Dental Marketing: Is ZocDoc a Wise Investment?

Today I received an email from one of our client dentists in Pennsylvania. He wanted to know whether ZocDoc is a good investment. Since www.zocdoc.com is a type of dental marketing service, I thought I’d do some research and present my analysis and recommendation here on the MDPM blog. If you’ve had experience with ZocDoc and would like to share it with MDPM readers, please comment on our Facebook page.

What is ZocDoc?

ZocDoc is an online appointment-setting service for healthcare professionals. It primarily helps doctors fill empty appointments in their schedule. Physicians, dentists, and specialists can list their practices and profile on the ZocDoc website. Patients can find a doctor, make an appointment online, and leave a review. To sign up, you fill out a form online, and a ZocDoc representative calls you. On ThisWeekIn.com, in an interview with Cyrus Massoumi (see below), the inventor of ZocDoc, I learned that ZocDoc started by serving dentists.

A listing includes information about a practice and the dentist’s education, as well as available appointments, and patients can simply book online. In addition, dentists can have an appointment button on their website that sends potential patients to ZocDoc to book. ZocDoc does not replace other dental marketing, so a website and SEO is still extremely important. ZocDoc is simply an addition to a good marketing strategy.

What Does ZocDoc Cost?

At the time of the video, the cost was a flat fee of $250 per month, but it’s now $300 per month. The cost covers unlimited patient numbers.

Does ZocDoc Have Good Reviews from Dentists?

The online reviews I found for ZocDoc are from patients reviewing doctors, not doctors reviewing ZocDoc. Those patients who posted previews gave it a thumbs up, for the most part. However, ZocDoc kicked off with a huge marketing campaign, and there’s no way to tell if the reviews were paid or real. These days, we have to take that into consideration, though I have no reason to believe the reviews to be fake. So, consumers give ZocDoc a nod. According to the company’s website, nearly two million patients use the service to book appointments 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Read More

Your Dental Practice’s Reputation On Facebook

Do you recall when you first opened your Facebook account and made your personal profile? Your kids may have talked you into it after years of your objections. Perhaps you were one of the first to join Facebook, and you update it from your phone, tablet, and PC many times a day. Regardless of why you hooked up with this social media monster, if you’re a professional, you need to consider Facebook part of your public relations, or PR. Sure, you can have a private life, but Facebook is not private!

Gotta Keep ‘em Separated!

Your patients and potential patients can find you on Facebook, as can your buddies, parents, and children. The best practice, for teens and adults, is to keep everything light on social networks. Ideally, you shouldn’t say or post anything you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see. If you want to talk about old girlfriends with high school buddies, or you feel the need to post a risque cartoon,  you need to keep your professional and personal lives separate on Facebook. This does not mean creating a business page; that’s a separate issue. Instead, you should set up a personal page using your college nickname (and maiden name if you’re a chick) and a professional page using “Your Name, DDS.” Read More

What is Dentist Reputation Management?

As a dentist, you probably know that you need to establish a solid reputation online and good SEO. Your website, blog, and published articles contribute to building your reputation online. In the past few years, the term “reputation management” has evolved, but it does not refer to what you publish online. Reputation management is defined as overseeing the online reviews about a company or professional. Online reviews are patient testimonials about you or your practice, posted on Google+ Local, Yelp!, and other review sites.

The Problem with Online Reviews

As companies began to notice negative online reviews, lawsuits ensued. In many cases, because the Internet is international, and because Internet law is still developing, negative reviews – even those that are false – remain publicly posted. This can become a serious problem for companies, and dentists, who rely on the Internet as an important part of their marketing strategy.

Potential Patients Read Online Reviews

According to research, over two-thirds of Americans read online reviews before making a purchasing decision. Studies also show, people are 12 times more likely to believe online reviews that information provided by businesses. Consumers who participate in online conversations usually make a decision during their interaction, and ultimately spend more on the service or product.

The most relevant statistic is that 90% of people believe testimonials from people they know,

while 70% believe reviews by people they do not know.

When you factor in that bad reviews may not always be real or reliable, the consumers seem to be making uninformed decisions, when they feel they are making very informed decisions.

How can a dentist avoid negative online reviews? That’s the big question. The answer is, you probably can’t, so you need reputation management.

Reputation Management for Dentists

As with many aspects of life, the best way to counteract bad is with good. If you’re the victim of negative online reviews, you should actively seek positive online reviews. This means, ask patients you trust to go online and leave a review for you. Point them toward the sites with negative reviews. Over time, the positives will overshadow the negatives – unless the review company filters out positive reviews. If you find this to be the case, as it now is with Yelp!, direct patients to post positive reviews elsewhere.

Many review sites allow a business to respond publicly to reviews. This is always a good idea. In the case of positive reviews, respond with a brief statement of appreciation. For negative reviews, respond with compassion and concern. Invite the reviewer to call the practice and speak with you, personally. Mention that patient service is very important to you, and you would appreciate hearing the reviewer’s story. Do not get involved in a tit-for-tat. Do not defend your actions. Instead, respond only with kind words and empathy. Negative reviews can feel like a personal attack, so you may find that crafting a positive response is difficult. MDPM content managers often script responses to online reviews, and we’ve found that as a third party, our assistance is invaluable to our client dentists’ reputations.

If your regional dental association allows dentists to post testimonials (the Texas Dental Association does not), use positive reviews as the basis for your blog posts. Promote the reviews on social networks, and feature a testimonial page on your website. MDPM dental marketing consultants can help you decide whether services like Demandforce may be a good fit for your practice. You might also consider recording video patient testimonials, which can be very powerful in marketing.

Knowing the Status of Your Online Reputation

No business can address negativity if they don’t know it’s occurring. To stay informed about your online reputation, set a Google Alert for your name, practice name, and associates’ names. With Google Alerts, you’ll receive an email every time Google indexes the word or words you identified when setting up the alert. If you run across a negative review, decide what you’ll do to counteract it, then take action.

Online reputation management is rapidly becoming an integral part of Internet marketing, and the Internet is here to stay.

Your Dental Marketing Consultant

With Modern Dental Practice Marketing, dentists have access to full-service online marketing and consulting. We’ll examine your overall online reputation, including your website, blog, microsites, local listings, and reviews. Then, we will work with you to develop a strategy to improve and maintain a solid online reputation. Our goal is always to bring a dentist new patients. If you need help managing your online reputation or marketing your dental office, call MDPM at 972-781-8861 today for our complimentary Internet presence analysis.

Black Hat and ADA Non-Compliance in Dental Marketing

Do you really know what’s on your dental website? Recently, MDPM found seriously problematic, black-hat marketing tactics on some dental websites. Dentists need to know, some SEO tactics can get your domain blacklisted from Google and you’ll be up to your neck in hot water with the ADA – we’re talking suspended license. Ultimately, you are responsible for your dental practice’s marketing, and blind trust  of your marketing company could cause you major problems.

How Can My Website Get My Dental License Suspended?

The American Dental Association has guidelines for ethics, and the ADA’s marketing/advertising regulations are the basis of many state dental boards’ guidelines. The ADA offers a guide to help dentists understand advertising regulations.

The ADA’s marketing guidelines specifically state:

“…statements to be avoided are those that would: contain a material, objective representation, whether express or implied, that the advertised services are superior in quality to those of other dentists, if that representation is not subject to reasonable substantiation.”

 

For dentists who do not comply with regulations, state dental boards can  impose fines and suspension of licenses.

Also, most states have regulations against making comparisons of one dentist to another.

That said, do you know if your website is in violation? Perhaps you and your dental marketing firm should review the guidelines and your website as you make marketing goals for the coming year.

What is Black Hat SEO and Blacklisting?

As in the old west, in search engine optimization, a black hat means the bad guy. A white hat means the good guy. Black hat marketing defines a set of SEO tactics that Google and other search engines consider bad, unethical, and misleading. If caught by Google, a URL using black hat SEO tactics can be blacklisted, which involves being banned until compliance is re-established and proven. JC Penney faced this discipline a few years ago, and the mega-company had to grow a new Internet presence from the ground up, with a new domain. Read More

End of Year Dental Insurance Benefits Letter

October of last year, we wrote about that all-important end of year benefits letter that dentists across the nation are preparing to mail. Believe it or not, it’s that time of year again, already. October begins on Monday, and Americans will soon be caught up in the holiday madness. While saving money (and spending money) is on their minds, visiting their dentist probably is not.

Capturing Your Patients’ Attention

How can you convey to your current patients that they will save money in 2012 by completing unfinished dental treatment plans before December 31, 2011? In the midst of ghouls and goblins, turkeys and leaves, holly and mistletoe, how can you capture a few moments of their precious time to share this important message – a message that will literally keep money in their pockets?

Traditionally, dentists send out an end of year benefits letter that explains these points to patients:

  • Your dental benefits will expire on the last day of 2012.
  • The money you’ve put toward your dental insurance deductible will disappear; you will have to begin again in January of 2013.
  • If you have not seen the dentist in six months, you may be eligible for a 100% paid dental checkup and cleaning, under your dental insurance benefits.
  • If you have an incomplete or open treatment plan, you will probably spend less by completing the dental work in 2012 than if you wait until 2013, because the money you’ve invested toward your deductible will have reduced your out-of-pocket expense, but only until the end of this year.

Strategic Marketing Works

The end of year dental benefits reminder is actually part of your dental practice’s marketing. It is not simply a function of administration. Thinking about the letter in this way, consider where your patients go, what they see, and how they communicate with other people. In the Internet age, most of your patients probably use email and social networks to acquire information. In response, you should make your dental insurance benefits letter available via these channels. Read More

Transitioning Dental Patient Phone Calls into Scheduled Appointments

As dental marketing consultants, we know the acute importance of answering the phones in a dental office. You can invest thousands of dollars in marketing, and your efforts may lead many potential patients to call your office. Though you, the dentist, don’t answer your phones, the successful transition of potential patients to scheduled patients relies on how well you train your front office team. Unfortunately, many dentists do not know how to educate their administrative staff in this vital skill.

We’ve identified three common scenarios that turn new patients away, before they book an appointment. Steer clear of these traps, and you’ll see your new patient numbers grow. Read More

Building Value into a Dental Practice

This guest post is brought to you by our friends and colleagues at Goldin, Peiser & Peiser, LLP, a Dallas-based accounting firm.

For a dental practice to be successful, its dentist-owner must do more than simply produce satisfied patient-customers. The dentist must operate the practice as a business – an entity that generates revenues, assesses risks, and sets long-term financial goals.

Most dentists, although incredibly knowledgeable about the field of dentistry, are not trained in the analytical methodologies required to scrutinize and evaluate the overall business functions of their practice.  Even those dentists with the time and skills necessary to manage the day-to-day business operations of their practice cannot deny that their energy is better spent on the more critical role of treating patients.

Often outside financial consultants experienced in dental practice management and handling issues facing dentists can be valuable business partners. This allows dentists to concentrate on treating patients, while the business adviser provides personal attention and customized solutions that meet immediate and future business needs. Read More

Top 12 Give Aways for Dental Offices

Branding is important for any business, from a dental office to a carpenter, a daycare center to a superstore. A brand, in short, is the impression you want consumers to have regarding your business — so a brand is really an idea. However, to convey a brand, marketing professionals rely on logos, taglines, mission and vision statements, customer service standards, and tangible items. If your dental practice does not yet have  a logo to unify your online and in-person image, consider investing in one. MDPM has excellent graphic designers and reasonable rates. If you already have a logo, put it into action in your community.

Here are a few hot tips for integrating give aways into your dental marketing plan.You’ll find these items and others in the MDPM marketing specialties store for dentists. Low-cost items are great for handing out at events and schools, while items of greater value can be gifts for smile makeover, dental implant, or full-mouth rehab patients.

Think Seasonal

Universal Items

  • Coffee mugs are a staple! Keep nice, logo’d travel mugs on hand for referring doctors and patients.
  • T-shirts are a must-have, especially if you cater to kids and young adults.
  • Pens will be well received and freely shared among your patients and potential patients. Read More

How Important Is Social Networking for Dentists?

How many new patients have you ever gotten from Facebook? LinkedIn? Twitter, Pinterest, MySpace? The answer is probably none, if you’re like most dentists. I’m disappointed in dental marketing companies who shout “social networking” from the hilltops just because dentists, by nature, are interested in new things.

At MDPM, we’ve helped dentists set up Facebook contests, we offer a daily social networking posting service, and we set up Facebook and Google+ Local for all of our clients. However, we do not believe that spending hours a week on social networking will ultimately yield more new patients.

The Purpose of Marketing is to Grow a Business

Website First: Dental marketing aims to get dentists more patients. A great dental marketing strategy can be targeted toward a particular demographic — say, those patients who need dental implants, smile makeovers, or sleep apnea treatment. While Internet marketing is absolutely essential for dental practice growth, social marketing is just one of many tactics savvy dentists should employ (and in moderation). All dental marketing should begin with a well optimized, visually appealing dental website that can be amended as needed, as the practice grows. Branding with a logo, signature color palette, and practice name will tie all of your marketing together. So, create a brand, then build a website. Read More