Regaining control of your marketing Strategy?


 

Ok, a lot of dentists are complaining of lack of business and our "slowdown"is to be expected (between 20-50% depending on which dental practice is reporting). That being the case , the sky is not falling and all is not lost. Probably it's  time that we should get back to basics and work on promoting our services to our patients. The best way to promote our dental practice is through our recall programs. Reaching out to patients via texts and phone is still the best way of getting them back to our practices. It is an opportunity to explain all the steps we are taking to keep them safe ( increased disinfection, ambient air management, use of PPE and social distancing). 

To the best of my knowledge there  haven't been Covid clusters linked to dental offices. We have been open continuously seeing patients for routine services since June 8th and no one has yet to call us up two or three days later to inform us that they have tested positive to Covid 19.  Of course we do a good job of screening our patients and take their temperatures and measure their blood Oxygen levels when they arrive. We don't have a crowded waiting room and my staff is well trained in taking proper precautions.

We  call our patients from recall lists daily and little by little most of our patients are returning. This is quite remarkable since many have been hiding out in surrounding areas that are 30 mins - two hours away by automobile and many report that their trip to our office is there first time back in the city. God bless them, they know the importance of their check up and cleanings. Most do not want their teeth to be another casualty of the Covid19 pandemic.  That being the case our phone calls have helped remind them of the need to see a dentist regularly and most have put off seeing us for longer than usual. They have been scared to travel into and around NYC but many have been willing to come see us since they know we will provide a safe environment once they get to our office. 

While some dentists are still just "seeing emergencies", this is not the way we should manage our patients for the long haul and this pandemic will likely be with us for the next year or more. Assuming that they can get to our offices safely ( wearing high quality masks certainly will help) we can provide routine dentistry in a safe manner. If you haven't been to your dentist this year, why not reach out them and see if you can schedule a check up and cleaning. Feel free to ask them about the steps they have taken to keep patients safe  and probably you will feel reassured .





from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2020/10/regaining-control-of-our-marketing.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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