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Get Online to Grow Your Practice

Get Online to Grow Your Practice

1/9/2018 9:35:40 AM   |   Comments: 1   |   Views: 404
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Anna Abernathy who is the long-time practice owner of Anna Abernathy, DDS. She has been phenomenally successful in branding herself and her practice, and has been able to build a large, high-end practice in a large market. This means that when she takes the time to lay down some marketing strategies that have worked well for her, it is probably worth while to listen. 

Anna, how long have you owned your practice and what changes have you seen in dentistry during that time?

I have owned my practice for 9 years. One of the major changes that I have seen during this time, at least in our market, is the increase in corporate dentistry and multi-location dentistry. We have definitely seen an influx of these types of offices over the last almost 10 years.

What challenges has that presented to you as a practice owner?

I think the main change that this has brought to myself, and to the dental industry as a whole, is the need to better understand the business of dentistry, and to balance the need to run a practice as a business, while still focusing on the patient experience.

Thanks Anna, I have definitely heard similar things from other practice owners. During your nearly 10 years of practice ownership, what are some things that you tried in terms of marketing and new patient acquisition, that simply did not work for your practice?

We tried a direct mail piece that offered advertising in a number of golf communities in the area.  We spent almost $6k with Benchcraft, who represented these golfing communities.  We tried it for almost a year.  Unfortunately, only approximately 10 patients came from this marketing strategy. 

What did you learn from this marketing effort and how did it help you select other marketing efforts that worked better?

I think some people try a couple marketing attempts, and then get discouraged if they don't work. It was definitely discouraging, but I knew that other practices were having success with marketing, so it helped me realize that marketing and NP acquisition is a moving target. What works for one person may not work the same way for another person. It also helped me understand how to vet marketing efforts better. Get the entire cost of the vs the monthly amount IN WRITING.  Do your homework, ask for references and for ROI numbers, and follow up with those references.  Also ask how the company tracks its leads and what policies are in place if their marketing strategies are not proven to be effective for their client. 

That is a great takeaway and some great advice! So what has been your most successful marketing piece? How many patients are you getting from it? And how much did it cost to implement?

Online marketing has provided our highest ROI and new patient flow, though it has not been inexpensive. Netsertive, a local Google Adwords management company has been our best strategy so far, however our SEO group has been INCREDIBLE to work with considering it has only been a few months since we started with their company and suggested campaigns.  We have been with Netsertive for almost seven years.  It started working within the first 90 days, and we average 15-20 new patients from this campaign every month.  We spend approximately $1500 per month depending on the time of year and what campaigns and in-office specials we are running that month.  Our SEO group has helped to significantly increase our online presence and position with patients are looking for us as well.

Online marketing seems to be a popular strategy, but I have also heard of a number of dentists who are completely turned off to the idea because they have had bad experiences in the past. How did you choose the companies to work with?

Ask your friends and your peers who they are using. Get specific with investment, ROI and time frame. Remember that some dentists are not measuring these things, so their advice may not be extremely reliable. 

Again, that is great advice! What piece of advice would you have a new dentist, or a dentist who is just beginning their marketing efforts?

Start with a high-quality SEO group immediately and use that as a long term strategy. If you're not sure on who to use ask your colleagues!  Ours has been instrumental in polishing our website and giving our practice a firm first page position when future clients are looking for a dentist in our area.  We spent thousands on other strategies with little or no success.  This has been one of the best investments we have ever made for our practice. If you are not online in this day and age, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. Get on social media, get a nice looking website and find a reliable company who can help you get a good position in Google.

Anna, thank you so much for your time today. There is definitely a lot to be learned from your experience!

 

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