Let’s first discuss why CE lectures for your referring GPs are a good strategy for marketing your endodontic practice.
The purpose of any marketing strategy is to create opportunities for growth. Growth in an endodontic practice is driven by the number of cases completed, which is dependent on the number of cases referred. There are only two ways to increase the number of cases referred:
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● More referrals from new referrers
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● More referrals from existing referrers
Obviously CE events that you host for your GP community are opportunities to meet and establish goodwill with doctors who are not referring to you yet. Greeting them, talking to them during the break and after the event, and sending follow-up communications are all opportunities to start building a referral relationship.
For existing referrers, keep in mind that no GP should have a goal to grow their own practice by doing more endo themselves. The speakers and topics you choose should reflect that. By engaging GPs in growth around comprehensive restorative dentistry, they should come to realize that endodontic cases create a higher risk for clinical failure and lower level of personal profitability if they do those cases themselves. So, endo cases are best referred out as a matter of routine.
Marketing tips for successful events
A great speaker and topic are not enough to drive high attendance. You and your Marketing Coordinator need to execute a promotional strategy where you blanket your entire GP community with invitations, and follow up. Here’s a recommended approach:
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● If your local dental society has a regular newsletter, arrange an announcement in the newsletter at least a month in advance and continuing up until the event.
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● Alternatively, there may be a local Facebook group or online forum for dentists where you could also have an announcement.
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● If there are some influential local study clubs, make sure you communicate with their leaders to share your event details.
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● Four weeks before the event, mail out an invitation flyer or postcard to every GP on your contact list.
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● Two weeks before the event, your Marketing Coordinator should begin to visit all your referring offices and pop by as many non-referring offices as they can to drop off the flyer/postcard in person.
“I just want to make sure the doctor saw the mailer we sent out. You should have received it last week. I can register the doctor right now if they would like.”
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● In the final week before the event, your Marketing Coordinator should revisit any practices that you particularly want to connect with if they haven’t registered. For example, a large GP group practice that doesn’t refer to you would be worth a follow-up effort.
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● At the same time, you personally should call any of your key referring doctors who have not registered yet. You want as many of your top referrers as possible peppered throughout the audience so they can influence other doctors seated around them.
Like anything, successful events are driven by an effective system. Considering the expense of the speaker, venue, and catering, it’s worth the special effort to ensure a full house.