Dog Star Media is proud to present to new web site debuts this week. Congratulations to Dr. Anh-Tuan Trong and his wife April, who completed their Flash web site in exactly the projected number of weeks. Their new site, EastBaySurgicalArts.com, is going to be a centerpiece in the marketing of their new practice.
MedicalSalesConsulting.com has some great Flash Video. Congratulations to this new company who made the wise choice of professional talent for their video.
I would also like to share two great stories from recent meetings with some of my retainer clients, both cosmetic dentists. I have heard a lot of people talking about the slow first quarter over the past several weeks. I have also tried to encourage all of you to fight through it, making improvements when you could and trying not to evaluate your marketing decisions the way an accountant would... based on a short-term bottom line. The fact is, in days like this, the more gun-shy and less battle-tested players tend to recoil. (Then, in better times, the complain to me about wanting to avoid peaks and valleys... the opposite side of the same coin.)
However, there are those that make consistent efforts, consistent investments and search for places where they can personally affect productivity. In other words, they work through slow times rather than running for cover.
Dr. Amy Norman, a cosmetic dentist in Everett, WA (www.dreamsmile.com) reported some great news for me that occurred across the entire fourth quarter. Facing the same slow times we all are, she and her team set the goal of improving case conversion. For the first quarter, she blew past her goal almost doubling the percentage they wanted to increase. The result, her best quarter ever... that is how she will remember 1Q/2008.
Dr. Norman set this goal on her own, but improving case acceptance is a major part of improving your marketing ROI. In my coaching program, I help clients try to focus on tracking this to learn if improvement in this area can help cut marketing expenses.
Dr. John Rose, a cosmetic dentist in Long Beach, CA (www.longbeachcosmeticdentistry.com) combined an improved investment in SEO with some hands-on work by his staff. His team updated their web site with fresh, new content on a regular basis. Dr. Rose and his team have begun to blog, to add new content to his site more frequently and a greater focus on SEO gave way to some telling statistics.
Since Dec. 15, Dr. Rose’s web traffic has steadily increased with new visitors almost doubling each month from this time last year. The traffic stays longer and for the first time ever, made his Patient Services page the most requested page on his web site, even more so than the home page. That means people are clicking to it, checking out a service, then clicking back to it. It also means it is more interested traffic. How has this paid off? His web site has a tracking number which has recorded a steady increase in phone calls from the web site and, in our meeting yesterday, Dr. Rose confirmed that they had exceeded their goal for new patients in the month of March, 2008. He said this was a goal that he thought he would have to work up to over the coming months due to the economy. How will he remember the first quarter of 2008? Probably as the quarter that he beat the odds by sticking to his marketing guns and putting some elbow grease into attracting more people.
The lesson is that you can exceed goals in slow times. How? First of all don't quit. It is okay to re-evaluate but do not quit. Don't let your accountants make marketing decisions for you. I tell my coaching clients (the ones who will allow me to help them budget... yes, some do not) that you should make a consistent marketing expenditure each month and have an annual budget. Why? To avoid cowering when times get tough. The same way you need to pay the light bill, you need to stick to your SEO investment and marketing investments that give you marketing infrastructure. Coming out of slow times is even harder if you start in slow times. If you are getting advising, ask those advisers how to better return ROI. I know in my coaching, the clients get unexpected responses. I almost always advise spending less, but doing it more smartly.
I am not taking the credit for the clients whose story I have told here. But, they are following good advice and practices. I made a call out for anyone who needs advising in a slow market. If you need the advising, sign up for my coaching. Just email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
