How to Market Neuromuscular Dentistry - Page 1
This chapter was written by Xaña Winans,
President of Golden Proportions Marketing.
Many dentists question whether NMD can be effectively marketed. They say it's not as visual or sexy as cosmetic dentistry. They say it's too new and too difficult to understand. We've found that NMD can be marketed effectively. Not only will this marketing drive patients into your office, it will position you as the NMD expert in your area. We've helped dozens of dentists achieve these goals. The purpose of this chapter is to show you how they do it.
There is no magic to marketing neuromuscular dentistry successfully. The strategies we employ follow the same principles that we would use to market banks, universities or consumer goods. What's important is that you are prepared. The following steps will make sure that you are.
Let's explore the steps in the process that we commonly guide our clients through in order to develop a strategy.
Step 1: Start with the Skills
Before you start to market yourself as a neuromuscular dentist, be absolutely sure you can produce the results you promise. Nothing kills a bad product better than good advertising - so make sure you have a great product. Invest in the education and technology necessary to be able to deliver comfortable, healthy smiles. At GPM, we believe in the NM message so strongly that we won't market any other occlusion philosophies, and we won't market a doctor until he's got the skills necessary to deliver what he's promising. Once you feel confident with your skills, it's time to develop and execute a marketing plan.
Step 2: Create a Plan of Attack.
All successful marketing efforts start with the creation of a long-range plan. Whether working with a professional agency or drafting the plan yourself, make sure it defines the following:
- Goals and desired outcomes.
- Position: What position do you occupy in the minds of consumers relative to the competition? What makes a patient want to choose you instead of the dentist next door?
- Strategy: What communication methods are you going to employ? Include internal and external strategies.
- Budget: How much can you afford to spend to communicate the message - annually and monthly?
- Implementation Calendar: When is each part of your strategy introduced? How long does your campaign last? Make sure to include time for the actual development of each strategy.
- Success Parameters: Identify anything that can get in the way of your success and decide in advance how to address it.
Once your plan has been drafted, evaluate it carefully. Are your goals too lofty? Are you shooting for the moon when your budget will only get you to the city limits? There's nothing wrong with creating a plan that allows for long-term growth. If everything you actually wanted happened all at once, you probably couldn't handle the increased traffic anyway.
Step 3: Implement trial runs.
This is internal marketing at its most basic. Your external marketing will bring new patients in the door, but first you must determine how to treat them once they show up. Start by establishing a neuromuscular patient protocol. Practice on your team members or a few trusted patients until you feel confident with the experience you will present to new patients.
Consider the office environment, how the technology is presented and used, even the language you use. Terms like "neuromuscular" and "jaw sonography" can be very intimidating to a patient. Present your procedures and findings to your patients in a language they will understand.
As with cosmetic dentistry, you will need to create that WOW! experience to ensure your patients know they've walked into a different kind of office, one that cares about them as individuals, not as numbers. Everything you do needs to communicate that philosophy, from a patient's initial contact with the front office to your final case presentation.
Golden Proportions Marketing Company - Providing services in Custom Cosmetic Dentistry Advertising, Marketing Plastic Surgery Practice, Medical Logo Design and Dental Office and Patient Marketing.
Dental Office Marketing
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