Ed Rabinowitz

	“[Patients are] excited that they get a discount plan, and it feels like they finally have an insurance plan. We’ve also noticed an increase in acceptance of treatment.” - Carolyn Bronke Wind D.D.S., P.C.

If you’ve been considering, put also putting off, a decision to add a membership plan option to your practice because of the associated challenges of implementation and maintenance, consider the path employed by an Illinois practice. Case acceptance is up, cash flow is consistent, and added work has been minimal.

The benefits of dental membership plans have been written about before. They include increasing uninsured patient treatment acceptance, and therefore revenue; attracting new uninsured patients; and the potential to significantly increase the value of your dental practice.

But if you’re starting from square one, how do you integrate such a plan into your practice to ensure you maximize those benefits?

The La Grange, Illinois-based practice of 

 D.D.S., P.C., recently addressed that question. Having considered adding a membership plan for several years, the logistics seemed overwhelming. Administratively, it was not going to work.

“But we did want to have something for our patients who have no insurance,” Jill Rizner, office manager for Dr. Wind, explains. “We also wanted to make it easier for patients to be compliant. Money is a big issue, and a lot of them were not going forward with a treatment plan that was recommended because of the cost.”

 to add a dental membership plan. Having a partner to help guide staff through the set up and implementation made all the difference.

Rizner explains that the dental staff reviewed the practice’s fee schedule to determine what discounted fees they wanted to offer patients, but Kleer helped with much of the related legwork.

“They created our portal, and gave us a link to put on our website with all the information about the membership plan,” Rizner says. “They also provided all the marketing materials and training.”

“We added a few extra codes to our practice management system to flag who was a dental membership patient, and accounting-wise, it was just a couple of small steps to flag those accounts,” Rizner says. “Using an outside company eliminated the extra work.”

To alert current and prospective patients about the new membership plan, a link was added to the practice’s website providing all related information. In addition, if new patients who do not have insurance phone the office, they’re directed to the website for plan details.

But Rizner says the bulk of the success the plan has experienced has come from simply presenting the new option to patients during office visits.

“Our hygienists are kind of on the front line of presenting it to some of our patients,” she explains. “And we at the front desk also present it. It’s really about the verbiage used when we present it to them. But the marketing materials that Kleer provided us with are excellent.”

Must be, because Rizner estimates that approximately 80 percent of the patients who have enrolled did so on the spot.

The membership plan has been available to patients for about four months, and Rizner says patient response has been positive.

“They’re excited that they get a discount plan, and it feels like they finally have an insurance plan,” she says. “We’ve also noticed an increase in acceptance of treatment.”

Patients have the option of paying for the plan monthly, or with one annual payment. Most, Rizner says, are doing so monthly. It’s a personal preference. But either way, it adds a regular cash flow to the practice.

“We’re definitely seeing a consistent cash flow,” says Rizner, but there’s another benefit. “I think that patients, knowing that they are paying for this plan, it’s keeping them compliant. They’re going to return for their regular follow-up visits.”

Rizner says that based on experience, working with an outside company to implement and manage a dental membership plan, rather than having staff take it on themselves, makes sense. The transition, she adds, was virtually non-existent. In this case, Kleer took the practice’s fee schedule and handled virtually all the marketing.

“Look at what your fee schedules are with your contracted insurance companies, and what your fee schedule would be for an in-house membership plan,” Rizner suggests. “There’s no doubt that an in-house plan is the way to go.”

Articles

How do you integrate a dental membership plan? Carolyn Bronke Wind D.D.S., P.C. shares how she navigated the transition at her practice.

How One Practice Successfully Implemented a Membership Plan

“Take good care of patients, and treat everybody the way you would a family member.” -- Shimma Abdulla, D.M.D.

	Shimma Abdulla, D.M.D., has all the credentials and certifications of a highly qualified dental practitioner. But it’s her personal experience with a childhood congenital condition that that transformed her life, not to mention her smile, and directed down the path to a patient-centered career in dentistry.

	Shimma Abdulla’s life has centered around teeth. This includes her patients’ teeth at her Rittenhouse Square, 

, and her own when she was a child. So much so where the former is concerned that she became obsessed with teeth.

Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry

, made frequent visits to the dentist through her teens due to missing eight adult teeth that never came in.

	“I was always self-conscious about that,” Abdulla recalls. “I tended to shy away from any type of social interaction.”

	Once her dental work was completed, however, her self-confidence was transformed. She felt comfortable smiling, and is now able to relate to patients who are nervous or uncomfortable with their smile, and share her story.

	“I’m able to relate to them,” Abdulla says. “And I know how nervous they are just sitting in the chair and talking about it.”

	Abdulla was born in the Middle East, but moved to the United States at age 3, where her family lived in Albany, New York for about five years. A stint in Pittsburgh lasted another five years before moving back to the Middle East for high school. She returned to the U.S. to attend Penn State University for her undergraduate work before moving to Philadelphia for dental school.

	She opened her first practice in Rittenhouse Square in 2011, but it didn’t take long before she added an office in nearby Bala Cynwyd in 2015, and most recently a third in Bryn Mawr. The key to the successful expansion, she says, was making sure the first office was functioning the way she intended.

	“It has to be on auto pilot in order for you to comfortably step away and start a new venture,” Abdulla explains. “Once the practice was pretty much running on its own and I was doing a lot of the management and administrative stuff, I thought, okay, I think I’m ready to open another location and copy the same model.”

	Clearly, the model works. Three offices in seven years is quite an accomplishment, and Abdulla admits that, looking at the big picture, she’s a little surprised at the rapid success she’s had. But 

	“I have always had an itch to do more,” she says. “It’s something that my mother instilled in me. You should never settle and be comfortable. You can always do more. I don’t feel like I’m accomplished yet. I still feel like there’s more room to grow.”

	As her dental practices have grown, Abdulla has continually merged dentistry with cosmetics—much of which, she says, has sprung from conversations with patients who are often embarrassed to say they’re unhappy with their smile.

	“But if you ask them, ‘Are you happy with your smile? Is there anything you want to change about it?’ you’d be surprised how people will share how something has always bothered them, like the color of their teeth.”

	And change, she says, doesn’t necessarily mean a major overhaul. Sometimes all it takes is a little bonding or teeth whitening to help boost a patient’s self-confidence. The emphasis, Abdulla points out, is on patient care, and that’s something she makes clear to everyone at the practice.

	“It’s not about numbers, and it’s not about collections and production,” she says. “It’s just about treating patients well and taking care of them, and everything else falls into place.”

	That, she says, has been the secret to her success—which she admits is not much of a secret.

	“Take good care of patients, and treat everybody the way you would a family member.”

	Adbulla demonstrates her mission to make patients as comfortable and relaxed as possible with amenities like espressos and wine, and Netflix goggles so they can watch their favorite programs while having work done. This, too, came from talking to patients.

	“We always put ChapStick on patients’ lips before every appointment,” Abdulla says. “It’s such a small touch, but for them, it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m already more comfortable because you guys are more thoughtful than the last dentist I had.’”

	Many male patients, Abdulla explains, like the Netflix goggles because they don’t even want to look at the needles or other tools. They’re nervous, but with the Netflix goggles they can simply “check out and watch a movie, and we can still communicate with them.”

	Abdulla also offers a hand paraffin treatment—a warm lavender wax&mdash;which patients find welcoming particularly during the winter. The process helps to diffuse patients, especially those who are prone to being nervous, prior to their appointments. The end result is positive patient referrals.

	“Word of mouth has always been one of our biggest practice boosters,” Abdulla says. “I ask every patient who comes in, especially with a new practice, how they heard of us, and 90 percent is word of mouth. That’s how important the patient experience is. It’s the difference between a regular business, and a very successful one.”

	Abdulla says she pursued a career in dentistry because she knows the huge impact it had on her life. That’s a feeling she wants to share with others.

	“We recently started doing Botox for TMJ pain and injections,” Adbulla says. “One patient was crying because she was in so much pain, and she had tried everything. I said, ‘Let’s try Botox and see if it will work.’”

	Two weeks later the woman said she felt like a new person, and was now able to sleep at night.

	“That made my whole day,” Abdulla says. “That’s the main reason I went into dentistry, was to help people. So getting that affirmation is the most rewarding thing for me.”

Texas Dentist Grateful for What He Has Been Given, and Can Give Back

Dentist Survives Concentration Camp, Helps Others Write Their Life Stories

What do Netflix and ChapStick have to do with dentistry? It's all a part of making the patient experience enjoyable says Shimma Abdulla, D.M.D.

Personal Experience Sparks Dentist's Focus on Patient Experience

Millennials are a huge group of people who, like many others, have dental issues.

When you hear the term ‘millennial’ does it conjure up the image of a young person who is uninformed and only cares about themselves? If so, you may be missing an opportunity to reach out to a market representing one-fourth of the U.S. population. Marketing to millennials should not be a throw-away activity.

 Do you have a specific strategy for targeting the millennial population? You should. Because if the strategy you employ to market your practice to millennials is the same one you use for all other current and prospective patients, chances are it’s not successful.

That’s because millennials are not the same as the rest of your target market.

And if you’re not targeting millennials in your marketing efforts, you’re missing a huge market.

, there are approximately 80 million millennials in the U.S., or one fourth of the country’s population. And they possess $200 billion in annual buying power.

So why are they often overlooked? Andrea Samacicia Mullan, founder of 

, says it’s because of the stigma attached to the term millennials.

“I don't think they’re taken seriously,” she says. “They are incorrectly synonymous with being young and inexperienced. But every day they get a little bit older and a little savvier.”

What’s different about millennials, Mullan says, is that they were raised on social media. Much of their purchasing behavior is inherently impacted by social media and what they see on the Internet. Dentists who have been in practice may feel uncomfortable with certain aspects of social media. But that doesn’t mean this huge population should be overlooked.

“I emphasize with [older dentists] because change is hard,” Mullan says. “But there are resources that can help dentists for whom social media and brand management is a foreign concept.”

But beyond the nuances of social media, Mullan says the choices millennials make often come down to the same thing as many other populations: customer service.

“It comes down to authenticity, customer service, and delivery of message,” she explains. “It’s reasonable that there may need to be some tweaks in the strategy and messaging, but as long as you step out with truly the best interests of your patient at heart, they will realize that.”

Millennials are often classified as being early adopters of new technology, of new ideas, and being interested in learning about new products or procedures. That, Mullan says, is a strategy dentists can employ -- marketing aspects of their practice that separate them from the competition. But too often dentists overlook the value of that strategy.

“I talk with my clients all the time and they say, ‘I don’t have the money to invest in that technology right now,’” Mullan says. “But there are other things you can promote that might not be high tech but are specific to your industry that will garner the same interest.”

In other words, connecting with the millennial market doesn’t need to be cost prohibitive. For example, appearance and having a nice smile are extremely important to millennials. Talk about the process of having veneers placed on teeth, or implants.

“The whole idea of how you can engineer the perfect smile for your face, being able to lift the curtain to that process, has been tremendously valuable for my clients,” Mullan says.

Before Sharing Online, Dentists Need To Brush Up On Privacy Law

Members of the millennial market are also drawn to people who care about the community around them, and beyond. Do you participate in health fairs at area schools? Do you donate time to help the underserved in your community, or beyond borders through missionary trips? Those are worthy of promotion.

But, don’t simply adopt a cause in an effort to impress the market, because it will likely backfire on you.

“That’s the opposite of the authentic behavior the millennial market relates to,” Mullan says. “You don’t have to be an activist or a philanthropist to have something in your story that humanizes you.”

In short, you don’t have to change who you are in order to ingratiate yourself with the millennial market. Rather, look at yourself honestly and identify what it is about you that you have not previously explored, but that people will appreciate. Maybe you have a grandchild whose school play you recently attended. Or a hobby that you haven’t integrated into your professional life. It doesn’t have to be something that consumes your entire life.

“I think the misconception that in order to be professional you have to be robotic or mechanical is a hindrance for some people,” Mullan says. “Show your patients who you are and let them relate to you.”

Doing so, she says, will help benefit your relationship not only with the millennial market, but with all patients in a competitive market.

“Relationships will only be improved if you share a sliver of yourself that goes beyond your practice.”

Millennials are not as different from the larger audience your practice serves. A few quick strategies can help boost your visibility with this market.

Marketing to Millennials is Not as Hard as It Sounds

	A good reputation is more valuable than money. And in today’s technology and social media environment, managing that reputation online is critical to helping your practice thrive, even in the event of the occasional negative review.

Warren Buffet once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

The key phrase there is “if you think about that,” because it seems too many people do not, especially when it comes to an online reputation. Too often, according to Andrea Samacicia Mullan, founder of 

, businesses large and small tend to neglect that component. And worse.

“The greater issue is not understanding the impact that component has on their actual business,” Mullan says.

Where dentists are concerned, Mullan cautions that if they do not actively participate in the impression of their practice online, they’re leaving it open for other people to do so. That means patients, who become online reviewers, and are dissatisfied with your practice for reasons that run the gamut, are the ones speaking for you on the Internet. And what they’re saying may not be kind.

Mullan says the key to achieving and then maintaining a positive online reputation is to have an active online presence.

“Once a patient sees that, it plants the seed of the culture of your practice,” she says. “A patient who is grateful and enthusiastic wants the opportunity to show that. Writing a review is an easy way to do it. And patients are happy to when given the opportunity.”

You give patients that opportunity by asking, whether it’s face-to-face or through an email or text following an office visit, for their feedback. It’s not just a way to get positive reviews. It also lets patients know that you’re serious about improving customer service. That if they’re not satisfied with the service they received, you want to know what you can do to make it better.

“Don’t battle against singular, negative reviews, because you don’t want to appear as a combatant with a patient,” Mullan says. “It’s not about preventing [negative reviews] from happening, because that doesn’t work.”

Instead, thank them for their review. Stress that you take it seriously, and welcome them to contact you so that you can work to rectify the situation.

“And then it’s on the patient to do that,” Mullan says.

If your practice has a website, if you have a business page on Facebook or Yelp or LinkedIn, how current is the information? Did you recently add a new service, or hire an outstanding oral health professional? Maybe you recently obtained continuing education credentials that give you a leg up on your competition. How important is it for you that when people Google to see the services you offer, the ones you pride yourself on, that you remain competitive against others providing the same service?

“Because that’s how people are finding their specialists and general dentists today, they go to the Internet,” Mullan says. “Even when people get a reference from a friend or neighbor, they may Google the practice.”

And the more active you are online, the higher up your practice will appear in search engine results.

“It’s a cumulative effect,” Mullan explains. “When you talk about the success of your website, the visibility of your website, the work that we do to ensure our clients’ expertise is reflected in popular media, and that their website gets a link back from other high ranking websites, that impacts the visibility of their website tremendously.”

In other words, it ramps up. But as soon as you take your foot off the pedal, someone will come up from behind and take your place.

RELATED: For more on marketing your dental practice:

Twitter Marketing for Dentists: Seven Effective Strategies to Gain More Followers

Make Email an Important Part of Your Marketing Strategy

Mullan says that maintaining a positive online reputation can have an equal positive impact on your practice’s bottom line. The more visible your message, and the better the message is honed, the more people will be interested in your practice.

But, she adds, that’s just step one. Step two is making sure that staff who are fielding the calls and messages coming into the office as a result of your positive online reputation are effective at their job, and well equipped to perform the sales process and convert the interest into actual appointments.

And if you’ve been fortunate enough to this point to not have to battle against negative reviews or a declining reputation, that’s good. But Mullan points out that the best time to invest in public relations is when you don’t necessarily need it.

“It’s better to create an image and brand for your practice that is complimentary, and that is appropriately reflective of the practice that you are running, than to find yourself in a situation where one review is threatening to undermine all the work you have done, and the relationships you have built with your patients,” she says.

Managing your dental practice's online reputation is critical to helping your practice thrive. Being present is one way you can maintain a positive online reputation.

Managing Your Practice's Online Reputation

“If I bring a dentist a quarter of a million a year in referrals, that’s worth a lot more than making a few dollars off each patient. I’m opening the field for growth.” - Sandra Senzen, R.D.H

Do you believe in the Tooth Fairy? Thousands of children, who have now grown up, certainly do. That’s because Sandra Senzen, R.D.H., 

 the Tooth Fairy, beamed into homes by way of “

” aired on Manhattan Cable in New York City.

Senzen, a registered dental hygienist since 1978, has produced and hosted more than 800 segments of the TV show that helped educate children in a playful manner on the importance of oral health.

It’s all part of a path Senzen says she was meant to follow.

“We really have to listen to an inner voice,” Senzen says.

Senzen recalls feeling “an energy in my hands” at age 11 that she describes as a form of art. She married at age 18, and initially did not follow that intuition. But when her marriage ended, at age 28, and with two small children, she went back to school.

“I went back to a certain instinct I had at 18 which was to be a hygienist,” Senzen explains. “I don’t know why. But I followed an intuitive path.”

That path began when she started working as a hygienist for Dr. Robert Rubler, now deceased. Early on, she heard him whisper in her direction, “She’s a natural,” and he soon began encouraging her to take on oral health tasks beyond the scope of the average hygienist.

“He pushed me into techniques that I did not learn in school,” she said.

But that’s not the only ‘push” Senzen received. She found herself embracing more holistic approaches to oral health thanks to encouragement from patients who told her about 

, a leading supplier of natural products.

“There’s nothing wrong with having natural products rather than chemicals in the body,” Senzen says. “I don’t use needles, and I don’t use toxic drugs, and it really helps in treatment. Everything that I use holistically you can swallow.”

Sometimes, life is really about being in the right place at the right time. For Senzen, that happened while walking along the street in New York City. She was approached by a man who told her, “You belong on TV.” When she asked why, he answered, “I don’t know. But my friend is starting cable TV in Manhattan, so go for it.”

And she did. But first there was a small matter she had to address where her professional occupation was concerned.

“If you’re a licensed professional, and you make yourself into more than you are, you can get in trouble with the licensure,” Senzen explains. “So I thought, if I get a trademark and do a TV show, then I’m qualified to call myself the tooth fairy.”

She brought pediadontists onto the show to help educate children. That grew into a 1-800-tooth fairy show for adults—a live, call-in show that helped callers overcome their fear of going to the dentist.

“People are just so scared to sit in the chair,” Senzen says. “They would phone in, and I would re-direct them to a dental office. Not just mine, wherever. Because people were walking the streets and losing their teeth out of fear.”

Senzen has since ended the TV show’s run, though she’s considering starting up another 1-800 tooth fairy show on Long Island. But in the interim she has written several books. The first is “

The Hygiene Professional: A Partner in Dentistry

,” which provides information on how to find the right dentist.

“The reason I have been so accepted in the field is that I refer,” Senzen explains. “If I bring a dentist a quarter of a million a year in referrals, that’s worth a lot more than making a few dollars off each patient. I’m opening the field for growth.”

,” focuses on how to maximize the benefits of good oral hygiene to maintain healthy gums and teeth.

And then there’s “Tooth Fairy City”, a motivational series of comic books, complete with crayons, for children to learn how to care for their teeth.

“It teaches how to love each individual tooth, and how the teeth stand together to be a whole,” Senzen says. “It provides a lot of education in a fun and playful manner.”

Senzen is also the creator of the Camellia Dental product line 

“I have a patent on a camellia oil,” she says. “It heals gum tissue, and it brightens teeth. And it doesn’t dry or strip the enamel.” Patients, who are only too happy to take them home, have readily accepted the products, which include a mouthwash and flavored tooth sticks.

Through all the success, Senzen remains humble and says she is “not in awe” of all that she has accomplished. Instead, she’s happy patients have been receptive, and grateful she can help people save their teeth.

Now, she wants to take what she has created in her Park Avenue, New York-based practice and open more offices across the country. Why?

“Because it will invite people into the office and help them save their teeth,” Senzen says. “There are way too many teeth being pulled and implants done, and not enough understanding as to what happens to the body with unnatural teeth.”

Sandra Senzen, R.H.D., is regarded as one of the top authorities of holistic dental hygiene, and she teaches the approach through published books, articles, and educational courses. But more than that, she has built a career on being a real life Tooth Fairy to children and adults alike.

Dental Hygienist Makes Her Mark as Real Life Tooth Fairy

Before you put up a "For Sale" sign, be sure to consider both the emotional and financial impact of the sale.

At some point you’re going to sell your dental practice—whether it’s for retirement reasons, a desire to refocus your career on the business side of dentistry, or simply assume a less demanding role in running a practice.

If you’re contemplating selling your dental practice, there’s a lot to consider. For starters, it’s not the same as selling a home.

“Nothing is going to be published saying my dental practice is for sale, and all bidders welcome,” says Jeffrey Rust, a partner in the corporate and health services practices groups at 

. “The goodwill of the practice is something you want to maintain,” Rust explains. “No dental practice wants the marketplace to know its up for sale. Especially if the sale does not occur.”

Sounds simple, right? The goal is to sell the practice. But in reality, it’s more complicated than that.

For example, is the sale a result of retirement plans? Or are you looking to stay on as an employee of the acquirer? Or, is obtaining maximum value for the practice the most important consideration?

Once you understand your goal, you’ll need to have a practice valuation done. In doing so, Rust explains it’s not only important to understand the value—the net income&mdash;of the practice today, but to consider the value of the practice under a dental service organization, or a large group practice.

“You need to consider the efficiencies that you will benefit from both in pricing on supplies, technology and equipment, and possibly in negotiating leverage with commercial dental payers,” he says.

In addition, it’s important to analyze and normalize expenses. A small dental practice or dental group might own the office or building in which it practices and, in effect, not pay any rent. That needs to be taken into consideration.

It’s also very common for a dental practice to have a spouse or other family member serving as the office manager, and that person is being paid above market compensation.

“It’s often a surprise when a buyer comes in and says, yeah, your spouse is a great office manager, but we’re not going to pay this person $250,000 a year,” Rust says. “So it’s important to normalize expenses under a more structured corporate model.”

Rust recommends have a representative, such as an agent or broker, involved in the selling process to help market the practice, and negotiate on behalf of the practice some of the basic, non-legal, economic terms of the sale.

“In my experience, a broker will identify potential buyers through their market analysis, and approach them directly but on a confidential basis,” Rust says. “They won’t disclose who the selling practice is.”

Essentially, the agent or broker will provide potential purchasers with a financial disclosure indicating a practice is considering a transition or sale. But it also happens that a dentist may negotiate directly with a DSO or dental group that approaches them.

“In any event, having a representative engaged is optimal,” Rust says.

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Dental Service Organizations

The Rise of Dental Service Organizations in America

One potential obstacle to a smooth sale and transition is the emotional factor, which Rust says is common. And given that many dentists who have been in practice by themselves for 20 or 30 years, and may even have staff who have been with them all that time, it's not surprising that they have established a culture. What impact will the transaction have on the practice culture, and on the staff?

“I’ve seen staff ask the dentist not to do a deal because they weren’t comfortable with the successor,” Rust says. “Emotion can also add an additional value in the mind of the dentist that might not be realistic. It can definitely be an impediment to getting a deal done.”

If you plan to stay on as an employee within the new practice structure, Rust cautions that you understand the compensation.

“If you’re engaging with a DSO, these formulas can be very complicated.”

Also, consider the non-compete clause in the sale.

“If you stay on as an employee and you’re unhappy, you’ll be stuck because you won’t be able to practice in your market for a period of time,” Rust says.

And, he adds, if you do stay on as an employee for a period of time, how much control you retain in the day-to-day operations of the practice? Will you be able to control staffing decisions? Will you have a say in what supplies, budgeting and technology decisions are made?

“These are all critical in contributing to what you’re able to earn under your compensation model,” he says.

Thinking of selling your dental practice? Here are the key considerations to keep in mind to ensure the process is smooth and successful.

Key Considerations When Selling Your Dental Practice

The key benefit of email marketing is that it is measurable.

If you’re looking to buy a luxury car, and receive an email that promotes pickups and SUVs, how helpful will that email be? Not very, and chances are you might not even open it, and eventually that type of email will wind up in your Junk folder. But done well, email can be an important component to an overall marketing strategy and provide a high return-on-investment.

, email is a consumers preferred communication method, chosen by 60 percent of respondents, compared to only 20 percent who chose social media, and 17 percent who chose text messages.

, an email marketing agency, is not surprised by the results. He does not believe email is being ignored as an important marketing tool. The problem, however, is that it’s often not used effectively.

 account and off you go,” Lapides says. “It’s just not that straight forward.”

Lapides explains that just because a dental practice sends out 20,000 emails doesn’t mean it’s effectively reaching 20,000 current or potential patients. With a growing number of businesses using email marketing, email service providers are using algorithms to examine how recipients interact with your email. In other words, are people clicking on and opening the email? If not, those emails will eventually be labeled and placed in the Junk Box.

“The more engagement you get and the better your emails are, the more likely they’re going to end up in the inbox,” Lapides says. “If you keep sending emails without really good permission-based practices, the more cluttered someone’s inbox gets with stuff they don’t want to see.”

Lapides says that in order to be effective with permission marketing it needs to be anticipated, personal and relevant. Too often, small businesses—and he includes dental practices in that category—buy a list and start emailing. More often than not, he says, that effort will not be a positive return-on-investment venture.

“Is [the email] anticipated?” he asks, rhetorically. “Nope. They did not anticipate an email from you. Is it personal? Nope, because they don’t know you. And is it relevant? Probably not. So you’re violating the three most basic tenets of effective permission marketing by buying lists.”

Done well, email can have a very positive impact on your practice’s bottom line. 

 that every dollar spent in the U.S. on email marketing has a return-on-investment of $44.

“You won’t find much out there that is more cost effective than email from a dollar standpoint,” Lapides says.

Lapides says one of the key benefits of email marketing is that it’s measurable. You can measure open rates—how many people open or view a particular email—and click through rates—the ratio of users who click on a specific link to the number of total users who view an email.

“If you’re trying to sell something or have people schedule an appointment, these are all things you can and should measure,” he says. “You can see what’s resonating, and then use that for feedback into what you do next.”

Dental practices are not in the email marketing business, Lapides readily acknowledges, so it’s unlikely an entire department is dedicated to doing email marketing. That’s fine, he says. It’s not important to hit on every cylinder at once. Start by identifying the challenges or goals the practice has, such as too many no-shows, or patients not being compliant.

“Put together a campaign map, a visual depiction of all the emails you should have in your program,” Lapides says. “Sit down with your staff, talk about the challenges, and then highlight the ones that are Priority One, Priority Two, and so on. Walk before you run.”

A good place to start developing or refining an email marketing campaign is with your practice’s website. What kind of content is resonating on the website? Prospective patients may be checking you out, wanting to learn about you but not ready to pick up the phone and schedule an appointment.

“They may just sign up for a white paper,” Lapides says. “You can follow up by sending them three emails as part of a welcome campaign. That’s part of building trust, confidence, and credibility with prospective patients.”

And for current patients, there are nurturing emails—the ones sent in between appointments to encourage good oral health habits.

“Now you’re helping with retention as well,” Lapides says. “You’re not only trying to stay in front of people in a very helpful way, but you’re reminding them that it’s time for their six-month visit.”

Is email a significant part of your practice's marketing strategy? If not, you might want to take another look at that strategy.

“I’m not here to make money. I’m here to develop relationships with people.” - Alan Coleman, D.D.S., F.A.G.D.

Alan Coleman, D.D.S., F.A.G.D., has been struck by lightning, the victim of failed breaks on a riding mower, and the recipient of a concussion and broken ribs courtesy of a not-too-friendly horse.

’s philosophy on life when he says, “You just don’t know. Live every day to the fullest and enjoy the people around you.”

And that’s exactly what Coleman does. Alan Coleman is passionate about providing preventive care and alleviating pain for his patients. He says it’s his calling, something he was meant to do. And he shows his appreciation for his God-given skills through frequent missions to help those in underserved countries.

Even as a youngster, Coleman was always good, and enjoyed working with, his hands. His grandfather was a master craftsman who carved roses out of wood, and he encouraged Coleman to build things in his shop.

But the clincher on a career choice came when saw all of his friends whose fathers were surgeons never at home.

“I didn’t want to do that to my kids,” Coleman explains. “And so I thought a career in dentistry would allow me to work with my hands, utilize God’s gift of brains and talent, and be home.”

That flexibility of schedule has allowed Coleman to coach his sons’ soccer and baseball teams, and serve for more than a decade on city council. He works three-and-one-half days each week, and uses the remaining time to be with family and give back to the community. He says it’s just the way he’s built.

Alan Coleman translates his God-given skills from the dental office to those underserved countries through frequent mission trips.