Connie Hopper explores how your brand has the power to inspire patients and secure referrals…
There are two points that are almost always put forward by practices when talking about their marketing:
- Most of our new patients come from referrals
- We’d like more referrals.
What then becomes apparent is that, despite the fact that the best and cheapest route to gaining new patients has been recognised, there is little or no specific plan of action to maximise the potential of that route.
In other words, referrals just seem to happen, almost by accident.
Of course, this is brilliant news – attracting new customers without doing a thing is any business’s dream. But it only works to a point, as evidenced by point number two above.
So, how do you drive your referrals up?
The answer is simple – by taking control of your brand and giving your patients more reasons to talk about your practice.
We live in a world where averageness rules – and dentistry is no different – it’s a profession filled with similar practices, with similar environments, delivering similar dentistry.
The problem is, ‘average’ doesn’t get customers talking. Customers talk about exceptional experiences or really poor experiences – and not much in between.
So, assuming we all want to be at the exceptional end of that spectrum, let’s talk about how we get there.
The best way is to start at the end…imagine for a moment that you’re in your local pub and you overhear a conversation where someone is recommending your practice to a friend or relative…what do you hope they would be saying?
“They’re the friendliest dental team you could ever meet”?
“I was really surprised…it wasn’t anything like any other dental practice I’ve been to before”?
“It’s really modern and tuned into the needs of busy people”?
“It’s so calm and relaxed, it’s brilliant for nervous patients”?
The key here is to recognise your core strengths, build on them and turn them into unique selling points for your practice. So, if you already have a friendly and empathetic team, what can you do to make them the most friendly and empathetic team around?
By going the extra mile, you’ll be moving from average to exceptional – and ‘exceptional’ creates stories that your patients want to tell others about.
What you will be doing is taking control of your brand and creating a reputation that is driven from within – it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Once you’ve nailed what your brand is all about, your next challenge is to ensure that the unique qualities that set your practice apart shine through in everything you do and not just in the interactions you have with your patients. Consistency is key…in your literature, your website, your waiting area, your colour scheme…everything.
For instance, if you want a reputation as your town’s most calm and relaxed practice – you probably wouldn’t choose a colour scheme based around strong reds and pinks.
On the other hand, if you want a reputation as the modern practice that is tuned into the needs of busy people, you will want wi-fi, charge points, a smart online booking system and an interactive digital system in your surgery.
It’s all about alignment to your core brand values, your personality and what you want your reputation to be built on – get that right and you’ll have a strong, recognisable brand that your patients will happily talk about.
