Improved Communication, Improved Dental Business

Posted on November 5, 2019 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Would you like to increase your dental business practice revenue immediately?

Maybe you have a need to maximize efficiencies and create your dream team.

Dr. Angela Mulrooney believes that when you focus on communication with your customers and create consistency in your dental practice, you will increase your revenue and reduce your working hours.

Angela Mulrooney is the Business Doctor, and today she is my guest expert.

Meet Dr. Angela Mulrooney

Angela Mulrooney is published author, a retired dentist, and a dental practice coach who resides in Calgary.

Angela Mulrooney discussed how communication with patients and your team and a marketing strategy can improve your business.

If you would like to transform your dental practice and maximize the potential within the practice so that you can focus on spending more time with patients, giving them the best care that you possibly can while trying to level up everyone's skills in the practice as well, be sure to tune in to my interview with Dr. Angela Mulrooney, Improved Communication, Improved Business Episode | #081.

Don’t Miss This!

Angela has a generous offer for you to get a complimentary 1 hour strategy call to discuss your practice.

Listen to the Practice Management Nuggets Podcast For Your Healthcare Practice Here.

#PracticeManagementNuggets, #SocialMediaGuru, Angela Mulrooney, business, coaching, dental, dental business My Business Doctor, dentist, marketing

Open for business? (Do you have a sign for that?)

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Jean Eaton in Blog

In our Practice Management Nugget series on October 16, 2014, we spoke with Alex Smith of Bannerz Canada Inc. Here are a few signage tips for your healthcare practice.

Marketing your healthcare practice is an important part of starting your new healthcare practice. Brand recognition and awareness of your new office space is important to both external and internal signs.

Alex’s #1 tip

that healthcare providers and clinic owners can do today to develop effective signage is to have a clear vision of your brand and tone of your business image.

3 common mistakes new practices make when planning signage

There are a lot of decisions to make when planning signage for your practice. It requires a well thought out coordinated plan and knowledge of the industry to come to a successful signage solution. Here are 3 common mistakes made – and what to do instead – to help you with your successful project.

Mistake #1: Not enough lead time!

Instead, plan your project. It can take three months or more to plan your permanent signage. Here are a few key points for you to consider.

Review your lease – signage is often included in your lease agreement. Read the lease again carefully for conditions to visual identity, style, font, color, size, location, lighting, and location.

(Often you can include items like permission for pylon signage, greenspace signage, etc when you negotiate your lease. See Practice Management Nugget interview with Jeff Grandfield, The Lease Coach, “Leasing Do’s and Dont's for your health care practice” for more information.)

Graphic design artwork – ask for a vector image of logos and other artwork and a statement that you own all rights to images. You might also want .jpg and .png file formats so that you can re-purpose the artwork in business cards, letterhead, etc.

Permits and approvals from City and leaseholder
Signage Supplier
- Discuss your options
- Select your products
- Your approval
- Minimum 3 business weeks to produce most products
- Installation schedule
Interim plan – don’t forget temporary signage to let people know that there will be a new office opening soon!
Backup plan – just in case the supplies you want can’t be available for your grand opening, consider temporary banners or other signs can use

Mistake #2: Failure to communicate

Make no mistake about it, planning signage requires co-ordination amongst many players – owners, graphic designers, landlords, signage suppliers and installation crew. There are many inter-dependencies – one task has to be completed before the next one can be started. As the project manager, one of your key roles is to keep everyone on task and informed of any changes to the schedule. Make sure that everyone knows how to reach you especially if you are temporarily working from your ‘mobile office’.

Mistake #3: Not having a realistic budget

Knowing what to expect will help you plan a realistic budget for one-time and recurring costs. Here are two common scenarios. Of course, there are regional variances and different qualities of materials. Canadian dollar figures presented here are for illustration purposes.

Store front space common choices

Pylon signs (the big sign in the parking lot that lists all the stores and offices) should include the logo, name of the practice and phone number. ($10/square foot)
Store front signs are usually ‘box signs’ (LED back-lit signs) are often 12 feet x 4 feet in size or ‘channel letters’ (individual letters affixed to the wall and back-lit) (either about $95-$110 /square foot)
Window wrap is a popular item that doubles as signage and window covering. Versatile perforated opaque vinyl sticks to directly to the window. This can come in colorful images or artwork. ($10 / square foot)
‘Open’ digital signs can help to drive foot traffic across the parking lot at eye level
Sandwich board signs also provide eye-level signs to passers-by and can include messages like ‘Accepting walk-ins today’.

Office building space common choices

Pylon signs
Lobby direction signs
Door front signs
Sandwich board / banner on the street level or lobby

Inside the office

You might also want to consider wall decals, channel letters / logo on inside walls and even floor decals.

Signage for your practice is intended to brand your practice and convey an image of trust of the professional services that you provide. The right signage will increase your visibility to attract new patients and clients to your practice. Project planning and communication with the project team will help you your practice to a great grand opening.

Bonus tip: There are so many things you need to know to start, maintain, and grow your practice. Join us each Thursday for nuggets of information that you can use right away for your healthcare practice.

Brought to you by Jean Eaton, your Practice Management Mentor.

Practice Management Nugget webinar interview with Alex Smith recorded live on Thursday October 16, 2014. Listen to the replay now!

advertising, healthcare, marketing, Practice Management Mentor, Practice Management Nugget, signage

Do you have a marketing strategy?

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Jean Eaton in Blog

In our Practice Management Nugget series, we spoke with Jennifer Setzer of Precision Marketing Partners on July 10, 2014. Here are marketing strategy tips for your healthcare practice.

What is a marketing strategy?

A marketing strategy is the ‘delivery' part of your strategic plan. A successful marketing strategy includes a period of self-discovery to help the key health care providers and business owners be clear about their values, goals, and ‘voice’ of their business.

Understand what you can do for your patients (your key messages).
Align your practice to your ideal patient.
Embrace key message and business brand image – healthcare providers and employees.

“Say what you do and do what you say so customers will come, play and stay.” Jennifer Setzer

The marketing strategy will include developing the business branding and visual identity (logo). It will include the when, what, who, and cost of deliverables.

Make it easy for patients to find your business.

While traditional marketing (direct mail, print advertising, etc) continue to be important, having a digital presence is the key place you need to be to build your reputation. Here are tips to get started.

Create an internet domain name with a website data host in your country. Create business email accounts with your domain name. Use business email accounts for authorized users in your business. Don’t encourage use of personal email accounts for your practice.
Create website optimized for your healthcare practice – your ‘digital business card'.
Claim and update online directory profiles. Enter each of your healthcare practitioner names and clinic name into internet search engine (i.e. Google). You are likely to find many online directories with a profile. Review the profile, follow the link “if this is your business . . . .”
Create your own profiles on public directories. Customize the practice introduction (or bio). You could add your story about your treatment philosophy, special skills, community involvement, or include frequently asked questions from your patients to describe your services.
Monitor your online presence – create a Google Alert for each healthcare provider and clinic name to be notified if anyone else adds comments or posts on the internet about your practice

Ask for help

The healthcare provider is content expert of the practice. Partner with marketing experts that understands your message and respects your budget.

healthcare, marketing, Practice Management Mentor, practice managment

"I had the pleasure of working alongside Jean to develop a PIA for my Dental Office. I could not have completed this document without her. She was there to help me every step of the way. Her online course made it easy to communicate with her as well as having so many resources to use that were so helpful. Each Module had videos to watch that explained step by step what needed to be done. The PIA document is a lot of information to put together and if it's not enough information on its own, you also need to develop a policy and procedures manual. Jean has developed an amazing resource for this manual that was very user friendly and made a 300 page manual a lot more attainable than creating it on your own. I highly recommend taking Jean's PIA course and having her help throughout the process!"

- Lindsey Cave, Office Manager, Orion Dental Group