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Get Online Before You Retire - Advice From a 25 Year Practice Owner

Get Online Before You Retire - Advice From a 25 Year Practice Owner

9/21/2017 3:01:02 PM   |   Comments: 0   |   Views: 53

You Are Never Too Old to Get Online

I recently had the chance to interview Dr. Timothy Elloway who is a dentist who has been practicing in Paradise, CA for over 25 years . His advice was simple and straight forward when it came down to growing a successful practice and maintaining it over the last 25+ years.

Dr. Elloway, what are some marketing strategies that are working for you today, and how do those differ from what you have done in the past?

Marketing has changed a lot since I first started doing dentistry. When I was first starting my practice, marketing was frowned upon. If you marketed your practice, you were a sleezy dentist. You were supposed to simply provide great dentistry and grow by way of referral.

Marketing picked up steam as time went on, and really started to become common place as the internet became a commodity. Mail marketing, newspaper marketing and phone book marketing have all been great marketing methods at some point while I have owned my practice, but I don't see those things working the same way they used to.

I was a little late to the game of online marketing because my practice had always been doing just fine without it, but as I contemplated what someone purchasing my practice might like, I realized they would probably like a healthier new patient flow than I was getting without doing much marketing. I had a website built and I hired a company called Dental Business Builders who specializes in dental seo. They have been able to bring a good number of patients through the door by way of search engine optimization.

Online marketing, networking in the community, and taking good care of my patients are the three main strategies that I have used to grow a successful practice.

Can you tell us how you decided who to go with as far as your online marketing was concerned?

There are about a million options for online marketing. I interviewed a few, and ended up going with one who was referred to me by a friend who I was attending a CE course with. 

Tell us a bit more about the networking you have done in the community?

I have joined a few groups like Business Networking International (BNI) that consist of a number of business leaders in the community. I work together with those business owners to generate referrals to their business, and they do the same for me. It has actually provided quite a steady stream of patients into the practice.

Do those cost money to join?

Some of those cost money to join while others are free, but they all require attendance which is my time that would otherwise be spent doing dentistry or spending time with my family. So even the ones that are free have an opportunity cost.

If you were asked to give advice to a group of graduating dental students as far as practice growth goes, what would it be?

Stay involved in the dental community and don't be afraid to evolve. If I would have stayed with the old "traditional" marketing tactics, I would be in a much different position than I am now. 

Stay on the forefront of technology! Keep learning even when you are succeeding, and never let yourself feel like you have arrived. 

Wise words from an experienced doctor! Anything else that you feel would be valuable to share?

Don't be afraid to try new things. There will be some things that you try that fall flat, but if you never try, you are not going to find the things that work.
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