Starbucks doesn’t do a lot of advertising. They don’t have to. Their goal is to get you in the door for that first visit. Once you’re in, they impress you with the environment, their product and the feeling of being part of a club. All of this is what makes you want to come back again, hopefully with a friend or two.
Starbucks also doesn’t make money because you buy one cup of coffee. They make money because you buy one cup, five days a week, 52 weeks a year and your friends do the same.
They’ve developed a reputation. They deliver every time. Notice that it's the most expensive cup of coffee you can buy and there's never a discount available.
A big problem in the dental industry is that there are practices out there spending a ton of money on direct mail, promos and pre-consultations (a tactic which will generally be financially detrimental to your business). They’re fighting on price instead of focusing their energy on providing world-class, extraordinary customer service that makes clients want to talk on their behalf.
It’s Not About What You Hand Out
I got an email recently from a marketing director who works for a company with fourteen practices. She wanted to know what I thought about the VIVA card, a custom gift card designed to be handed out to patients. The idea behind the VIVA card is that if the office gives a client something that looks like a store gift card, they’ll respect it more than a flimsy paper coupon.
I agree that the card looks great and has some cool tracking systems, but at about $1/card, it can get expensive. Also,the focus is still on discounts and promotions instead of service. Honestly, I don’t think its effectiveness has anything to do with the card itself. It has to do with handing the card out while making a quality request for a referral. Whether it’s a VIVA card, a brochure, or a coupon, what you give the patient is less important than the request that goes along with it.
Shared Values Trump Swag
I’ve watched dental practices spend heaps of money on exciting marketing materials in an effort to get new patients through the door. Six months later, they’re spending the same money all over again. They need new patients because they aren’t keeping the ones they’ve already got.
Patient retention is a little like dating. For example, let’s say you and I meet and we hit it off. I think you’re super and you seem to think the same. Why would I go looking for another girlfriend when I’ve already found “the one?”
The swag might entice a patient through the door for one consultation but it isn’t going to keep them in place long term. Author Simon Sinek talks about this in his book, Start with Why. Sinek cautions against playing games based on price (or what he calls “manipulations”) and stresses that these games will never earn you customer loyalty.
Outstanding, impressive service and building a solid relationship will.
Also, if you’re the dentist, understand that giving patients a discount that first time sets the precedent for discounts in the future. How do you think that’s going to help with profitability?
It’s not impossible to build a successful practice by recycling patients all the time, but it’s an awful lot of heavy lifting. Wouldn’t you rather work with people who come to you because you’re “the one?”
In the comments area below, think of one way you can offer impressive service to your current patients.
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