about them.
• Ask questions about their family, hobbies,
  background and education.

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Develop Referral Relationships

• It is these relationships that will see you
  through the inevitable rough spots and retain
  this doctors business.
• Referrers will send patients to a mediocre, or
  even poor quality endodontist because they like
  them.
• Imagine how happy and loyal they will be with a
  microscopically trained endodontist
• who has invested the time to
• develop a professional friendship.

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Host An Effective Open House

• What is the purpose of an open house?
• To introduce a new practice or doctor to
  referrers.
• Is inviting 25 - 50 potential referrers really a
  good idea? Probably not the most effective use
  of your time and resources.
• They will enjoy your food and drinks and talk to
  each other. This leaves
• little one-on-one time for you.

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Be Aware Of InfluencesThat Can Subvert
Referrals

• Dr. Wonderful advises the patient to seek the
  care of an endodontist.
• He tells the patient to go see Dr. Carr and asks
  the assistant to prepare a referral slip and
  leaves the op to see his next patient.
• Most times the patient will ask the dental
  assistant Who would you see?
• Oh, I would see Dr. Speedy. My friend
• works there. She is really fun. It
• only takes him 20 minutes for a
• root canal and he is cheaper.

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Get Everyone On The Same Page

• Consider holding a series of open houses.
• Hold your open house on each Thursday of a
  particular month.
• Friday is not a good day.
• Invite small groups of referrers of 5 7.
• A staff member should hand deliver the
  invitations.
• Insist that they bring their staff.

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Have Fun, But Not Too Much Fun

• Serve easy to eat finger foods that are conducive
  to mingling.
• Choose an early end time open house 600 -830.
• If they stay too late and drink too muchthey
  may not remember much of what you had to say!

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Behold The Miracle Of Microscopy

• Have each referrer and staff member look through
  your SOM at a prepared tooth.
• Save an extracted tooth with a canal or a
  fracture easily missed without magnification.
• Many referrers and virtually all staff members
  have never seen a tooth under microscopy.
• An MTA repair will also be news to many.
• Show them exactly why
• you are so specialized.

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Have Your Website Ready

• Have a thorough demonstration of
• web features with the referrers staff.

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Internal Marketing

• Take great pride in your specialty.
• Elevate the level at which you and your staff
  communicate.
• Which communicates more value as a specialist?
• x-ray or digital radiograph
• root canal or endodontic therapy
• apico or endodontic surgery

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This Is A Specialty Office

• Communicate that this is the office of a highly
  trained microscopic specialist.
• We perform
• Endodontic Therapy
• Endodontic Retreatment
• Endodontic Surgery
• Patients can get a Root Canal
• for 500 at McDentals.

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Assume The Role Of An Educator

• Hand deliver articles from Joe.
• Bring and discuss articles on MTA, incidence of
  missed canals and bisphosponates.
• Write a personal note on the articles.
• You can save them in your TDO Library.

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Do Not Overlook Sources Of New Business

• Large clinics have high turnover. Quality
  clinicians leave and start their own practices.
• Read the minutes of your local dental association
  for new applicants.
• Befriend dental reps and find out who is
  building. Meet them first.
• If you are in a tourist area call on hotels.

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Track Referrers With TDO Reports

• Track the procedure types, of case acceptance,
  difficulty and profitability.

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Use Your Resources Wisely

• There is only so much time.
• There is only so much money.

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Romancing The Dentist

• Carrs Law You are only as good as your last
  root canal.
• Take good care of your top referrers.
• Do not forget staff.
• Personalize their gifts.
• Be consistent in your efforts.
• Win The Chocolate War!