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Growing Your Dental Practice
Growing Your Dental Practice
I am going to be interviewing 100 dentists over the course of the next few months to gather their best marketing tactics. I'll get as detailed as possible so that it is easier to implement the strategies.
Blog By:
asmith1213
asmith1213

Dental Practice Growth Strategies of a 20 Year Veteran

Dental Practice Growth Strategies of a 20 Year Veteran

8/23/2017 11:55:03 AM   |   Comments: 0   |   Views: 138
Yesterday I got to take a look at the dental practice of Dr. Mark McOmie. Dr. McComie has owned his dental practice McOmie Family Dentistry for over 20 years, and has reached levels of practice success that many never do. He is a very well respected cosmetic dentist in Chattanooga, TN and he agreed to providing some details to me that can hopefully help some other people along the way.

What changes have you seen in dentistry and dental practice ownership in the time that you have been practicing?


When I started in dentistry I guess you would have to go back to 1991 when I was a laboratory technician. I worked my way through the University of Utah working at a dental lab. I would have to say the biggest change I have seen is in the technology shift. I love the technology, it makes dentistry better and easier and we have seen prices go down slightly or at least not go up in some areas. We employ so much new technology at our practice and it really has made an easier experience with higher quality for the patient. The materials of dentistry have become more bio-compatible and prettier. Once upon a time it was acceptable to see dentistry after it was done, this is no longer the case, and today dentistry should be camouflage it should look like it grew there. The new technology in dentistry is a win for both dentists and patients. The patient gets better dental work today than at any other time in history, for the dentist the technology makes our work quicker, better, and faster. It is a great time to be a dentist if you like changes.

Practice ownership has changed as well. When I started practicing corporate dental practices and group practices were very rare. Now there are many corporate dental offices in town and group practices are becoming more common every day. I think the model is changing from a single dentist in an office to larger offices with more dentists. It seems like many new dentists are starting out working for a corporate office and then going out into a private practice they have ownership in.

What growth strategies have you implemented in order to grow your practice despite these major changes?


I always hesitate to share a "growth strategy" for fear that someone might take what is working for me and assume that it will work for them as well. This may very well be the case, but if you are trying to build the practice of your dreams, you need to start with the end in mind. If you have a clear picture of what you want your practice to look like, you can craft your marketing strategy around that.

Here is an example. I could say that online marketing is working really well for me, which it is. Someone may hear me say that and assume that finding the most popular online marketing company will solve their problem. It might, but it also might not. Instead, if the person listening knows that they want to do high end cosmetic dentistry, they can find a company who designs beautiful websites for high end dentistry. They can target consumers who fit their ideal patient base. They are still doing the thing I suggested, but now they have a better direction that meets their end goal.
 

So online marketing is working well for you?


Yes. I got into online marketing early and I have stuck with it over the years. It has provided huge returns for my practice.

Over the 20 years you have been in business, there have to have been a few things that didn't work as well as you would have wanted them to. What is some advice you can give to dentists to avoid some of the pitfalls that you have experienced?


You know, there are definitely some things that haven't worked as well as we had hoped, but using marketing pieces as part of our overall strategy has made it so that I can honestly say that nothing did not serve a purpose.

Having said that, the advice that I would give to other dentists to avoid some potential pitfalls is that they should not believe everything that salesmen say. Just because a salesman says it works, doesn't mean that it actually does. It is their job to focus on the good parts of their business to drive sales. Always ask other professionals when you are trying to find quality pieces for your marketing plan. More specifically, find someone who has accomplished what you are trying to accomplish (your ideal picture you created), and get advice from them.

Dr. McOmie, that is extremely valuable and I think that is something that people don't take advantage of the way that they should. Any other valuable insights that you want to share as parting words of wisdom?


I would say to try to get involved in the community. When it is community involvement, you don't need to think as much about dollars per new patient. Just provide value to the community and it will come back to you. I have done morning interviews on the news station about dental tips over the last several years. I don't try to sell anything. I am just teaching about good dental habits. This has brought in a lot of patients over the years.

Thanks Dr. McOmie you have provided some great value today! I'm sure there is something for just about everyone in here!

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