Tag: David Schwab Ph.D.

New Dentist Should be a Manager

A new dentist joins an established dental practice. Let’s call this individual Doctor Newcomer. The owner of the practice, Dr. Established, has high hopes for the freshly minted dental graduate. Dr. Established thinks that Dr. Newcomer will pick up clinical speed and confidence and one day be ready to take over the practice.

Dr. Newcomer soon learns that one of the hardest aspects of joining a private practice is dental practice management. Not only is Dr. Newcomer inexperienced in dental marketing, but there are added pressures of managing the team.

Dr. Newcomer is relatively young. It is quite natural for the new, young dentist to hang out with the team, swap stories, and talk about the road ahead. The problem is that the new dentist is often drawn into the staff orbit. He or she relates to team members rather than Dr. Established, who is the boss.

Bad habits and patterns soon emerge. Team members bring Dr. Newcomer into their confidence and Dr. Newcomer reciprocates. Before long, even in the most professional dental offices, Dr. Newcomer unwittingly crosses the line and starts to share gossip with the team. Inevitably, someone makes an unflattering comment about Dr. Established, and Dr. Newcomer is in the middle of this cabal.

Dr. Newcomer is not savvy in the ways of office politics. He or she does not yet know that there are no secrets in a dental practice. Dr. Established finds out that Dr. Newcomer is talking about him behind his back. In the eyes of Dr. Established. Dr. Newcomer has become part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

The best way to guard against this scenario is to be aware of it at the outset.   Dr. Established needs to make it clear to the entire team that the management structure of the practice has changed. It now consists of Dr. Established and Dr. Newcomer. There needs to be respect throughout the team for everyone’s position, and the role of Dr. Newcomer needs to be clear to everyone on the team from day one.

David Schwab Ph.D.

www.davidschwab.com

 

 

Dental Marketing Lessons from Caesar’s

The last place one might expect to learn about dental marketing is at a casino in Las Vegas, but during my recent visit to Caesar’s Palace, I noticed some savvy marketing that every dentist can use.

I was in Las Vegas for the American Academy of Implant Dentistry meeting, which I enjoyed very much. I had dinner in the hotel at the Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill. The restaurant was crowded so I opted to eat the bar. I watched a football game on television and ordered from the regular restaurant menu.

The bartenders were interesting to watch. They served food and drinks, kept up a friendly banter to engage the patrons, and they provided an exceptional level of service. With their peripheral vision, the bartenders could see someone signaling at the far end of the bar. They served quickly, cleared plates, and made eye contact with customers often.

I noticed that the bartenders took pride in their work and exhibited a high degree of professionalism. They anticipated their customers’ needs and provided prompt service without hovering over anyone or being pushy. The bar patrons could sit back and relax, because the pros were taking good care of them while exhibiting a great attitude, high energy, and a commitment to their profession.

The ability to scan the room and anticipate needs is also important in dental marketing. Having a laser focus on patients and letting them know that their needs will be met and their questions answered will help engender trust and respect in patients.

Many patients have told me that their have respect for their dentist and they have also often commented on the team. People notice when the staff exudes competence and a can-do attitude.

If you want to show your patients great attitude and not just talk about it, take the team to a busy restaurant and bar where the waiters and bartenders give it their all. It will be motivational and educational for the entire team and important lesson in dental marketing.

David Schwab Ph.D.

davidschwab.com

 

 

Dental Marketing: Stop Losing Dental Patients

While many practices make great efforts to attract new patients thorough dental marketing, there are practices that are losing patients at the first point of contact. I call dental practices all the time and my personal impression is that more practices are experiencing busy times during the day when they cannot answer the phone. Instead of a live person providing a greeting, patients sometimes get a recording.

There are two issues here and two very good solutions. First, being adequately staffed to answer the phones is very important but often either overlooked are rationalized away as not possible. The same practices that attend dental practice management courses and other dental seminars and come away convinced that they should provide “Ritz-Carlton” service often miss the primary reason for the success of Ritz-Carlton: the company is always well staffed with helpful people.

I have checked into discount hotels late at night when the check-in line literally snaked through the small lobby and outside the building. At the Ritz, there are always plenty of well trained staff to expedite the check-in process, answer the phone, and handle guests’ needs.

In a dental practice, if you expect people to pay your fees for extensive treatment, then you need to cover the phones, even during busy times when all lines are ringing and multiple patients are checking in and out.

I know that some people will say that due to staff budget constraints, it is just not possible to provide adequate phone coverage 100% of the time. If this scenario has to happen, then my second recommendation is to have a specific outgoing message that callers will hear when you are busy. Instead the usual, after-hours outgoing message, put a special message on your voicemail system that says something like this: “Thank you for calling Dr. Smile’s office. Our office is open today. If you got this message it just means that we are busy for a moment but we will call you right back. Please leave your name and number and we will return your call in five minutes.”

For the busy potential new patient who is calling during his or her coffee break, this message is reassuring. The patient now knows that you are in the office, you care about the call, and you will call back momentarily.  This is great dental marketing!

By following these two dental marketing tips, you will lose fewer patients and capture more new patients at the first point of contact.

David Schwab, Ph.D.

www.davidschwab.com