Picking The Wrong Marketing Company Will Cost Your Thousands

THINK Return On Investment

What I found while growing my practices was that I wanted to get additional in sights about where my patients were coming from and the correlation with which treatment plans they accepted. I started to build marketing systems to measure true ROI. The goal was to get to a point where I could track the exact amount of revenue I was generating for any given client and how much I spent to market and service that client.

This was incredibly useful, but required a time commitment to track the numbers. In my opinion, it is valuable but not necessary. If you implement the simplified ROA/ROI you are way ahead of the game. I also want to note that not all marketing modalities can be tracked. Exactness and perfection are a significant challenge here.

There is a good chance a patient hears about you on the radio, finds you through a Google search, checks out your reviews, visits your website and finally calls the number on the top of your website to book an appointment. You have both a call-tracking number and internal measures (mandate the team to ask how the new patient heard about you) to ensure you know where the lead was generated. The call-tracking number states the website was the source, but the patient tells your team they found you on Google. The real source for the lead was the radio. This is a reality.

The good news is, many lead generation strategies can be tracked exactly. It may be imperfect, but I can promise you tracking and making every effort to stay on top of your numbers is going to save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your career.

I encourage you to use call-tracking numbers and a company that can gather the following information for you:

1. Determine the number of leads generated from a modality.
2. Listen to the calls for quality assurance and ensure the front desk is converting the calls to new patients.
3. Determine the Simplified ROA/ROI on your ad spend.
4. Track how much you are spending as a percentage of your revenue.

Most business owners are not doing their own marketing or micromanaging their marketing campaigns. They don’t have the knowledge, time or passion, and that is fine. That is why we have marketing companies. The issue is, marketing companies all talk a good game and take your money, yet only a few deliver great results. Here are a few tips to help you find a reputable company that can deliver results. (Warning: No guarantees. This just minimizes the risks.)

Ask the marketing company:

1. If they specialize in dental marketing or to provide the number of dental clients they serve.
2. What their client retention rate is.
3. The number of years they have been in business.
4. If you can speak to three of their clients who have been with them 12 months or more.
5. The expectations regarding the number of generated leads and if they track this in-house.
6. Do they require that you sign any contracts with them? (Contracts into which you are locked in for a certain period of time are red flags for me. I much prefer to work with companies that know they need to work hard to keep my business or the following month I am gone.)
7. Do they use original content (SEO companies mainly here) and if so, what is the cost associated with copywriting?
8. Online: Who owns the website and its content? You should own all the assets.
9. Do they offer regional exclusivity to their clients or are they going to do marketing for the dental office down the street, as well?
10. Can they provide you with samples, especially if using print ads? Compare those to others (your staff have received at their home addresses if they live in your target area). Is your offer the same? Will yours stand out in a mailbox next to your competitors’?