Comments on: Marketing Lessons from a Dentist

By: Patients4you Dental Marketing

Patients4you Dental Marketing — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:08:31 +0000

That is a great story! Very innovative way to attract attention. Dental marketing used to be like lawyers who advertise their firms - kind of trashy. But with increased competition, it's hard to find a dentist without a website and glossy brochures. I think the example you stated is unique enough to stand out in the crowd.

By: Danny Bobrow

Danny Bobrow — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:39:28 +0000

Hi Connie;

It is not unusual or surprising that you and many other people do not think of dentistry as a business. This results from a number of factors.

Dentists, like their physician colleagues, were actually prohibited from marketing until the landmark 1979 Decision FTC vs. American Medical Association, in which prohibiting doctors from engaging in marketing was found to be a ‘combination in restraint of trade’ i.e. non-competitive and therefore, not in the best interest of the public.

Other de-factor reasons are a lack of business training offered by dental schools (to this day, very little attention is given to the fact that dentists, once they graduate, are expected to be entrepreneurs) and the perception my many (usually older) dentists, that marketing reflects poorly on the profession i.e. is unethical.

As you know, marketing, like any tool, is only as ethical or unethical as the person using it.

The good news is that more dentists are coming to understand the value and power that marketing holds for accurately communicating the wonderful benefits modern dentistry holds, not only for alleviating pain, but for diagnosing and treating systemic illness (like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer), and helping restore function, and oh yes, a beautiful smile!

By: Connie

Connie — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:34:41 +0000

Hi Danny,
thanks for your comment. I had never thought of dentistry being such a “marketable” profession. In most people’s minds dentists are to be avoided and only to be seen when in pain….Only after seeing that dentist in action I started doing some research and found a huge number of specialist marketing and consulting services for dentists.
By the way, the dentist now has new large tooth with a red cross on it mounted above his main window. An especially bright light shines on it during the night!
Connie

By: Daniel A. 'Danny' Bobrow

Daniel A. 'Danny' Bobrow — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:57:39 +0000

“White Noise” is the bane of effective marketing (I would, however, qualify that by saying “No Noise” is far worse).

In other words, what impresses me by what this dentist knows, and is acting upon, is the fact that he is capitalizing on his great location by varying the message he/she is sending to passers by. Were the message to remain the same, it would eventually fade into the background. Not only is the practice showing a new message, it is also showing it is a vibrant and active part of the community.

The challenge for practices that may not be blessed with so much drive by traffic is to consider how to apply these principles to its other outreach tactics e.g. an annual party with a different theme (like my friend Brad Engle does with his practice in Naples, FL) or an ad whose frame looks the same, but the offer and other content vary just enough to make readers want to take a look (think about those Vonage TV commercials and you’ll get the picture).