How Nice Is That???

I find myself enjoying logging on to my blog and hoping someone is out there reading it and communicating with me-For now, I have a very narrow audience but am getting ready to go viral as my site is more sophisticated and better looking.

Today was a nice day-It was busy and it was challenging as always, but it had some very special highlights.

I have many patients who travel far and wide to see SpektorDental for their dental care. Some days the weather is horrible and the traffic worse. One of our patients called from his cell phone and told us he has been in the car for over an hour and passed at least 40 dental offices on the way down. When he arrived, we saw him, took care of him and gave him an Ultreo Toothbrush to Thank him for 20 years of trust and support (Giving a special, meaningful gift as a Thank you is a great marketing strategy)

Today I got a Thank you note that said he would travel past 100 dentists to come see us and that it has been a great 20 years together-The Ultreo was unneccessary but very appreciated. How nice is that?

One of my staff members took home a pumpkin to enter a contest at a local orthodontists office. Her roomates helped her and she entered her pumpkin in the contest-(What a great marketing effort on the part of the orthodontist to connect with the staff of a potential referring office). They let their patients vote and our office won! The orthodontist came personally and presented a gift certificate for the office- How nice is that?

I gave a recent Business course for the University of Washington and it was so much fun to do. I must admit I put in a lot of effort and do it for enjoyment-It is one of my passions. I received some wonderful 'Thank You' notes from the attendees and that made all my extra efforts worthwhile- How nice is that?

If you have been meaning to contact someone and haven't or just need to make someones day, write a personal note-Even a email-Reach out and make someones day and they may say "How nice was that?"

Labels: Marketing

I get by with a lot of help from my staff. I get by with the support of my patients.

It has been quite a week at the office.
Any dentist will understand what that means-Lots going on and nothing ever as it seems.

I guess I would say that we dentists must be able to swing with the day and adapt to many daily challenges.
Our team must be able to accept these challenges and flow with a smile which isn't always much fun and it isn't very easy.

Just REMEMBER;
Change is a way of life at the dental office.

Taking care of our patients is our number one job and so when we arrive at the office in the morning and anything can occur, we must be prepared. A dental practice is a small business, our patients and every dental team member is important. In one day we can have any or all of the below occur;

Missing team members because they are sick(strept throat, headaches, illness that requires hospitalization)

Missing team members because of changes in their personal lives(deaths, funerals)

Changes in the health of our patients(older patients failing and/or forgetting their medications, patients with sadness in their lives like divorces and cancer needing time to talk)

Changes in the schedule(emergencies, last minute cancels and walk ins, the weather and traffic causing the schedule to be off all day)

Changes in what the lab can or can not accomplish(color doesn't match, wrong type of crown, crown doesn't fit well enough)

Changes in what a patient expects for their care and what was scheduled, being over scheduled and the treatment more complicated than anticipated, patients that don't get numb

Missing equipment, missing materials, broken instruments not replaced, rooms not stocked

The list goes on and on.

This is when the pressure is on and you wonder how you got into this situatiion in the first place..........

I try to get my work done, get through the day and calm down.....
and always realize that I could never have gotten by with out the help of my staff!

Even though I am stomping around during tough days, at the end of the day I realize that I still could never have made it through the day without my staff (even when I think they could have handled a situation differently I still could not have done it by myself). I also try to remember that there are those who are stepping up to the plate to help things flow as best as they can when all heck is breaking loose.

Even on tough days, at the end of the day I know that my patients show up with anxiety and anticipation and I try very hard to take good care of them. I always try to remember to set reasonable expectations so that I under promise and over deliver so they will not be disappointed. I have very supportive patients and know I could never get by without the support of my patients!

When the lives of my staff are challenged, I try to be there to support them and want them to know that I am on their team.

When my patients have challenges, we all try to take time, listen and give them our support. They are a part of our family and giving them strength and hope are important. We want to make them feel better with a good visit and solid dental care.

Nothing is as it seems. It was one of those weeks...

But I get by with a lot of help from my staff and I get by with a lot of support from our patients....
Thank you - Remember, you can never say Thank you enough.

Labels: Change | dental challenges

Marketing and Shopping

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Marketing and Shopping

I am very excited about my blog even though it will take more work to get it up and really running.

It was so much fun to read my first comment posted to my blog. It was written by someone famous - David Meerman Scott (author of 'The New Rules of Marketing and PR). Remember I taught that the WEB evens out the playing field and that you can be in contact with anyone that has similar passions as you may have. This contact makes jumping into the new world of communication a lot of fun.

Yesterday while giving my course, the Business of Dentistry, I introduced some of the new concepts of emerging media. I told the group to look around and they will notice how things are changing for all of us.

Check out Nordstroms.com. My smart and savvy 'students' will notice that when looking for specific information the site has RSS sign up. If you don't know how Really Simple Sindication works this is a great place to learn. Go visit! As you design your 'Personal Image' you can even go check out the shoe section-Patients notice everything from your smile to your smell to your shoes!!! Wear polished, nice shoes everyday.

My SpektorDent site will continue to add more free downloadable information so I hope you will visit often-Hope to hear from you.

Have a great day-Dr. Wendy

Labels: business | dentistry | image | marketing | passion | rss | shopping

What a great day in the business world of dentistry!

Wow-I had a great day today. I gave my course on the topic of 'Mastering the Business of Dentistry'.

I am not a funny lecturer, I am a passionate lecturer. I still need to improve my skills because I get excited and don't always stay on topic - there is just so much information I want to share. I want to jam pack my course full of content but not be too overwhelming. It was a well attended lecture and my audience even came back after lunch, staying for the whole course-Thank you!

After reviewing the basics of business-my version of a mini MBA course I loved introducing the new world of WEB Marketing and PR to the group today. 'Thought leadership' is such an exciting concept and the world of SOCIAL MEDIA is impacting all of us. I am proud to say that my lecture gave beginning information about what is going on in the Internet world and how it is affecting the world we live in, including the business of dentistry.

A web site evaluation form was included in the hand outs today. Thanks go to David Meerman Scott who gave me permission to provide it for my attendees. I encourage you to check out his book and become more knowledgable about what is occuring all around us.

Thankfully, the hand out package was checked first thing in the morning and did not have the course notes included. I tried to provide excellent materials but it ended up that there was a scramble to produce the information for my attendees and we just couldn't pull off the detail. Unfortunately, that reflected on my 'Brand' and there was nothing I could do about it. I pride myself on being the "PAPER CHIC" and am sorry the hand out materials were not as clear as they could have been.

Included in the packet was an evaluation sheet on 'How Does Your Office Measure Up'? Since the package for the course was not ready, I didn't review that it was included as part of their handouts first thing in the morning. I included this survey piece as a way for dentists to evaluate their office and get an idea of how technical they are or are not. If one scores 80-100 then they may need to slow down because they can get burned in being so techno advanced but if they didn't have much that was listed they need to tech up more.

Remember, do not to rush into investing in everything at one time-Get good at digital xrays, get good at digital photography, get good at the technology you invest in and don't keep adding if you and your staff don't have a command of what you already have available.

Remember, tell your patients what you are doing and why. Show them the passion, the love, the enthusiasm you and your team have for helping them take care of their oral and overall health. Give them a reason to do the dentistry you recommend because you believe they need it.

I had a full room of dentists at all levels and that was a big honor. I should have retitled my course somehow to communicate that staff is a big part of the Business of Dentistry and spending a day at my lecture will be of value for the whole dental team. The purpose of my course is to be informational but also inspirational and help reenergize the whole office.

I also forgot to let my audience know what I want - I want to give lectures that excite the audience and motivate them to make changes starting Monday morning after the course. I hope you will use 'word of mouth' and 'word of mouse' to help promote the value of learning about the 'Business of Dentistry'. I want to get the word out that my lecture is fun and the course icontent is vibrant and vital!

I can't be a consultant at this time with the schedule I keep already, but I can help guide and give possible solutions to the problems dentists and their teams find challenging.

It is my goal to impact the dental profession and encourage all of us to work together, help each other and understand the power that organized dentistry has to offer- there are so many possibilites out there to make a difference. Let me hear from you!!

My thanks go to the University of Washington Continuing Education Program for allowing me to give my course. Supporting the University of Washington Dental School is an important part of giving back.

With that, I sign off to get a good night sleep and relax-More to come-Dr. Wendy

Labels: Challenges | Dental Business | Dental Marketing | dentistry | Dentistry | Emergning Media | marketing | Referral Dentistry | Solutions | Team | Team Dentistry

My first blog post

I am trying to learn as much as I can about the new media and how it can help provide info to my world of contacts. I am hoping to hear from you out there about your business. I am presenting a business marketing course for the UW Continuing Education Department Oct 5 -

Labels: business | channels | dentistry | marketing | media | tooth

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How Nice Is That???

I get by with a lot of help from my staff. I get b...

Marketing and Shopping

What a great day in the business world of dentistry!

My first blog post