Marketing Survey by New Patients Inc.

From Howie Horrocks of New Patients Inc.

I'd like to throw in my two drachmas.

It's not your actual age (whether you're young or old) that's going to drive anyone away. It's the perception (marketing being all about perceptions) that you may be too young or old. Dentists feed, contribute to and otherwise create these perceptions. You may be 70 but if you are up to date technologically and you're bright, smiling and energetic in your photos - you're going to be OK.

Case in point – I just got off the phone with Sandy White. He's certainly not old (and not 70) but he's older than the young guys (sheesh, what a brilliant observation!). But take a look at his photo (attached). I think this is one of the best dentist photos ever. Who couldn't like and trust a guy who wears a colorful bow tie? And has that sparkle in his eyes. Add to that, in the copy we point out that one of his hobbies is magic. This guy has to be fun and approachable! We also make it clear he's very up to date technologically and in fact so up to date that he's sought out by the media as a dental expert.

On the other end of the scale is what we call the Doogie Howser effect (oops, just dated myself). We've had clients just out of school that literally looked like they were 16. That's a problem for them. In that case we choose other marketable attributes to promote and de-emphasize the youngness factor.

Howie

Marketing Survey by New Patients Inc.

From Mark Dilatush of New Patients Inc.:

NPI recently had a survey conducted by UCLA regarding the public's perception of dental care and what were the most important factors for patients in choosing a dentist. This information was recently presented at the ACE 2008 Conference on Dental Marketing & Web Optimization. Here are some of the results.

#1. There is little difference in the selection criteria geographically too. The bottom line here is mom is mom. She protects her family. It is that inherent instinctual emotion that drives her selection criteria. The same CANNOT be said about males

#2. Price was the most critical, yes. But remember, in the absence of insurance - the criteria weight moved dramatically to value and benefits rather than price. Also remember, that moving UP the price range in small increments is recommended. Jumping up the price range immediately is heavily penalized

#3. For higher education levels, higher income levels, and ALL women - price was less of a sensitive issue. The age range where price starts to fall off was around age 50

#4. On technology, if you're NOT saying something about technology in your promotion, you are penalized. But, your presentation doesn't have to be ALL about technology because there's very little difference between being perceived as being on the cutting edge and actually being a pioneer.

#5. The extreme range of age IS definitely penalized. You can't be right out of school (or perceived to be) and you can't be perceived as an old curmudgeon.

Both electronic and hand to hand surveys were taken and received from all over the US (I think 38 of the 50 states) - Hand to hand were taken locally in LA. The professor that runs the group won some award for the algorithms used to analyze small data sets - small being under 100,000 (I believe). This data set and survey had less than 100,000 responses.

Gleaning: Here's what I gleaned. It's not pretty. If dentistry wants to drive consumer value points higher, it has to start from within. The insurance companies aren't going to help and the dental associations aren't going to help. Dentists are going to have to help themselves. They are going to have to promote their own offices and they are going to have to do so in a way that ELEVATES perception rather than DEGRADING perception. The more perception is degraded, I promise you - the more price as a consideration will climb. The more dentistry is elevated, the lower of a consideration price will be.

On a global scale, that's what dentistry can "glean" from the study.



Mark Dilatush
Vice President, New Patients Inc.
866.336.8237
609.433.0649 mobile
309.407.5987 fax
markd@newpatientsinc.com
http://www.newpatientsinc.com/
Free Marketing Newsletter Link
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1101777937354&p=oi
Free Customized Marketing Plan Link
http://www.newpatientsinc.com/dental_marketing_plan.htm

Gail Weisman Joins the Dentalcompare Team

Gail Weisman Joins the Dentalcompare Team

 

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 2, 2008

Dentalcompare, a buyer's guide for dental professionals, recently announced the appointment of Gail Weisman as Editor in Chief.

Hired for her award-winning reputation and wealth of contacts in the industry, Weisman joins Dentalcompare after an illustrious 31-year career at Dental Products Report (DPR), working specifically as Editor in Chief since 1997. For the past 20 years, Weisman has also served as Senior Editor for DPR's sister print publications, Dental Products Report Europe, Dental Lab Products, Modern Hygienist, and as a contributor to DPR's online resource, DPRWorld.com. These roles position Weisman to be a valuable asset to Dentalcompare as the company manages its expansive growth.

Weisman has received awards for journalistic excellence from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and American Business Media, as well as special recognition from both the World Congress of Minimally Invasive Dentistry and the Special Care Dentistry Association for ongoing promotion of their respective initiatives. Additionally, Weisman was a roundtable moderator at the inaugural Digital Radiography Congress and a featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Cal-Lab Group.

John Schwartz, General Manager of Dentalcompare, is thrilled to have Weisman join the team. "Gail's reputation, credibility and relationships in the dental community make her an outstanding fit for Dentalcompare as we continue on our path to be the industry's most reliable and up-to-date source of dental product news and information," said Schwartz.

Weisman is equally excited for this new phase in her career. As a representative of the leading unbiased print publication for dentists, I had the privilege of listening to and addressing the needs of both the manufacturing community and the end user— the practitioner— and to be witness the incredible innovation boom in technology, materials, and clinical procedures, particularly over the past five years," said Weisman. "This unique opportunity has afforded me a valuable perspective that I am eager, proud, and humbled to bring to Dentalcompare— the next generation vehicle for helping dentists choose products wisely and enhance patient care," she added.

"There is no doubt that Gail will help us achieve our goal of providing the best dental product and practice information, not just on the internet, but anywhere," said Editorial Director, Steve Diogo. "I am thrilled to have her talent, insight and experience on our team."

About Dentalcompare
Dentalcompare, headquartered in South San Francisco, California, provides the most current and comprehensive product information for the dental industry. Dentalcompare, combined with its sister sites Biocompare and Medcompare, boasts an extensive directory of more than 600,000 products and specifications, providing you with the most expansive technology guides on the web.

Media Contact
Amy Raymond: araymond@dentalcompare.com

"One of THE BEST meetings I have ever attended..."

From Anne Haines of Springstone Patient Finance:


What a fabulous meeting!  Congratulations to Tom, Mike, Tim & Peter. You did an amazing job.  

 

For me too, this is one of THE BEST meetings I have ever attended from the focused topic to the world-class speakers to the enthusiastic attendees. I would highly recommend this meeting to team members, doctors, and exhibitors alike.  

 

The positive energy is palpable, the camaraderie unforgettable.  

 

Thank you all for your support.

Sincerely,

Anne Haines
Director, Professional Relations
Springstone Patient Financing

NPI - First Impressions Video

From Mark Dilatush of New Patients Inc.:

All:

If you were at the Austin Marketing Meeting and saw what Howie and I presented about the new video production for your web sites – we have named the product/service and have developed an FAQ sheet for it. The FAQ sheet can be viewed here: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddrkkcnm_8cvz56vd5

We have assembled a list of about 25 of you, from the meeting that are interested in having this done. But honestly, we didn't have an FAQ sheet for any of the rest of you and certainly not for those that could not make it to Austin.

So, here it is. If you're interested in First Impressions for your website, just send me a quick email saying so. We likely won't follow up with you until Marv and Kent get theirs done (mid May). We certainly won't badger you – we don't do that anyway. It's just a list. If we email you at the end of May and you are no longer interested, just tell us and we'll go away.

The initial response has been, well, overwhelming. We wanted to get this out to the ACE doctors first to give them first dibs when we start filling the production schedules.

Anyway, thanks for listening. Back to your regularly scheduled programming!

Mark Dilatush

Vice President, New Patients Inc.

866.336.8237

609.433.0649 mobile

309.407.5987 fax

markd@newpatientsinc.com

http://www.newpatientsinc.com/

Free Marketing Newsletter Link

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1101777937354&p=oi

Free Customized Marketing Plan Link

http://www.newpatientsinc.com/dental_marketing_plan.htm

The Road to Success

The Road to Success

By Dr. Michael Maroon

 

Congratulations Doctor! You’ve just finished dental school and passed your dental licensing exam. Welcome to the real world. You never have to answer to anyone again other than yourself. There will be no more clinical or practical exams, or listening to lectures where time seemed to stand still, or getting a signature to complete a procedure or receive supplies from the dispensary, you have achieved the goal that you set out for so long ago…to become a Dentist…and you have arrived. You have completed four or more years of the finest dental education that your school has to offer and you are ready to conquer the dental profession, help lots of people and make loads of money. School is over! YES! Is it really?

Everyone has their own personal definition of success. For some of you it may mean that you go into the public health arena and make your mark. For others, you may have gone on to specialize in orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics, oral surgery or one of the other fine recognized specialties in dentistry. For others still, it may mean that you are now in private practice, either as a solo practitioner, or as an associate or partner. In any case, your definition of success is formed by your values and beliefs. For me personally, success means that I am recognized by my peers and patients as being a great dentist, and I am able to provide for my family to live in relative comfort. Not too bad a definition, is it? I always thought that once I graduated from dental school all of the things that defined success for me would come quickly; however I discovered that I was mistaken. Success is not a destination, but a never-ending journey and sometimes the road is smooth and paved and other times it is rocky and full of potholes! One of the first things that I realized after I graduated was that even though I received a tremendous education that allowed me to pass the dental board examination and become licensed, I really didn’t know a lot about what was happening in the real world of dentistry. There were so many materials, techniques and procedures that I was NOT familiar with coming out of dental school…boy, I still had a lot to learn! The good news is that there are so many resources for higher education in dentistry that you don’t have to look hard to find them.

            One of the great benefits about the modern generation is that we have access to an incredible amount of information via the world wide web. There are so many great resources of information and most of them are free! One of the best things that I’ve ever done is become a member of an online dental community. There are several to choose from, however my favorite is the ACEsthetics Email Network (www.ACEsthetics.com), of which I am the founder. This email network has been around since 1998 and we have thousands of dental professionals from around the world sharing information on procedures, materials, courses and daily life on an ongoing basis. The majority of the dental professionals on the network are esthetic-oriented and we have some of dentistry’s leading clinicians, speakers and practice management consultants as participants as well. The network is free of charge and is a great way to gain valuable information from your colleagues, some who have been in practice for several years and have loads of experience. There are several other online communities that share information, a quick web search will give you a listing and you can select those that are appropriate for you.

Another recommendation that I have for any new graduate is to get involved with organized dentistry. Try to determine what aspects of dentistry appeal to you and locate an organization that can help you meet like-minded dental professionals. For me, it meant being a member of the Connecticut State Dental Association (CSDA), the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) and the American Dental Association (ADA) to begin with. As I gained more experience, I realized that cosmetic & esthetic dentistry appealed to me so I joined organizations like the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) and the Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics (ACE). When I wanted to gain knowledge of implant dentistry, I became a member of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) and the International College of Oral Implantologists (ICOI). These organizations have events where they bring in the leading speakers on the subjects that interest you and the added bonus is you get to make some friends who can help you along the way to success. One of the added benefits of belonging to the ACEsthetics Email Network is that when I attend the ACEsthetics events, I already know the people who are going to be there! We’ve shared information online and now I get to meet them in person. It’s like we’re long lost friends returning for a reunion. In addition to the great information that I receive, that camaraderie & friendship makes the meetings more memorable and worthwhile.

In recent years, dental continuing education has seen several post-graduate “institutes” crop up as a way for dental professionals to receive more detailed continuing education on specific subjects. For esthetic dentistry there are several great institutes of higher learning, especially The Hornbrook Group (www.HornbrookGroup.com), The Nash Institute (www.RossNashSeminars.com), Aesthetic Advantage (www.RosenthalInstitute.com), LVI Global (www.LVIGlobal.com), the Seattle Institute (www.SeattleInstitute.com), the Kois Center (www.KoisCenter.com), the Dawson Center (www.DawsonCenter.com), the Misch Institute (www.Misch.com) to name just a few. These institutes feature world renowned clinicians who have developed a series of ongoing continuing education programs to impart their knowledge of dentistry on to dental professionals. Don’t forget that many dental schools also offer additional hands-on training in a wide range of subjects. They are ALL great resources of information and I highly recommend that you visit the websites of the programs that I have listed and, in addition do a web search for some of the other programs that I have not listed. You will find that you may want to attend one or more of these programs as your knowledge and experience in dentistry increase.

As you gain knowledge in dentistry through these online continuing education programs, a great way to challenge yourself clinically and didactically is to achieve credentials from dental organizations. The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) has both Fellowship and Mastership awards for general dentistry. The American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) has Associate Fellowship, Fellowship and Diplomate awards for implant dentistry. The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) has an Accreditation award for cosmetic dentistry. The Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics (ACE) has a Fellowship award for cosmetic & esthetic dentistry. As a recipient of several of these credentials, I can tell you that the pursuit and achievement of these awards allows you to challenge yourself personally and professionally to be the best that you can be. They allow you to be recognized by your peers and patients as being clinically proficient in specific areas of dentistry. I have yet to meet anyone who has achieved an award who has not become a better dentist in the process. The pursuit of the award is what makes you better. You learn, see and do things differently. You challenge yourself and expand your thinking and clinical skills to become a better dentist. You make new friends and gain more confidence when dealing with patients, and can help patients by being able to provide additional services.

One of the best quotes that I’ve ever heard is, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” That statement has resonated loud and true throughout my life. If you look at your dental career in stages; Stage 1 – Recent graduates years 1-3; Stage 2 – years 3-5; Stage 3 – years 5-10; Stage 4 – years 10-15; Stage 5 – years 15 and beyond; you will discover that at each stage in your dental career you will learn something new and different teachers will appear as you are ready to learn and understand new things. Some of the things you will learn will be based on your own personal experiences in dealing with patients. You’re going to see some crazy things…patients have a way of getting themselves in some pretty crazy situations due to neglect, lack of education or lack of finances. In any case, in the real world, patients are going to ask you to help them get out of some tough situations and most of the things you will learn will be due to your desire to be a better dentist for your patients. You will seek out the online communities, organizations and resources that will allow you to treat the situations that you are seeing in your patients on a daily basis. For me, dentistry is as exciting today as it was in 1986 when I graduated…I’ve just seen more than you. May you always enjoy success in dentistry and may the road get smoother as you go on your journey to success!

 

About Dr. Mike Maroon

            Dr. Mike Maroon received his DMD degree in 1986 from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. He maintains a private practice in Berlin, CT focused on Functional Esthetic Dentistry and fun! He has presented seminars to dentists and staff all over the world. As one of the founders of the Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics and moderator of the ACEsthetics Email network, Dr. Maroon is recognized as a leader in esthetic and restorative dentistry.

            Dr. Maroon is a member of many fine organizations and has obtained Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry, the Academy of Dental/Facial Esthetics, the International Congress of Oral Implantologists and is a Master in the American Academy of Implant Prosthodontics. He has also published articles for leading dental journals like Dentistry Today, Dental Economics, Contemporary Esthetics and Restorative Practice, Dental Practice & Finance Mentor and ACEsthetics Magazine.

            For more information or to contact Dr. Maroon please visit www.ACEsthetics.com, or www.AdvancedDental.com or email him at MMaroon@ACEsthetics.com.

Congratulations Peter Maroon - The newest Miami Dolphin!

To everyone who believed this...

APRIL FOOL'S! :D

Gotcha!

On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 4:55 PM, Dr. Mike Maroon <drmikemaroon@gmail.com> wrote:

My younger brother Pete just received notification that he has been hired by the Miami Dolphins as a Marketing Director. He is friends with the new Miami Dolphins owner, Stephen Ross (no, not the dental Steve Ross), and Pete got a chance to explain what he was doing with ACE and as they talked, one thing led to another, and Mr. Ross asked Pete to send in a resume...and the rest is history!

Although Pete has been a die-hard New England Patriots fan, many of you know that he has been living in Florida for several years. He has been putting feelers out for a new job for a while now and we at ACE are going to miss him, but now, I get to score some serious tickets to some decent football games.

Pete's last day with ACE will be April 15, 2008.

Good luck baby bro!

Successful Deployment of Sikka Products for Dental Practice Consultants and Educators

	Successful Deployment of Sikka Products for Dental Practice Consultants and Educators. Practice consultants and industry leaders for education including Dr. Bill Blatchford (Blatchford Solutions), Sandy Pardue (Classic Practice), Gary Kadi (Next Level Practice), Joan Forrest (Dawson Academy), and others start using Dental Practice Optimizer for Practice Advisors and Clinical Practice Optimizer.   Milpitas, California , March 31, 2008 - Sikka Software, a leading provider of business intelligence and optimization software for small business healthcare industry reported initial success in serving the dental practice consultants and educators community.  Dental Practice Optimizer for Practice Advisors (DPOPA) and Clinical Practice Optimizer has generated good initial reviews amongst consultants, CPAs and a prestigious education group.   Dr. Bill Blatchford, President of Blatchford Solutions (www.blatchford.com) said, "The first step in management is to measure all metrics in the business. Most dentist do not have the time to measure in real time, so they manage by looking in the rearview mirror. This software is the most effective I have seen to measure in real time."  Gary Kadi, President of Next Level Practice (www.nextlevelpractice.com) said, SikkaSoft is a practice management consultants "loops". The SikkaSoft DPOPA is ideal for tracking our clients daily accountability by position bonus system. I also really like the morning meeting dashboard to support a factual, focused and productive morning huddle.  Sandy Pardue, (www.classicpractice.com) said, You no longer have to manage your practice blind folded; SikkaSoft takes you out of the dark and allows you to see what is going on with quick and easy reporting. DPOPA is a valuable tool for all doctors and consultants wanting to detect system failures, or to boost the income of a practice.  Joan Forrest, President and CEO of The Dawson Academy (www.dawsonacademy.com) said, the philosophy of the Dawson Academy maintains that a thriving practice can only be achieved by developing skills in three areas:  clinical, behavioral and entrepreneurial.  The Dental Practice Optimizer for Practice Advisors and the Clinical Practice Optimizer Beta are the best tools I have seen for developing the entrepreneurial aspect of the triad of skills.  These systems provide the dentist with CEO decision making measures and monitors for leading the practice.   We are excited about partnering with Sikka software to make these tools available to students of the Dawson Academy . Vijay Sikka, President and CEO of Sikka Software Corporation said, We are now working with major practice consultants in providing the Dental Practice Optimizer for Practice Advisors (DPOPA) and Clinical Practice Optimizer Beta and powerful analysis and monitoring abilities.  Using this product, practice consultants can get any data and analysis including all major business and clinical indicators and ratios, embezzlement analysis, fee analysis, return on investment for marketing, referrals, patients, insurance companies automatically emailed to them at a frequency that they choose.  They can also get an enterprise dashboard that shows them all of their practices that opt-in for coaching on a single screen and with one click then can look at that practices optimization dashboard. Dental Practice Optimizer for Practice Advisors and Clinical Practice Optimizer Beta is available in bulk pricing with discounts in bulk units and is supported by Sikka Software Corporations industry leading Sikka On Demand delivery model that consumes only computer time of the dental office in installation and activation.  Sikka Software Corporation delivers trainings using webinars driven by industry leader Citrix GoToWebinars for up to 1000 dentists or coaches at a time.  With 2-3 webinars a day, training through multiple targeted sessions for team members and practice advisors can be tailored to specific needs.   Sikka Software Corporation products work seamlessly with all major dental industry practice management systems, including Dentrix, Softdent, Eaglesoft, EasyDental, PracticeWorks, Mogo, Open Dental and DentalVision and also financial systems including QuickBooks, PeachTree, Quicken, MSMoney, CheckMate and others.   About Sikka Software Sikka Software Corporation was incorporated in California in early 2004 with the intention of providing best of class business optimization and intelligence software solutions and benchmarking to dental and medical community.  Sikka Software Corporation products, with more than a 2,800 installations, help dentists and staff members understand and maximize their business profitability with best fee schedules, ROI analysis, marketing, embezzlement analysis, patient analysis, insurance analysis, supplies analysis and demographics analysis.  Privately held Sikka Software is headquartered in Milpitas , California with offices in the United States and development center in India . More information can be found at www.sikkasoft.com.   Contact Tony Bojorquez Sikka Software Corporation (800) 94 SIKKA x204 tony@sikkasoft.com

Congratulations Peter Maroon - The newest Miami Dolphin!

My younger brother Pete just received notification that he has been hired by the Miami Dolphins as a Marketing Director. He is friends with the new Miami Dolphins owner, Stephen Ross (no, not the dental Steve Ross), and Pete got a chance to explain what he was doing with ACE and as they talked, one thing led to another, and Mr. Ross asked Pete to send in a resume...and the rest is history!

Although Pete has been a die-hard New England Patriots fan, many of you know that he has been living in Florida for several years. He has been putting feelers out for a new job for a while now and we at ACE are going to miss him, but now, I get to score some serious tickets to some decent football games.

Pete's last day with ACE will be April 15, 2008.

Good luck baby bro!

ACE Virtual Exhibit Hall from ACE 2008 Conference on Dental Marketing

Welcome to the ACE Virtual Exhibit Hall featuring our sponsors explaining their products and services from the recent ACE 2008 Conference on Dental Marketing & Web Optimization.

Please take a moment to look at the videos and hear how these great companies can help you in your daily practices.

DentalMarketers.com


SEO.cc


Caring Quest


Smile Reminder


MedNet Technologies


Sikka Software


Yodle.com


New Patients Inc.


The Scheduling Institute


Golden Proportions Marketing


SNAP Dental Imaging



Additional Sponsor websites
CIEOS.com
Brad Durham Seminars
Dental Find
VeneerVideo.com
Springstone Patient Financing


Thanks to all of our sponsors for making the ACE 2008 Conference on Dental Marketing & Web Optimization an overwhelming success for the 2nd year in a row!