Endo Mastery

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Day: December 1, 2021

HOLIDAY WREATHS

A great marketing idea for this time of the year is a holiday wreath. Most big box stores like Home Depot stock garlands of tree boughs that can easily be made into wreaths. And of course there are premade natural wreaths available in many tree lots, florists and other retail locations. You may be able to source them directly from a local tree farm.

 

Wreaths are a great referral gift because they can be put almost anywhere in the practice … on the exterior door, on an interior door, hung on a wall, or even taken home by the doctor. The natural tree boughs are beautiful and they have a wonderful aroma that is both refreshing and nostalgic.

OUTREACH MARKETING FOR NEW REFERRERS

The lifeblood of every endodontic practice are those A+ referrers who send multiple cases every month. But referrers like that don’t grow on trees. Often it takes years to build and nurture those high-value relationships, which all start from the same place originally: as new referrers to your practice.

  • ● Plan to host a lecture or two with an outside speaker on topics of interest to GPs and at no cost to them. This lets you blanket your entire GP community with invitations to attend. Plan at least 3 rounds of invitations: 4 weeks, 2 weeks and 1 week before the event. One of those invitation rounds should be your marketing coordinator stopping in at each office to hand-deliver information about the program and inviting doctors to register to attend directly with them.
  • ● At lecture events, you can position yourself by welcoming everyone at the door as they arrive, introducing yourself individually (as well as on stage when you introduce the speaker), and mingling afterward. Great marketing always begins by establishing that personal doctor-to-doctor relationship, even if it is ever so lightly done in this kind of group event. Plan for and prepare a follow-up communication after the lecture event that gives you one more reason to reach out to attendees. For example, it could be a related article, an article you have authored, or your personal summary of the highlights of the program.
  • ● Another great way to position yourself is with your local dental society, which you should belong to and ideally volunteer for one of the leadership roles or to captain a key project. This is a great way to interface with other doctors who are not part of your referral base.
  • ● Dental society involvement also gives you insight into new GPs in the community. When you identify a new doctor, have your marketing coordinator drop off a gift basket with a welcome message at their practice. Your dental supply rep can also be a good source of information about new arrivals.
  • ● Look for other creative ways to create open invitations for GPs to meet you. Some endodontists choose to involve themselves with local charities or community projects, and communicate to doctors about ways they can get involved in those important causes. You can also consider some kind of annual open house in your practice that is themed around certain holidays or concepts. For example, involving your whole team in decorating the practice for Halloween or the 4th of July, along with costumes, etc.
  • ● Look for opportunities to sponsor events or host events, such as an annual dental picnic/barbecue, golf tournament, fishing tournament, or sporting event. The ultimate level of this is when you create a tradition that everyone in your local dental community looks forward to each year.
  • ● Marketing throughout the year is also important. Your marketing coordinator can plan to drop by one or two practices of potential new referrers that are nearby whenever they are visiting one of your existing referrer offices. That could be as simple as just saying hi and introducing themselves, dropping off your business card or referral kit, or maybe a small inexpensive gift annually such as a gift box of a half-dozen cookies or cupcakes from a local bakery, or a $25 coffee gift card.

However it happens, what you are always on the lookout for is that first referred case. That is the moment that matters, and it gives you a personal reason to connect with the GP and start building your doctor-to-doctor relationship. You can simply thank them for the case, find some clinical aspect of the case to discuss, or use the opportunity to have a full introduction call (or meet for lunch) to get to know them better.

 

Building clinical trust and value is always the foundation of a great referral relationship. The energy you put into first creating opportunities and then meaningfully connecting with new GP referrers is one of the most important priorities for your long-term success.