DentalTown Book Review By: Thomas Giacobbi, DDS Today’s Dental No. 1, Ltd

New patients are the lifeblood of every practice, but do you know where they come from? Some patients are referred by other satisfied patients, some see your office sign, and some see your name on a list of providers. Give yourself a gold star if you just said: “you forgot to mention marketing as a source of new patients”. There are many dentists that think this is a dirty word, and others that have lived happy lives without ever uttering the phrase ‘marketing plan’. Times have changed, and no matter who you are, if you want to be successful, you need a plan.

Last week I was up to my eyeballs in new patients; specifically Unlimited New Patients and MORE Unlimited New Patients by William Howard Horrocks. Weighing in at 600+ pages, this 10 pounds of paper does not belong in a 5-pound bag. In fact, I had a difficult time with my 60-second summary because there are so many different ideas in these books.

Both books are filled with enough ideas that you would be hard pressed to walk away empty-handed; however, your wallet will be lighter by the purchase price of $300. The simple fact is this: open the books at random, select one project and you will recover your funds many times over.

Unlimited New Patients has many simple ‘do it yourself’ projects that can easily be incorporated into your practice. There are also a few short marketing lessons to explain why positioning is critical, how to write a press release and the importance of surveys. I particularly enjoyed the notion of forming alliances with local businesses; this concept is certainly not new, but this is one that the anti-direct mail dentists will find easier to accomplish. Each idea or project is spelled out in step-wise fashion with examples you may copy to suit your needs.

Unlimited New Patients by William Howard Horrocks 221 pg. $177

MORE Unlimited New Patients by William Howard Horrocks and William Pinton 394 pg. $187

The sequel is MORE Unlimited New Patients, and it picks up the marketing crusade with updated suggestions for alliances with hairdressers, chiropractors, bridal shops and plastic surgeons. Practice websites received a 60 page chapter, most of which is reproductions of web pages to illustrate the do’s and don’ts of website design. This is timely information and will serve as a good primer for web neophytes.

Common threads that are repeated in both volumes are the recommendation to use direct mail, and that all of your marketing should include an offer of free or discounted dental services. My own bias is to avoid discounts and offers of a free exam, but Howie is quick to explain that advertising without some compelling reason to respond will fall on deaf ears. Many patients need a reason to visit your office over the other three in the neighborhood.

I would recommend these books to any open-minded dentist that is getting ready to improve their marketing program and needs ideas. If you would rather pay someone to do the work for you, call Mr. Horrocks.

The 60-Second Summary
Unlimited New Patients
Section One: Projects to “Jump Start” Your Practice: Pass out welcome packs, business cards, Patient Coordinator position…

Section Two: Marketing Basics: Positioning- use to develop materials

Section Three: Succeeding With Direct Mail: Discuss benefits, excellent headline, give them an offer

Section Four: Referrals: Ask the right way and say thank you many times

Section Five: Recall and Reactivation: Make appointments in advance, don’t give up too quickly on trying to contact missing patients

Section Six: Forming Profitable Alliances: Take fellow professionals to lunch and bring cards to exchange

Section Seven: How to Use Surveys Profitably: Find why patients chose your office, ask people why they are leaving too

Section Eight: Projects to Target Specific Markets: PSA’s, working with police and teachers

Section Nine: The Yellow Page Project: Test multiple versions of your ad in newspapers prior to submission

Section Ten: Radio, Television & Signs: The first two require big money

Section Eleven: Resource Guide: Contact information

More Unlimited New Patients
(Summary limited due to space constraints)

Part One: How to Become an Expert Dental Marketer

Chapters 1-28: Bridal shop alliance- bleaching offer; big exterior signs; market your niche; yellow pages ad with headline; 10 marketing lessons; Dr. Madow’s case presentation; reward patients that refer; develop office website; list of contacts for information.

Part Two: More Projects to Generate New Patients

Sections 1-21: Alliances revisited; bridal magazine ads; bad breath promotions; air abrasion ideas; snoring treatment letters; school visits; office newsletters; press releases; magazine articles.

Rating:

E-mail Tom at tgiacobbi@todaysdental.com