461: Why Dental Marketing Works - Xaña Winans - a podcast by ACT Dental

Why Dental Marketing Works

Episode #461 with Xaña Winans

It’s not that marketing doesn't work — you just need a solid plan to make it work. And to help you create that strategic plan, Kirk Behrendt brings back Xaña Winans, founder and CEO of Golden Proportions Marketing, to reveal why marketing is important for a dental practice, what makes it work, and how to not get in your own way. If you're frustrated with marketing and ready to make it work, listen to Episode 461 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Understand your marketing DNA (direction, needs, and attributes).

Every practice is different. Marketing is not one-size-fits-all.

Create a solid, predictable, consistent marketing plan.

You need to participate in the marketing process.

Marketing is effective when it’s done right.

Quotes:

“What makes [marketing] work? A plan . . . Because when you have a plan, you know where you're going, you know what direction you're headed in, and it really forces you to follow a step-by-step process. That's how marketing works.” (5:04—5:22)

“I think people think of marketing as this super creative, people walking around in black turtlenecks, the Apple kind of minds of the world, that it’s super creative. But honestly, a lot of marketing really comes down to numbers. It’s very scientific.” (5:23—5:41)

“The thing that works the best in marketing is having a plan, tracking what you're doing, reacting to the numbers. It’s really the boring side of marketing, but that's what makes it work, is being able to measure it. And from there, then you continue to adjust and adjust and adjust your strategies till you find that perfect sweet spot.” (5:41—6:00)

“The supercool marketing videos and the flashy website, all of that stuff looks really good, which is why it has our attention in the first place. And every doctor does it, and you can burn through a lot of money just chasing that next shiny object because it looks good. And then, they end up frustrated with marketing, ‘Marketing doesn't work,’ when in reality, it’s just that you're taking this shotgun approach and there are just ideas all over the place instead of following one, solid, predictable plan.” (6:58—7:30)

“Marketing is incredibly effective if it’s done right.” (7:33—7:36)

“What makes a patient pick you? It’s understanding your [marketing] DNA.” (10:51—10:54)

“Right now, I think most doctors tend to approach it completely backwards. They go for that shiny object, ‘I need a new website. I need to be doing something on social media,’ without knowing what direction they're headed in, and is that the right strategy, and how to use that strategy the right way to actually get them there.” (14:23—14:41)

“Everybody can use the same tactics. It’s more about how you put them together that makes a patient stop and say, ‘I want this practice versus this one.’” (16:11—16:19)

“[Understand your] underlying personality and that it’s okay to tap into it, because that's what patients are buying. They're not walking in the door buying somebody who is just trying to get them in and out as quickly as possible and just collect as many insurance dollars as they can. When they're spending elective dollars on implants, Invisalign, and full-mouth, they're buying the person in the practice as much as they're buying the work that you're doing for them.” (18:32—19:01)

“What makes marketing work once the phone starts ringing is what happens in the practice.” (21:26—21:30)

“We get so caught up in getting it perfect that we never get started on it in the first place.” (22:10—22:15)

“Practices look at their marketing as though they're supposed to get that perfect patient . . . That's what they want right out of the gate instead of looking at, ‘Let's bring people in. Let's find out how this experience goes....

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