Is there a secret to marketing for big cases?
And has the economy taken its toll?
Some dentists will agree with the latter question, that they are getting fewer big cases. Is there a way around this? The answer to this is “yes”. And to answer this properly, we have to look at the secret of big-case marketing.
The “secret” to marketing big cases is marketing specific items effectively. Examples of specific items are “cosmetic dentistry”, “one-visit crowns”, dental implants”, “adult dentistry”, “veneers”, “Invisalign”, etc.
Marketing well entails using marketing technology: you have to figure out who your target market is, then work out how to attract their attention, what to say to interest them in you, and finally, how to get them to act.
You then need to work out a marketing plan and roll out a campaign that positions you in your target audience’s minds in your area as the dentist to see for that specific procedure.
In general, it is more difficult to get the big cases, since some people are more careful with their spending. So where “any” marketing might have worked before, it doesn’t now. There ARE people who still want or need the large case work, but you have to reach them intelligently.
We know from empirical observation that this is possible! One of our clients in the so-called “rust belt” called to tell us about a $50,000 case he had secured through our Internet marketing. Another called to say that a patient paid $40,000, who came in from a magazine we had made. We used intelligent marketing, including targeting the right audience, using “hot buttons”, appropriate imagery, writing copy (marketing text) that resonated with the audience and was interesting, and the right offers.
There are, of course, other factors besides the external marketing that need to be done. These internal and other external factors will be the subject of further newsletters starting next month, in which we will be going over in detail how to market and become the implant specialist of note in your area. The data will be useful for other large case procedures as well, but we will focus on attracting implant patients.
If you have the ability to do large cases, there is no reason you can’t get large cases if you let the right people know in the right way.
