Push or Pull PR in Orthodontic Marketing

Time for me to get back on the blogging trail. Attendance at Spring Users Meetings was up this year and my lectures on how to market correctly on the Internet was a hot topic.  Lectures were at full capacity.

The light bulb is finally going off for more and more orthodontists on the importance of Internet marketing to build their business now… and in the future.

Many doctors, staff, and consultants were sitting in my lectures testing their sites on their cell phones while I was speaking. Some were surprised to find out they were not found or positioned correctly on Google maps or in natural page ranking when testing their website and social networking sites.  If you are attending the AAO in Washington this year, stop by my booth #317.  Would love to meet you to discuss options if you are having a problem or don't know where to begin evaluating the process.

Now is the time to check it out… You don't want to be the last one off the starting line. It will make it very difficult or almost impossible to catch up down the road with your competitors in local areas. The Internet is hear to stay and your future visibility is on the Internet will be the key to marketing your business externally. Make sure you are set up correctly for optimum rests.

That being said… What is the difference between PUSH and PULL marketing everyone is talking so much about today when targeting today's consumers? I found two videos that explain it well for those what want to understand what is considered the latest marketing tactics by marketing gurus around the world.

Check them out and tell me what you think. 

Below is a more detailed looked at PUSH|PULL marketing with examples being used today.

Find out today how your are positioned on the search engines.  Don't hesitate to contact me for a FREE online consultation to test and evaluate your Internet Marketing presence.

Think of the ONE orthodontic Marketing programs you wanted to start or finish in the past year… but your perfectionism has crippled and even paralyzed your progress.

I myself am guilty of the this.  My new mantra for 2009 is "Speed To Market" with my new products for Internet marketing.  Whenever I find myself paralyzed in a moment trying to make everything perfect, I am going to remind myself "sloppy success is better than perfect mediocrity."

Why is this so?  In the current economic crisis, you can't wait to figure out how to attract new patients if you want to survive, let alone build your practice in 2009.  Internet marketing is still virgin territory and no one has all the answers.  Visionary practices who move or "fail" forward, even if the don't totally understand the current tech savvy market, SEO, and how Internet marketing, video, and social networking will promote their business, will be the first to corner the new patient market looking for treatment options on the Internet.  There are still families with disposable income requiring orthodontic and dental treatment.  How are you going to drive them to your practice rather than the competition?   

No one explains the key to being productive and moving forward better than one of my business coaches Alex Mandossian.  He was always driving this point home during my coaching classes.  Watch and listen yourself,  so you too can become more productive faster, smarter, and with less effort.   December 17th post AlexMandossian.com.   

After you watch his video, please post your comment.

I thought this report was interesting and wanted to pass it on to you.  Tomorrow I will discuss the new report released by Permission TV.  "If you want to know the latest report in anything… you'll find it on the Internet."

Today’s consumers base the majority of their buying decisions on emotion.  In an economy run amok, this includes making the emotional decision not to spend income until the economy improves. When trying to get patients to loosen their purse strings, it is easier to win the trust of patients and parents with “Show… Rather Than Tell”.  

Instinctively business owners, just like consumers, react emotionally and tend to do the opposite of what will promote their practices when times are tough, like now.  They look for areas to cut expenses rather than increase the freeline to attract new patients.  If you haven’t already implemented a content marketing strategy for your orthodontic practice, now is the time to switch your mindset.  Marketing with content vs marketing with treatment… switches your focus from “how do I engage patients to start treatment”… to  “how do I offer prospects highest value for their money” so they naturally want to start treatment in my office.

Fewer families have disposable income to spend on elective procedures.  To complicate matters, the competition is greater than ever before among GPs and pedodontists for orthodontic prospects. Smart marketers create value with the entire orthodontic treatment experience rather than just promote their professional knowledge and expertise.  They increase new patient referrals through satisfied patients who can’t help but tell friends and family about them.  Patient praise was created by the entire emotional experience from start to finish.

There are three types of marketing content in a treatment experience marketing campaign.  All three are necessary to fill a marketing funnel which exceeds patient expectations and perceived value for treatment.  Here is a brief overview.

1.       Freeline Content – Give away services that costs money in order to entice patients to come to you such as:

·         Internal – the latest digital interactive information software to explain treatment modalities, interactive websites with email and 24/7 access to  patient information, gourmet coffee bars, latest in video games, Internet computer stations and WiFi in reception areas, etc.  Give them more content or services than anticipated.

·         External – Be generous within the community; scholarships, community service, support community sports, projects, and the needy.  Provide referring dentists and staff with content rich information and gifts that not only exceed their expectations, but outshine marketing tactics from the competition

2.       Relationship content – Connect with prospective new patients and build relationships with verifiable proof case presentations both online and in-house.  Testimonials, especially video, from satisfied patients are the highest form of relationship content.

3.       Conversion Content – Make FREE treatment offerings to prospective new patients with:

·         New Patient exams

·         Follow Up recalls

·         X-rays

·         Retention visits

·         Generous family discounts

·         Referral thank you programs

A Web 2.0 Internet marketing strategy will tie all three marketing contents together, under one umbrella, as a promotional tool. It is the easiest and most inexpensive avenue to get the word out to patients specifically looking for orthodontic treatment.  More and more orthodontists and dentists are beginning to realize the importance of social networking and starting online conversations with patients.  Don’t be left in the dust in 2009.  Get your practice online with a SEO Web 2.0 marketing strategy and go for it!  Better it be you than the competition…

Tomorrow I will send out Part II – Online Video Given Highest Focus in Digital Marketing Campaigns