Dentaltown July 2017 - 73

Get inside your
potential patients'
heads and learn
what's holding
them back.
Think about your potential patients like
Instant Pot engineers thought about their
future customers. What do people in your
community need to help get them into the
office? It's not a question you can answer
quickly. To dig into what's keeping people
away, you need to develop good contacts in
your community and really understand the
lifestyles of your potential patients.
Robyn Damaris, the brand strategist for
PDA Marketing Group, explains:
"Understanding that different demographics have different needs seems like a no-brainer
but it's something that holds back a lot of
practices. Young families, for instance, are
typically very busy and will respond to practices
that offer convenience, such as before-school
appointments or " family block" scheduling. In
some markets, older couples with no children
seek out health care professionals they believe to
be prestigious-those with extensive credentials
and a healthy list of patient testimonials.
Learning how to anticipate your patients'
wants and needs is crucial. Sometimes a
simple change, like opening an hour earlier or
framing your achievements on your practice
walls, can have major effects on a practice's
success. Take the time to get to know your
community's demographics-it will benefit
you in the end."
One of the best ways to develop a sense
of your community is to get out, meet people
and talk to them. Seek out local professional
groups. Ask your existing patients about the
people they know who avoid the dentist.

Consider attending a local health fair or
talking to primary care providers to learn
who is avoiding the dentist and why they're
avoiding appointments. Use your social
media accounts to reach out and ask for
feedback from people in your community.

Remove roadblocks
before your patients
meet them.
Instant Pot addressed customer
concerns by engineering a new kind of
pressure cooker and then working with
bloggers to develop recipes for it. They
developed a product to meet the needs of busy
families, but also removed a roadblock for
early adopters-the problem of not knowing
how to use the gadget.
Once you've gotten a sense of the main
reasons people in your community are
neglecting their dental care, you must also
go beyond their stated reason and remove
the next roadblocks, too. For instance, if
you add block scheduling to your practice
but don't include a way to easily make a
block appointment online, you haven't
really solved the problem; you've simply
moved the roadblock farther down the
street. In this case, you should not only add
block scheduling but also make it easy for
families to schedule block appointments
outside of office hours.
If you discover that people aren't coming
in because they lack dental insurance, it's not
enough to announce that you have payment
plans: Let them set up a payment plan online,
at the time they book their first appointment.
Get them enrolled before they walk in the
door the first time, and you've overcome a
major roadblock for them-the question of,
"How can I afford dental care?"

Sometimes a
simple change,
like opening an
hour earlier or
framing your
achievements
on your practice
walls, can have
major effects
on a practice's
success.

by Vicki McManus Peterson and Bruce B. Baird, DDS
Vicki McManus Peterson, CEO and co-founder of Productive
Dentist Academy and PDA Marketing Group, is a national
public speaker, key opinion leader and active owner in a dental
practice in Wisconsin. With roots steeped in dental hygiene
and marketing, she has published two books, FUNdamentals
of Outstanding Dental Teams and Frustration: The Breakfast of
Champions. In addition, McManus is an expert in the industry
regarding leadership communication, hygiene strategies and
effective dental practice marketing.

Bruce B. Baird, DDS, one of America's most productive practicing dentists and
a leading productivity expert, practices comprehensive treatment planning
and full-mouth restorative care in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In 1990 he
established the Texas Centers for Implant Dentistry, a mobile practice that
allowed him to work with more than 25 doctors in the region. Recognizing
his ability to help other dentists achieve the same success, Baird founded
Productive Dentist Academy in 2004 and partnered with McManus in 2005.

dentaltown.com \\ JULY 2017

73
http://www.dentaltown.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown July 2017
