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4 Strategies to Recover from Communication Failure in Your Dental Marketing Content
I’m close to certain that the following line is from the classic movie, Cool Hand Luke. Right or wrong it reveals something about the nature of being accurate and understood in your dental marketing content.
The line: “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”
I could create the (assumed accurate) movie scenario that featured the line but…if I’m wrong that would be weird and completely send my opening story crashing to the ground. So, I’ll assume I know what I’m talking about and continue communicating something of value in this post.
That’s the thing about communication. Sometimes you enter into a conversation – one to one or with a crowd – and you think you know what you’re talking about.
Then someone steps up and says, “No, you’re not correct…!” Or more often, “I’m right…listen to me.”
Either way, communication in that moment has the potential to stall. And when that happens “…failure to communicate…” is in full-swing.
What to do?
Communication is tricky business today. There are more channels than ever.
In fact, I’m of the shared opinion that social media communication has had a groundbreaking impact on how we interact with our words. For example, what’s implied in a text message, a tweet, or Facebook post is often misunderstood.
The reason – the face-to-face element is missing. Perhaps this is fueling the current surge in live, interactive video content such as Periscope or Blab.
Your dental marketing conversations can have equal confusion. Or more than likely what’s implied misses the intended target as result of “failing” to communicate in a way that delivers your message in a compelling way.
4 Strategies to Recover from Communication Failure in Your Dental Marketing Content
1-Be urgent.
Your services, products, or resources meet a need. At least they should or you’re in for other challenges.
Realize that just because your patients or clients know they need what you produce is no guarantee that they will. It’s vital that you stay front of mind (more on how to do this in a moment).
You must give your audience a real, street-level, where-they-live reason to want (desire) your product or service today, now, right away!
If you provide dental services, a high percentage of your production relies on pain as a “reason” for your dental patient to schedule. Pain creates urgency, no doubt.
But pain is only one “reason.” It does drive production but only for those experiencing it and who choose to act on it.
- Inventory your services, products, or resources. What deeper needs do they meet? Who needs them, when, and why?
- Explore your recent reviews, consultations, contact form requests, etc. What themes do you see? Are there seasonal trends, etc., that prompted someone to request your services, schedule, etc.?
- Engage the wants and desires you hear/see. Create “urgency” through special offers, promotions, testimonials. Use “urgent” language to communicate them – “now,” “what happens if you wait…,” “too late,” “schedule/order/etc no later than…” – you get the picture.
2-Be useful.
No one has time for fluff or irrelevant content. Communicate something of value to your audience.
- Deliver value through every dental marketing channel you use. This includes your email promotions, your website content, your blog posts/articles, your newsletters, your special offers, etc.
- Reevaluate everything by asking – Is this useful? Does it deliver value?
- Be courageous enough to revise it or…trash it if it fails to communicate usefully.
3- Be unique.
This does not mean be overly creative for the mere sake of being creative. Placing a bizarre, new, flashy header on your website isn’t the essence of being unique.
Uniqueness is about solutions. Even further, being unique is offering something that’s different in some way than every other solution currently available.
- Think (because marketing requires much thinking) about your products, services, or resources as a solution more than a commodity. What problem(s) are solved when someone schedules, uses, etc.?
- Ask your audience what problems they’re facing. Use simple surveys for post-treatment, product orders, service usage, etc.
- Create and deliver content around the problem and how your service, product, or resource is THE unique solution.
Remember, your uniqueness is the result of asking the right questions to discover the most pressing problem then delivering the most unique, compelling solution.
4-Be ultra-specific.
Being specific isn’t enough. Why?
There’s too much marketing “noise” these days vying for your market’s attention. Being ultra-specific is rising above the “noise” by consistently delivering value through benefits.
Stop being vague at all costs!
- Eliminate fluff wording in your promotions. Words like, “we would like to…,” “we’re pleased to announce…,” “Introducing…” are only the beginning. Why pick on these commonly used phrases? They numb your reader because it sounds like every other promotion they read.
- Cut-to-the-chase. Tell your reader what you want them to do (specifically). Call them to action throughout your promotion and especially at the close.
- Compel with specific benefits. Avoid being feature heavy in your dental marketing content. “Latest,” “greatest,” “state-of-the-art,” are too vague. Go deeper and inform your reader about the specific benefit(s) they will receive.
“Failure to communicate…” is one failure you can’t afford to make in your dental marketing. Rise above the “noise” with clear, compelling solutions.
3 Strategic Dental Marketing Skills That Enable You to Know Your Audience
It’s more than a game. At least, that’s how I feel when playing “Go-Fish” with our six year old grandson.
Your dental marketing is more about strategy. How you apply a certain type of strategic skill these days can improve your outcomes.
“Go-Fish” is a simple children’s card game. It’s mostly about matching cute, aquatic characters or associated numbers from the card faces you’re dealt.
There’s nothing really complicated about it. The strategy involves your powers of observation.
Listen and learn mindset
It’s common to make assumptions when you market your dental services. For example, observe much of today’s dental practice marketing promotions and what do you hear?
Smile this, smile that, right? Sure, smiles reveal healthy teeth – that’s the core of dentistry.
Is there more? Yes, there are many deeper benefits provided by dentistry.
Strategically speaking it’s to your advantage to dive-deeper into the longings, desires, needs, hungers, you name it of your patients or clients. This is the essence of strategic observation.
3 Strategic Skills That Tap Into the Deeper Needs of Your Dental Marketing Audience
1-Listen to conversations via social media.
Communication has changed. And depending on your experience or perspective, you would have to agree that in many ways it’s improved.
Mostly the speed and access to communication has shifted dramatically. Data driven conversations (text, social media, direct messages, etc.) are somewhat more common than audible (voice) driven conversations.
This reality impacts how people are accustomed to receiving information. And you must adapt your marketing to connect.
I was recently asked via Twitter (more on that in a moment) about “the listening tools” I use. My reply was somewhat reflexive – “social media,” specifically Twitter.
People use social media to talk, chat, share, boast, sell, market, disagree, promote, preach, pundit, push, encourage, shout-out, support…you get the picture.
Between the lines of all the data driven dialog are needs, desires, frustrations, pains, likes, goals, etc. And the more industry or niche oriented your channels are the more you’ll discover that’s useful for creating compelling content.
- Establish social media connections via Twitter, Facebook, or wherever your “audience” hangs-out. Twitter and Facebook are tops. Sign up (if you’re not already).
- Get acquainted with the channel. For example, Twitter is great for following trends, sharing content, and engaging in quick conversation around content and shared interests.
- Be consistent as you can be. Monitor your social channels regularly. Respond to other’s engagement as quickly as you can. This reveals that you’re listening.
2-Leverage trends by tuning into podcasts, Periscope broadcasts, blogs, webinars, online courses, etc.
Today’s educational output flows from informed authorities across every business niche. You can subscribe to a particular podcast or follow someone’s Periscope and gain loads of insight into what’s current.
- Scan what your industry leaders are talking about, listening to, and sharing. Sign up and follow their informational streams.
- Schedule time daily or at least weekly to catch up on the valuable information you’ve subscribed to or are aware of.
- Curate the content and leverage it into useful resources for your growing “audience.” There are transferable principles across every knowledge base. Explore, find, and share them.
3-Lean into “influencers.”
What’s more important than following your industry leaders? Following their leaders!
Leaning into the crowd exposes you to the person, people, idea, or information at the center of the conversation. Lean in to gain all you can.
Again, physical presence isn’t always necessary, especially in this age of access. I have tons of virtual mentors/influencers that stoke my thinking consistently.
- Use social media to get acquainted with influential industry leaders. Follow, share, and curate what they’re talking about.
- Take a risk and reach out. An authentic, brief comment on a podcast rating or a direct message on Twitter or Facebook could open a door to a new relationship.
- Be grateful for what you gain. Say thanks by sharing their content or referring their services/expertise.
Being more strategic can match you with beneficial outcomes. Otherwise, all I can say is “go-fish!”
Try Free-Flying Content Creation and Watch Your Dental Marketing Soar
Sometimes you do it just for the sheer joy. That’s what came to mind as I watched the bird soaring overhead.
Call it your “sweet-spot” or your “wheelhouse.” The expertise you have gives you a certain freedom that you can use to your dental marketing advantage.
The Mississippi Kites nesting high in the branches of our backyard tree “get it.” This species of bird, common to my region, appear to fly because they can but also because it’s such a joy.
I’ll sit on my patio watching them. They freely ride the thermals in the summer sky – dipping, gliding, soaring.
Freedom with no agenda
Marketing is a strategic endeavor. Seldom do you share content, a tweet, a Facebook post, or an email without an “agenda.”
What would happen if you took a “just-because” approach? And what would that look like?
The kite (bird) soaring above my neighborhood experiences a kind of “just-because” freedom you should pursue in your dental marketing.
Picture this…
When you have something to say or share, why not send an email, publish a blog post, post on social media for the sheer joy of doing so.
Share your knowledge and expertise without expecting anything in return.
That might initially seem like a waste. After all, you earned your position, built your practice or business with your bare hands and buckets of sweat. Right?
I don’t blame you for wanting some credit. And certainly the best credit comes in the form of compensated services.
These days, people flock (speaking of birds) to authority. This is vitally true in the online, digital space via your web content.
Let the R.O.I. (Return On Investment) take care of itself.
The R.O.I. of your online, digital content extends way beyond your intentions. You can SEO-it, measure it, analyze it – and I recommend doing that within reason.
But the ultimate test of your investment is how useful you are to your reader or page visitor. Once they give you their time and then their trust by returning for more of your content you are on the way to a new kind of marketing freedom.
I’ve said it before, the days of building a dental website, setting-it-and-forgetting-it are gone! You must return again and again with consistent, useful stream of content to see a return.
Why?
Web visitors are easily bored, overloaded with information, saturated with industry-speak, and hungry for useful, authoritative expertise.
It’s your “wheelhouse.” Grind it out!
I’m not suggesting that you make content creation a daily, heavy “grind.” Quite the contrary.
Rather, approach it like the Mississippi Kite soaring above my backyard. “Fly” free, my friend…!
Free up time and resources to freely create free content. These days nothing builds authority and showcases your expertise more than marketing via relevant, useful content.
- Launch, re-launch, or replenish your current blog or article page. Give more attention to your ongoing content feed than you do the eye-candy design temptations or word-count concerns common to dental website design. Consistent, useful content holds your readers attention and delivers value. If they trust your expertise they’ll more likely give you their time and business loyalty.
- Provide multiple channels of content access. It’s safe to assume that some are readers (blog posts, enewsletters, email, ebooks, Twitter, Facebook posts, etc.). Others are listeners (audio content, podcasts, audio chats, etc.). And some are viewers who prefer visual content (YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, webinars, etc.). Know your “tribe.” Patients and clients come in all flavors and so should your content (and how it’s delivered).
- Expect and ask for feedback. What you ask for can be measured. Reviews, shares, mentions, retweets (on Twitter) – these are votes for (or sometimes against) your services and the content you use to promote them. Ask, survey, and turn those nuggets of vital feedback into more useful content that serves your growing “tribe” of patients and clients.
Freedom isn’t necessarily “free.” But it is freeing to soar above the noise of today’s marketing landscape.
Freely create content or hire someone to do it for you. Whatever you do, give some “wings” to your expertise. The sky’s-the-limit!