INTERNAL MARKETING

Internal marketing for esthetics begins as soon as the patient calls your office. Your immediate objec-tives should be to find out the patient’s major needs and desires, and to begin educating the patient to the various treatments in esthetic dentistry that you will offer.

Accurate notes taken by your receptionist are important. They allow you and your staff to begin identifying why the patient is motivated to change to your practice and what his or her expectations are. Then your internal marketing program contin-ues the process by educating patients about esthetic dentistry and advising them of your expertise and abilities in that area.

Silverstein⁹ states that the purpose of internal marketing is to motivate existing patients to:

1. seek regular dental care 2. accept needed treatment 3. refer others to the practice.

This should begin with a carefully prepared plan that consists of the following four basic categories:

1. Patient education 2. Office atmosphere 3. Appearance and attitude 4. Staff training program Patient Education

Internal marketing for esthetic dentistry begins the moment a prospective patient phones your office.

The wording used by your staff sets the tone for the remainder of your professional relationship. How he or she speaks, what is said, the tone of voice, and the responses given should be orchestrated to achieve a positive result. You can follow up the telephone call with a properly written letter or, better yet, a pack-age of material to help acquaint the prospective

patient with your practice. Since many esthetic fail-ures are caused by a lack of understanding and com-munication among the patient, dentist, and staff, it is absolutely essential to establish a standardized rou-tine at this stage so that all patients receive the same initial information and thus have the same basic grasp of who you are and what you do.

Brochures can be an effective way to attract and hold new patients. An informative brochure that tells about the philosophy of your practice, who is involved in the practice, office hours, emergency procedures, insurance claim handling, and pay-ment procedures, etc. helps answer many questions and should be mailed to the new patient before the first office visit.^7,8

In order to help patients better understand den-tal terminology, potential esthetic treatments, alter-natives, and procedures, it is extremely helpful to provide them with the opportunity to read appro-priate sections in “Change Your Smile,” (as dis-cussed in Chapter 2, Esthetic Treatment Planning).

Illustrations help to reinforce the practice in the mind of the patient and can reduce some of the anxiety associated with the first visit. An effective use of before-and-after photographs as part of the office decor can initiate questions and heighten interest in esthetic treatments (Figure 3–2). Anoth-er excellent method of patient education is through the use of short videos describing various esthetic treatments (Figure 3–3). Typical subjects are bleaching, bonding, and porcelain laminates. These videos can be quite effective to both educate and

Figure 3–2: Before-and-after photographs help educate patients and increase your esthetic practice.

motivate your patients in a short time period.

While professionally done patient-education tapes are usually the most effective, you can also make your own tapes. Using a good color video camera (Panasonic AG-3 or similar model) and a tripod, let your assistant film you telling an imaginary patient what you want him or her to know. A TV/VCR can be placed in the reception room to allow patients to view these tapes while they are waiting. We will dis-cuss this topic in more detail later.

A “family album” in the reception room is anoth-er effective educational tool. Include some biograph-ical data of each practitioner and staff member as well as before-and-after photographs of patients who have received esthetic treatment. Ideally, the photographs you use should be from your own practice with your patients’ identities carefully masked. If not, truth in advertising requires that you or your staff make sure your patients understand that the photographs are not yours and that they are only for purposes of illus-tration of the possibilities of treatment in situations like theirs.

The danger of presenting someone else’s results and implying that they are your own can come back to haunt you if later your patient is not satisfied with your results and wants to cause problems for you. He or she can say that the photographs you showed were

considerably better than the quality received. Then, if your patient (or their attorney) discovers that the photographs you presented do not represent your own treatment but that of someone else, you may be liable to be questioned. This is far different than showing them a book written by another dentist, with illustrated photographs that demonstrate cer-tain principles of esthetic correction. As an alterna-tive, or in addition, a professional or self-made video can be played on a continuous basis in your recep-tion room using a TV and VCR. Informarecep-tional brochures on topics such as bonding, laminates, cos-metic contouring, etc., can be displayed as well.

These brochures may be the same ones you use in your external marketing.

There are also many small touches you can add to personalize your practice, such as recipe cards marked “From Dr. Jones’ office” on which to copy out recipes. This may keep your current reception room magazines from being torn and will also remind the patient of your practice when the recipe is used. Notepaper with the practice name and phone number is also appreciated.

For many practices, one of the simplest and most effective ways of letting patients know about ongo-ing activities is through a newsletter. By communi-cating patient events (with permission) such as mar-riages, births, vacations, achievements, etc., you can help your patients feel like members of an extended family. In addition to your office news, try to relate longevity and proper oral maintenance to healthy eating, and other tips for better living. The newslet-ter can be a simple one-page typed sheet up to a more elaborate four-color, multipage, professionally done newsletter (Figure 3–4). Several companies provide complete newsletters including an open col-umn or two that you can use to personalize your practice. However, as previously mentioned, this can be an expensive project. Alternatively, if you or one of your talented staff members feels creative, why not consider desktop publishing? Have fun, and at the same time, save money!

Office Atmosphere

The image you want to project should be reflected by your surroundings. A building that is well main-tained, attractively landscaped (Figure 3–5), has convenient parking facilities, and is clearly marked with professional signage says a lot about the prac-tice to the new patient. Once the patient enters the

Figure 3–3: This patient is using a portable small screen VCR (Panasonic) to learn about available esthetic treatments while her x-ray films are being developed.

reception area, does a receptionist greet the patient (Figure 3–6) and see that all necessary information is completed and made part of the chart? Or does the patient have to ring a bell and wait for someone to appear from behind a closed window or door?

There are other considerations in making the patient immediately feel comfortable. The recep-tion room itself must extend a warm greeting (Fig-ure 3–7). Sit in your own reception area for 15 minutes. Do you feel comfortable? Could you sit there for a lengthy period? Are materials available to occupy your time? Is the area clean? Does it con-tain current magazines that are not torn or care-lessly stacked? Are there fresh flowers or green plants? Does the room give a favorable profession-al and esthetic impression to the patient?

A TV and VCR can make the reception room come alive with positive ambience: we live in a TV-addicted culture where the presence of the monitor is normal, even comforting (Figure 3–8). Waiting time can pass much faster, especially for impatient spouses or companions.

The videotapes provide a patient education “hot spot”; people tend to absorb and retain more infor-mation from videos than from printed material or verbal presentation. Establish a video library and keep it updated; most people like to choose from a selection of videos. You may also want to make cer-tain videos available for your patients to borrow, espe-cially because of the low cost of video duplication.

Consider videotaping public or health channel pro-grams for reception-room viewing. Propro-grams relating to critical healthcare issues and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements will convey to your patients your concern for them and their health and safety. I suggest the use of ear-phones to avoid disturbing nonviewers.

Take a quick tour of the rest of the office. Are treatment and consultation rooms esthetically pleasing and not too “clinical” (Figure 3–9)? Are the counters clean with items neatly arranged? Are the color and decor consistent throughout the office? Is the business office cluttered? Is privacy possible for discussing financial matters? Take a close look; if you would not feel comfortable as a patient in your office, take steps to improve the things that bother you. Remember, esthetic details such as color and art influence the patient’s percep-tion of your artistic ability.

Figures 3–4A and B: Professionally done newsletters are a choice of many practices today, wisely used only after higher priority marketing programs are in place. (Figure 3–4B courtesy of Dr. Arlen Lackey)

A B

Appearance and Attitude

Next, take a close look at your staff. Are their uni-forms attractive, clean, and professional-looking?

Are members of the staff well groomed or do you see excessive use of makeup and jewelry (Figure 3–10)? Do they project the image of the practice you want? Remember that your staff may have more interaction with your patients than you have!

Now, take a look at yourself. Are you presenting a well-groomed and up-to-date professional image (Figure 3–11)? Hippocrates wrote that a physician should “be clean in person, well dressed and anoint-ed with sweet-smelling unguents.” Since that time, we have seen trends in dress from starched white jackets to tie-dyed T-shirts. Studies by researchers conclude that, for the sake of maintaining the con-fidence of their patients, dentists should dress well, but not too well. The issue of dress and appearance turns out to be more important than it might seem, because patients make decisions about how much confidence to place in a dentist partly based on his or her appearance. Patients judge everything from the length and style of your hair, your nails, weight, posture, and especially your breath. There is no sin-gle way to look or dress that will appeal to every potential patient. Thus, you need to decide which type of patient you wish to cultivate and establish your look and dress accordingly.

Our opinions are influenced by what we see. The office that is tastefully done from the reception room

to the treatment rooms with esthetically pleasing decor enhances the patient’s perception of the den-tist’s ability in esthetic judgement. Just as the sur-roundings influence the opinion, so does the appear-ance of the dentist and staff. This especially applies to the esthetic appearance of the smiles of the dentists and staff. Miles⁶says, “Projecting the best image is a matter of caring how the patient feels.” Every oppor-tunity to display an appreciation of esthetics is an opportunity to inspire confidence in your patients.

So look in the mirror at your own smile and make sure it represents your own concept of esthetics. You may also wish to go a step further and make sure all of your staff, and even your spouse, take advantage of the best that esthetic dentistry has to offer.

Figure 3–6: Patients should be greeted in a cordial manner and assisted with all necessary information.

Figure 3–5: A new patient entering your office should be favorably impressed with your building and entryway.

Concern for the patient’s well-being and com-fort can be demonstrated in many ways. Requests for information should always be accompanied by

“please” and “thank you.” Good manners are never out of style. Unless they request otherwise, always refer to patients as “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” or “Dr.”

Seating throughout the patient’s stay should be comfortable and provide ease of sitting and rising, particularly if you have elderly patients. During the first few visits, when the patients move from the reception area to other rooms in the office they should be introducted to your staff. Make sure one

of your staff members escorts patients when they need to walk through your office. Privacy should be provided for confidential conversations such as financial arrangements, treatment planning, and any time that your patient feels it necessary to dis-cuss something with you without others present.

Staff Training Programs

Develop a cohesive, standardized training philosophy and program for your staff, by first inculcating in them your individual approach to dentistry, patient care, office management, and interpersonal relation-ships. Once they understand your philosophy, you

Figure 3–7: The reception area should be neat, interesting, and attractive.

Figure 3–8: A reception room TV monitor can provide educational informa-tion as well as entertainment for patients and their companions.

the end, at any time, rather than having to jump into the middle of an ongoing, live training session.

• Guarantee 100% attendance, with no excuses for having missed something.

• Lessen frustration, increase understanding and retention, and generally enhance the credibility of the topic.

• Reduce training time and costs. Trainers will be freed from repetitive teaching tasks and can devote more time to individual problem solving.

• Allow the concise presentation of separate but related tasks in a procedure, reducing the time and effort normally required to learn the com-plete procedure.

• Allow new employees to “meet” former employ-ees on tape, also helping to retain continuity for staff who usually will remember (fondly or otherwise) those who are “long gone.”

• Allow the use of vignettes to simulate positive or negative behavior or emphasize key points.

• Keep the techniques and procedures current because the tapes can be easily modified as necessary.

Remember, if you do it right once, you do not have to do it again, and again, and again….

and your staff can work better together to develop a more effective training program. You will be ahead of the attitude game if you involve them in the decision making and development process of the training pro-gram. They will have psychologically “bought into”

the program by helping design it. Training can be done by hiring an outside professional, having your-self or a staff member conduct training sessions or workshops, or producing video training tapes.