Branding Your Practice: SG’s Email Advice

Dear Stoked Group,

My practice is in the process of building a website and creating an online presence, and I’m open to having patients contact me directly via e-mail with questions.  On our site’s contact page, can I just list my gmail account, or do I need to set up a new, separate e-mail account that matches the URL of the website?  (I really don’t want to add another account to check daily!)

MS, general dentist, Seattle

Dear MS,

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Let’s start with the bad news, but instead of calling it “bad news,” let’s call it “smart advice.”  Yes, you really should set up a new e-mail account to list on your practice website, and it should match the URL of your website.  So, if your site is www.dentistofseattle.com, your new e-mail should be something like info@dentistofseattle.com or drms@dentistofseattle.com.

A dentist’s e-mail address might seem like a little thing, but it’s really an important component to branding.  Think of it as another opportunity to solidify your business’s name with current and potential patients.  It’s one more way to shine a spotlight on your name and your practice!

Also, a professional e-mail address that uses the URL of the company name lends credibility to the business overall, along with the perception of a more secure e-mail system.  If the e-mail address doesn’t match the business or domain name, the perception might be that you just don’t know how (or didn’t take the time) to set it up.  And the less your patients trust and respect your professional ability, the less likely they are to interact with you over e-mail.

Now for the good news:  beyond the fact that creating a matching e-mail account is an opportunity to showcase your brand and build trust, the (other) good news is that you don’t need to set aside time to check two accounts daily!  It’s easy to set up the new account so that it automatically forwards to your existing email account.  This way, your personal and professional e-mails will show up in one central spot while still maintaining the credibility of your business URL.  If you have questions on how to do this, contact your IT professional.

Turning Facebook “Likes” into Practice Love

Dear Stoked Group,

I decided to launch a Facebook page for my practice about three months ago.  Now that I’ve reached over 100 people who “like” my business, what do I do with those fans?

KT, orthodontist, New York

Dear KT,

We’re glad you’ve jumped into the world of social media with a Facebook page!  With a little strategy, you can interact meaningfully with your fans, engage them with just a few clicks, inspire their loyalty, and reward their attention.  We know it can be tricky to figure out how to use the page to garner the kind of attention you want for your business, so here are our recommended posting strategies for making your first foray into Facebook marketing truly successful.

1.  The Frequent Post. Ideally, you should be posting frequently so that your fans see your content on a regular basis.  It would be great if you could do it every weekday.  Minimally, shoot for once a week, and throw in a bonus post when the occasion calls for it.

2.  The Targeted Message. Make the Facebook experience more personal by addressing a sub-group of your fans.  You can give shout-outs based on interest, geographical area, or any appropriate group of fans that might benefit from direct attention.

3.  The Interesting Question.  Posting questions as status updates encourages fans to jump in and answer, sparking potentially interesting conversations and engaging the readers in an easy way.  Be sure to respond to their comments in the comment section, too; it’s a great chance to show how responsive you are.

4.  The Dynamic Multimedia Content. Try to spice up your posts with variety:  photos, videos, polls, reviews, and links to relevant articles or sites.  Keep a digital camera handy, and take shots of successful happenings or new technology when they pop up in your office.

5.  The Thank-You. Welcome new fans (and reward their attention) by mentioning them by name at the end of every week, month, or other interval chosen by you.

6.  The Incentive to Act. Get your fans to recommend your page to friends, share content, or respond to posts by occasionally offering incentives, like a month’s supply of toothpaste or small gift cards to local shops.

7.  The Solicitation for Feedback. Ask loyal fans to submit positive content by asking for endorsements, feedback, success stories, and photos to share on your site.  Look, your fans just did some of your work for you!

8.  The VIP Treatment. Make sure fans are privy to exclusive content about new developments in your office, such as improved technology, new staff, extended hours, new procedures, and any breaking news that will benefit your patients.  Your fans should be the first to know!

Since you’ve put in the effort to build a Facebook page you’re proud of, take it a step further and use these posting strategies to take your social media strategy to the next level.  Before you know it, your engaged, inspired, loyal fans will be loving your practice just as much as they “like” your Facebook page.

Digital Communication and Patient Privacy

Dear Stoked Group,

I’m confused about changing HIPAA guidelines, and especially concerned aboutwhat the rules are as our office becomes more digital. Is it OK for me to use e-mail to communicate with patients and specialists? Is sending out an e-newsletter a violation of my patient’s privacy?

SB, general dentist, Spokane, WA

Dear SB,

You’re right: HIPAA guidelines seem to always be changing, as do the preferred communication methods of dental practices. It’s hard to know what is and isn’t admissible when it comes to issues of privacy as e-mail and digital communications become more common. SG checked with some very knowledgeable attorneys about the most up-to-date guidelines, so read on to learn when it is (and when it isn’t!) okay to use Protected Health Information (PHI) in your HIPAA-compliant practice.

First, some good news. HIPAA laws are clear that providers may use e-mail to electronically send PHI to other providers for treatment purposes. So feel free to attach those digital x-rays when you’re discussing Mrs. Smith’s impending root canal via e-mail with her endodontist.

You’re also able to communicate with your patients via e-mail about routine issues such as appointment reminders or to answer questions they may have about their treatment. E-mail, in this sense, may contain PHI as long as the dentist has taken reasonable precautions to ensure privacy. SG recommends sending your patient an initial e-mail to confirm the viability of the e-mail address before addressing the issue at hand, and further recommends including only the pertinent information instead of attaching a patient’s entire file.

Next, let’s look at the HIPAA rules about sending newsletters to patients. Current guidelines require health care providers to obtain patient authorization when a communication is considered “marketing,” defined here as “to make a communication about a product or service that encourages recipients of the communication to purchase or use the product or service.” At first glance, then, it might seem like you need patient authorization for any type of newsletter. However, there are exceptions, noted in the chart below:

If you look carefully at the right side of the chart, you’ll see that you don’t actually need authorization to send newsletters to your patient base, as long as you’re careful to talk only about the products or services that your office is making available to your patients. As a health professional, you’re also entitled to provide general health and wellness advice, but be careful about promoting specific brandsor products.

For example, you may want to encourage your patients to seek out sugarless alternatives for Halloween treats – and this is fine. But instead of directly mentioning, say, xylitol suckers as an alternative, it’s safer to encourage your patients to ask your staff about sugarless alternatives and only mention the xylitol suckers when they’ve asked. This way, your practice isn’t using its newsletter to directly recommend xylitol products.

Another option is to provide an embedded link within your electronic newsletter, which allows the patient to seek out more specific information. If your practice is touting the health benefits of gluten-free living, you could encourage readers to “click on the link below” for local stores that stock gluten-free products. Now, instead of using their PHI to market certain products or stores, your patients have essentially asked for your recommendation, and you have provided it with their permission.

So, write on (and hit send) about your new CEREC machine, your star hygienist, your extended office hours, and your dental health tip of the month. But stay awayfrom promoting a certain brand of toothpaste, and definitely don’t write a glowing review of that Sonicare toothbrush the rep gave you for free.

Before your newsletter goes to press, SG wants to remind you that, because patient names, addresses, and contact information are considered under HIPAA guidelinesto be PHI, you should never share or disclose your newsletter distribution list to a third party. Also, to make sure your message of dental health is welcome in every in-box in which it lands, be sure to offer patients the ability to opt out of the communication at any time.

If you’re ready to ramp up your HIPAA-approved electronic communications, keep the flow chart handy, and know that SG is here to help you craft a newsletter that will promote your practice without breaking any privacy laws!

Making Social Media Work for You

Dear Stoked Group,

Though my practice has a website, we haven’t made the jump to using social media to attract patients to the site or the office. Should my office be on Facebook and Twitter? Should I add a blog to my website? If so, how can I manage it quickly and easily? I feel too old for these newfangled things.

LP, general dentist, Bellevue, WA

Dear LP,

It’s September! SG is thinking football, pumpkin spice lattes, and the opportunity to look at learning about social media in a back-to-school mindset. If you’re a lifelong learner (and we bet you’re committed to keeping your clinical skills current with lots of continuing education), getting up to date on social media trends is the perfect fall fit.

SG believes that most offices would benefit from establishing a social media presence with Twitter, a practice blog, or Facebook. Using these marketing tools is free! Additionally, research shows that consumers trust peer recommendations of products and services far more than they trust paid advertising. If your practice emphasizes growth via invitations and referrals, social media is a natural fit.

As beneficial as social media can be, SG doesn’t recommend it for every practice. If you aren’t going to be able to devote the time and energy to maintaining these new forms of outreach, you shouldn’t launch them in the first place. But if you’re curious, committed, and willing to invest a little time on a regular basis to round out your marketing efforts, social media could be perfect for you.

Many dentists of all ages who choose to begin using social media struggle with knowing what kind of content to share and how often to share it. SG recommends sharing a mixture of information across various platforms. For example, say that your office has recently acquired a CEREC machine. You could tweet the news on Twitter, post a photo of it on Facebook, and write a blog post about how using CEREC technology will decrease appointment length for patients receiving a crown. To turn the information into a tool for recruiting new patients to your social media, you could offer a reward to, say, the 100th person to “like” the Facebook status or the 20th comment on your blog.

SG recommends updating your social media tools frequently enough to maintain a current presence. So that probably means updating your blog and Facebook account at least weekly and tweeting frequently, too. On days when you haven’t just welcomed a new piece of technology to your office, you can share links to relevant dental studies or articles, ask a fun survey question, celebrate a staff achievement, or take a moment to educate your patient base on an aspect of dental health by writing a blog post titled “Why There Are No Juice Boxes in My Fridge.” By doing these things regularly, you’re establishing yourself as an active, educated voice in the field of dentistry, and you’re earning trust while you’re spreading your messag

If this all sounds like a lot more work than you want to fit in between hygiene checks and staff meetings, rest assured that social media can be integrated fairly easily into your day. SG recommends appointing a staff member as a point person for social media and setting up a schedule for posting. All staff members should be encouraged to pass relevant tidbits on to the point person, too – especially you, LP, as you attend continuing education, read dental journals, and hear the latest industry news.

To keep it simple, SG recommends adding Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger or WordPress icons right into your website. This will alert any visitors to your website to all your social media instantly. And to save time, SG can set up a hosting platform provider (like HootSuite or TweetDeck) that will integrate all your social media and automate the distribution process. This way, when you post a new blog entry, it pops up instantly in your practice Facebook and Twitter feed with a single click.

So while the football players march on to the field and kids nationwide strap on their backpacks, grab a little of that back-to-school spirit and decide that this fall is going to be the perfect time for adding social media to your syllabus. And if you’re feeling stumped, just raise your hand in the air. We’ll be drinking our pumpkin spice lattes and cheering for the Wolverines, but we’re always here to help.

Making the Most of Your Marketing Dollars

Dear Stoked Group,

Even though my general dental practice continues to be busy and thriving, I have a hard time parting with a lot of marketing dollars during these questionable economic times.  I still want to grow my practice, but I don’t have a big budget for advertising.  What do you suggest I do to get the most bang for my marketing buck?

HK, general dentist

Dear HK,

You are smart to realize that it would be a mistake to completely slash your marketing budget just because the economy has taken a downturn.  Recessions actually offer you the opportunity to think carefully about tweaking your marketing message to make sure you’re targeting the patients you actually want to earn.  After all, people still need quality dental care no matter what the stock market is doing!

First of all, take stock of the kinds of new patients you’re hoping to reach.  Does your office specialize in cosmetic procedures?  Are you known for being great with families?  Try to select one or two niche strengths that you choose to highlight as you go forward.  Be specific.  These will be the keywords you want to use in the custom copy on your website as well as in any new marketing materials you create, allowing you to attract more of those types of patients to your practice.

Now, consider the geographic area you’d like to reach with your marketing efforts.  If you’re casting too wide a net by placing ads or sending postcards to an area that’s too far from your office, you may be reaching potential patients who won’t be willing to travel to your office.  Take a minute to look at where your current patients largely reside, and focus your efforts there.

Once you’ve identified both your ideal patient profile and your target geographic area, SG recommends spending most of your marketing dollars on a paid search tool, like Google AdWords or Microsoft adCenter, that targets specific customers for a monthly management fee.  So, rather than blanketing the entire city with a Valpak mailer, you’d attract just the internet user who typed the phrase “Chicago Gold Coast cosmetic dentist” into a search engine. Pay-per-click programs give you the advantage of reaching just the potential patients who are using a search engine to find dentists in your area instead of wasting marketing dollars on mailers to houses who aren’t on the market for a new provider.

Lastly, in a challenging economy, never underestimate the power of referrals from your existing, satisfied patients.  Your loyal and happy patients are likely to know other people who value the same type of care and who live or work in the same geographic location.  It only takes a minute to ask your current patients if they’d consider recommending your practice to a friend or family member.  If a current patient does refer a friend to your office, be sure to follow up with a kind thank-you note acknowledging your appreciation and perhaps a discount on their next exam, because earning a new, loyal patient is priceless, and in a recession, every little bit counts.

Choosing the Perfect Domain Name

Dear Stoked Group,

My dental practice is finally getting ready to launch our first website.  We’re excited to be on-line, but we’re having such a hard time choosing the perfect domain name for our site.  Can you give me some tips?

A.D., general dentist

Dear A.D.,

We’ve helped lots of clients choose their domain names, and we’re happy to help!  You’re right; finding the perfect domain name is difficult.  (If you thought choosing your first-born child’s name was hard, then you haven’t tried selecting the perfect URL.)  After all, if the exact name of your business isn’t available, you have to come up with something else that is catchy, descriptive, memorable, and – most importantly – searchable.  It’s not an easy task, but here are SG’s simple tips to follow.

1.  Make it intuitive.  Make sure that your name is easy to type, spell, and remember.  Tricky names may seem creative, but if people can’t find you, the name is useless.  In this instance, boring is better.  For example, if the name of your practice is Love Dental, try www.lovedental.com vs. www.xoxodental.com.

2.  Quadruple-check the spelling.  If your name is still available, be sure to check the spelling several times.  Now, check it again.  And again!  Sometimes the perfect name seems to be available because of a little typo.  Make sure you’re spelling the domain name exactly the way you want it to appear.

3.  Keep it short and sweet.  You don’t need to add every business description in your domain name.  (That’s what the key words in your copy are for.)  Keep your name short and simple for people to remember.  Avoid numeric and non-letter characters such as dashes, too.  Although numbers and symbols are not necessarily complicated, people forget that they are supposed to be there.  So instead of www.keep-dentistry-simple-in-Seattle.com, try www.seattlesimpledentistry.com.

4.  Be a dot-com.  If at all possible, go for names that end in .com (unless, of course, you are a non-profit.  Then, go for names that end in .org).  If you really love a name that’s already taken, consider localizing it before making it a .net.  For example, if www.plasticsurgery.com is taken, try www.pleasentvilleplasticsurgery.com instead.

Coming up with just the right URL can be time-consuming as well as frustrating, but follow our tips and you’ll be found!

How Do I Protect My Business Online?

Dear Stoked Group,

My office created a website last year, implemented a search marketing program, and most recently, created a Facebook business page.   As we get more involved in the online world, how do we protect ourselves from online review sites like Yelp?

Thanks,
E.G., orthodontist

Dear E.G.,

Online review sites like Yelp are the new “word of mouth,” so it’s good that you’re paying attention to them.  While we know it’s probably a little nerve-wracking to know that anyone can post literally anything about your practice (true or false) on those sites, the good news is that you’re already taking many right steps.  You are already ahead of the game in many ways.

Step One: Have an active online presence. To stay ahead of a potential bad review, make sure you have a website full of rich and unique content.  Make sure your site is indexed and optimized, and that you have a search marketing program in place.  If it makes sense, use social media tools to increase your online presence.  Being proactive in creating your own online content will help you to drown out any negative online reviews.  See?  You’ve already done Step One!

Step Two: Claim your business. As a business owner, most sites will allow you to register and “claim” your business as well as add details or relevant information about your practice.  Doing this can sometimes prompt a review of the account by the rating site, which does have the authority to take down inappropriate comments if requested to do so.

Step Three: Ask for reviews. We know our clients always strive to provide excellent customer service to their patients, which guarantees positive reviews.  Sometimes, though, personalities don’t mesh, a patient may not care for the doctor’s perspective, or it’s just an “off” day at the office.

When that happens and it translates into a poor review, keep in mind that one poor review does not diminish all the good reviews.  Most online researchers are savvy enough to know that there are a few complainers out there, and a multitude of good reviews will balance things out.

One way to ensure a steady supply of good reviews is to embrace review sites as a tool to generate goodwill for your business.  Consider asking happy patients to provide a review if they’ve had a positive experience.  Many patient communication systems integrate directly back to online review sites such as Google reviews.  You can also have a sign at your front desk that shows you are Yelp business, encouraging patients to go and post a review.  (We do discourage adding Yelp and Google review links on your website as different states have different laws regarding this type of solicitation.)

Step Four: Consider your response carefully. When you do receive a negative review, consider your response carefully, or if you should respond at all.  As a healthcare provider, you differ from most business services.  A mechanic refuting a claim publicly is far different than a healthcare professional.  You have more at stake with your dental license.  If you have claimed your business profile, you will have access to requesting an offline discussion with the negative reviewer.  Decide if it’s important enough for you to make that move.  Otherwise, make sure that all of your other steps are in place, and particularly that all of your positive reviews far outweigh the negative.  Then, just move on.

Going forward, think of online review sites as another very public form of social media – the 2010 version of the neighborhood gossip, if you will.  Be aware of it, but don’t get caught up in it.

What Will Make My Practice Attractive to Moms?

Dear Stoked Group,

Most of my dental practice is made up of young families, and I’ve noticed that it’s almost always the moms who make the health-care decisions for the family and the children.  What will set me apart to a new mom choosing her family’s provider?

Thanks,
J.D., General Dentist

Dear J.D.,

Congratulations!  Just by noticing this trend in your office, you are already on the right track to attracting new clients to your practice.  You’ve identified your demographic and you are making an effort to tailor your office to better serve them.  We have a few more suggestions as you go forward.

Stoked Group agrees that, in many families, it’s the female head-of-household that makes healthcare decisions for the entire family.  She’s often the one researching the providers and scheduling the appointments, so it makes sense to tweak your office and your marketing to attract her attention.  And the biggest way to do this is to be convenient.  Moms love convenience.

Being convenient means making things easy for moms and families who want to visit your office.  Is your office easy to find?  Do you offer flexible hours?  Can the whole family be seen simultaneously?  Is it convenient and simple to schedule and confirm appointments, share information, and fill out forms?  Take a close look at your practice from the viewpoint of a busy, on-the-go mom; your office location and its systems need to be convenient for the entire family.  If you’re thinking of investing in patient communication software to automate some of your systems, check out Stoked Group’s side-by-side comparisons of three major products on our website.  We’ve done the research, and we’d love to share our opinions with you!

Stoked Group also wants to remind you how modern moms make healthcare decisions:  they use technology.  The percentage of moms who use social media grew from 11% to 63% in the last three years, and nearly half of those who use social media use it for word-of-mouth recommendations on products and brands.  Lots of moms do their research online when they have downtime.  So in addition to providing a convenient patient experience, you need to provide a convenient online source of information and connection.

Depending on the age of your parent population, you can tailor your marketing efforts accordingly.  Generation X moms (born between 1961 and 1981) are more likely to use technology for task-oriented behaviors, such as research, online shopping, and photo uploading.  For this parent population, think about ways to make sure your website stands out when they research area dentists by having custom website copy that includes relevant, searchable terms.  And we’d be happy to review any site from both an SEO (search engine optimization) and an SEM (search engine marketing) perspective to enable better search results.

Generation Y moms (born after 1982), on the other hand, are more likely to use technology to text, tweet, be part of an online community, or read a blog.  For this parent population, think about connecting with them via Facebook and Twitter, or think about how you can emphasize the convenience of your office in a blog entry on your practice website.  If your office hasn’t yet launched itself into the social media world, Stoked Group can help you develop social media strategies as well as assist you with account set-up and management.

The bottom line is that moms want quality care for their family, and they want it to be as convenient as possible.  So by all means replenish the toys in your waiting room, but also make sure that finding and communicating with your practice is as easy as ABC.

Resolutions

Stephanie Doublestein  |  Wordsmith

Nearly everyone I know makes a New Year’s resolution.  Most years, I forget to even think about what mine might be until about 4:00 p.m. on December 31^st, and I’ve had varying degrees of success in keeping my resolutions.

One year, I resolved not to complain about a certain set of people in my life, and that one only lasted a month or so.  But, another year, I resolved to attend more cultural events in my city, and it motivated me to take my kids to the art museum, bike to Blues on the Mall, check out a local ballet company’s performance, and attend a poetry reading.

The lesson I take from this is that I am much more likely to keep my resolutions if I make a resolutions I truly want to keep.  In other words, I really did want to get more involved in the goings-on of my city, while I didn’t sincerely want to stop complaining about those people.  That seems obvious, but I think people often make resolutions that, in their heart, they are not fully committed to keeping, so it’s no surprise when, months later, they have fallen by the wayside.

Honestly, I haven’t solidified my New Year’s resolutions yet this year.   But I’m taking the first step, now that it’s mid-December, to really think about it.  I think it’s going to have something to do with simplifying my life – getting rid of extraneous “stuff,” instituting a new system of doing, prioritizing the things that are really important.  It sounds like a big goal, and it is.  But I’ve been reading the excellent blog Zen Habits lately (www.zenhabits.net) and I’m inspired to pare things down, one step at a time.  I particularly like the recent Q&A with the site’s writer; it covers everything from motivation and multi-tasking to habits and work-life balance.  It’s here, if you’re curious.

Do you make New Year’s resolutions?  What’s it going to be for 2010?

‘Tis Best: (Real) Holiday Giving

Stephanie Doublestein  |  Wordsmith

“’Tis better to give than to receive,” goes the ancient proverb. And during the holidays, there is definitely a lot of emphasis on gifts. I really do love to buy gifts for other people, especially when I can think of something unique for them – something I know they’ll love, something they hadn’t even thought to ask for. Finding just the right gift for someone you love is one way to show how much you value that person. But when it comes to business and corporate gifts, how do you find “just the right gift” for someone you don’t know as well? This time of year, many businesses begin sending a flurry of items to clients and employees to celebrate the holidays. Over the years, I’ve received beach towels, coffee mugs, Christmas ornaments, picture frames, tote bags, and a multitude of other items, some of which were more wanted than others, to put it nicely. Because that’s the problem with corporate giving: you don’t know your recipients very well, so you aren’t able to give them that unique, personal gift you know they’ll love. What people end up with, by default, is a closet of gifts destined for Goodwill. TisBest Philanthrophy, right here in Seattle, is a company with a mission to change that. Tisbest.org markets charity gift cards in a mission to foster non-material gift-giving. TisBest lets the giver choose the monetary amount on the card (and even lets the giver customize the card with a photo or logo), then lets the recipient choose the charity that will benefit from the gift. What could be simpler? And, what could embody the true spirit of giving more? It’s a perfect alternative to another tote bag or coffee mug. Happy giving!