The Orthodontic Marketing Matrix – Do or Die?

In the movie, "The Matrix", Neo is given a choice by Morpheus to take the red pill, which will shatter his world but show him the truth about it or the blue pill, which will let him go on in his safe and secure cocoon of life.

Rethinking and restructuring your current orthodontic marketing and management strategies with the latest computer digital technology is similar to taking the red pill for orthodontists and their team.  It’s not an easy pill to swallow. Working outside of your comfort zone in the digital world of interactive websites like those designed by Orthosesame™ and Televox™, paperless software management systems with finger scanners and 24/7 digital marketing with presentation software and PowerPoint kiosks, to name a few, are the current strategies recommended to those Orthopreneurs™ ready to tackle the 21st century.

Today's digital technology is Greek to many. Most doctors rely upon their staff to learn, maintain and troubleshoot their current hardware equipment and software programs. Now, adding in the latest technological developments of the computer age, it pushes many beyond their perceived thresholds. The fear of tackling a major learning curve, during a busy patient day, stops many offices in their tracks. Consequently, they opt for the blue pill and their safe secure cocoon.

I experienced, first hand, the learning curve and vast advantages of the computer age and all it can offer to an orthodontic practice. Once the systems are set up and the team has overcome their fear of the unknown, they appreciate the benefits. Now, there is no looking back.  The red pill saved the day! You wonder how you ever managed to operate efficiently with outdated technology and why you fought the restructuring for so long. The amount of TIME SAVED, for the front office staff alone, is well worth the investment of time and energy, by all members of the team, to get through the training and adjustment period.

Email and phone appointment reminders, quick and secure access by parents and patients to their account and appointment information and computer generated email recall systems and enewsletters are CRUCIAL TIME SAVERS and practice builders. They not only save front office team members hours every month, they decrease noshow appointments in the operatory, and parents appreciate the convenience of 24/7 access to information. This is a great marketing tool that improves customer service and builds better patient relationships.

Do you continue to do what you have been doing and risk being passed over by competitors in the race for attention in an attention-deficit society with the blue pill, or do you opt for the red pill and put yourself out there in a strange new world of endless possibilities and fight for your spot in the orthodontic jungle?

Food for thought!