Monthly newsletters help develop patient loyalty and long-term relationships by building trust and confidence in you and your practice. Mailed direct-response, printed newsletters are not new. While the concept is great, their cost and effort override their potential good.

Dentistry is a business and must be treated like a business if we are to survive with all the economic pressures. And this includes using basic marketing principles to retain existing patients and prospect for new ones. The Internet is redefining how we will practice dentistry and how we communicate with and market to patients. According to Dental Products Report [Jan/Feb. 2001], "80% of patients with Internet access would like to communicate by e-mail with their health professionals."

No doubt about it - dentistry is service oriented just like plumbers, garage mechanics and haircutters - the only difference - it's about health care. Customers [patients] will keep on returning only if they are satisfied with the service. How does their mouth feel and look after each appointment? How were they treated as people? How was their overall experience at your office?

When your company is product oriented [rather than service], it's easy to market your product in print display ads - have a few catchy headlines, a nice looking photo and offer a special. Traditionally, this won't work for most service-oriented businesses.

It's all about perception. You must be seen as the expert, the person who will do the best job, the dentist that has kept up with new materials, technology and continuing education and the office that cares about people and wants long-term relationships. The best way to do this [marketing] is to communicate these concepts through short articles and images on a regular basis. Simply put, make you and your practice look good. Eventually, it will sink in.

What are the proven factors in any good marketing program? Regularity and consistency are critical. You must constantly remind people of whom you are, even your own patients. Sending material quarterly or semi-annually just doesn't cut it. Stay in front of your customer often, but don't be overbearing. Use full-color and exciting images. Track and quantify your success or failure to see if the program is cost-effective or worthwhile. Income generated from a marketing program should pay for that marketing program.

There are various companies that publish "patient newsletters." One even does all the work and sends you a newsletter on a CD each month that can be downloaded to your own computer. You can use it as is or modify and customize it before printing it out. They advertise it as "a monthly newsletter without doing any work!"

Here is a prime example of what I said earlier. The cost and effort of mailed printed newsletters override their potential good. Someone has to make the changes. It has to be printed. If you send the disc to a professional printer, it becomes cost prohibitive to print in color every month. Even printing it yourself on a color ink jet printer will be costly and slow. How will you get it to patients? If mailed, someone has to address it and place on postage [postage? The costs add up]. How will it be mailed? Does it need to be put in an envelope or, if it is a self-mailer, do adhesive tabs need to be applied? How do you know who reads it?

We will design the banner head and format for your eNewsletter. If you have a web site, we will use that look as a guide. All web sites are static in the sense that you are relying on people to make a conscious decision to look for your site. The eNewsletter is proactive. It is sent to patients and potential patients. It is addressed to people by their own name. There will be a link that, with one click, will bring the reader to your web site. Every month your professional, full-color eNewsletter will be sent with informative articles [written in concise and easy to understand language] and attractive images. It's powerful repetitive marketing. There's nothing else more timesaving that can let people know what services you provide and how to address their concerns.

Our system software allows you to group people into an unlimited number of groups. You may choose to have groups called "patients," "potential patients," "cosmetics," "children." "seniors," "TMJ," etc. You can send an eNewsletter to your entire database, one person, one group or several groups. This allows you to target people who have similar preferences or needs and wants. If a person appears in more than one group, and you send to your entire database, they will still receive only one eNewsletter.

Marketing with your own eNewsletter is a growing process. Don't expect people to knock down your doors seeking treatment after one issue. At first internal marketing will have a greater impact than external marketing. Regularity and consistency will breed informed patients, which are the best and most loyal patients. Our eNewsletters have a "one-click" navigation link that allows the reader to "Send this to a Friend." All they do is type the friend's name and e-mail address into a text box and that newsletter is automatically sent to the friend with all the graphics and navigation links. The good news is the friend's name and e-mail address [not necessarily a current patient] are captured and automatically placed in your database under a group called "Referred." They will receive all future newsletters unless they "opt out" as anyone can do. You can even run a contest to see which patient sends the newsletter to the most people. Our software will track that for you.

All our clients also receive a "Custom Response" eNewsletter. This allows you to type any custom message into a text box and upload graphics from our image library or even from your own computer. When the communication is received, it will have the same design look and banner head as your monthly eNewsletter. This feature can be a great marketing tool and help strengthen patient loyalty and long-term relationships. You can send holiday greetings, birthday wishes or congratulations on happy occasions such as marriage, graduations, births, etc. You can even do appointment reminders or recall notices by grouping people by months.

Now comes the exciting part. You may be thinking, "How do I know if it works?" Our software generates tracking reports. First, it tells you when a person opens the eNewsletter [date and time of day]; then, because of navigation links built into the articles, you receive a report of what they have actually read [their preferences]. You can stop right there if you like and just utilize the eNewsletter as a way of sending out information that you want your patients to have, or you can take the next step. Group all of the people who read the same article and, using the "Custom Response" target those individuals with a special promotion.

One thing I can say for sure, and we see it every time a new client sends their launch issue. Great excitement will be generated for your office. A percentage of patients will respond with kind words and comments. It's up to you and your staff to keep the momentum going.

By now you should be emotionally involved in the belief that having your own eNewsletter can be fun, effective and will stimulate practice growth. However, several practical questions and/or concerns may arise that will require answers before you make a final commitment to proceed.

You may be thinking, "I don't have many patient e-mail addresses. It wouldn't be cost-effective to move ahead at this point." It doesn't matter how many patient e-mails you have today. Just get started, and everything will fall into place. For example, just think about how many patients you see each day. Make it a rule, for the next 6 months, to ask every patient who makes a visit to your office for his or her e-mail address. You will have over a thousand in no time. Check our site for "Tips on Collecting Patient E-Mails;" follow our suggestions and they will come in very fast. The good news is that you can keep sending out your "launch" issue every month and only those who have not received it before will get it.

"I don't have the time to write articles. I don't need more work for myself at this point." You don't have to write any articles [unless you want to]. We have an extensive patient article archives complete with text and images. You can view them all. If there's a topic that is missing, tell us, and we will provide the article. It's as simple as choosing two articles every month and sending us an e-mail with their identifying numbers. We'll do the rest.

"All my patients probably don't have e-mail addresses. I'll be leaving some out." That's correct. But the alternatives aren't perfect either. An eNewsletter will reach the vast majority of your patients. According to the Pew Internet & American Life survey, 63% of all Americans over 18 are now online [126 million people]. Many retirees and senior citizens are now spending more time on the Internet. In our view, it's better to reach the majority of your patients every month than using snail mail to communicate with them twice a year. Most important is don't be a stranger to your patients.

"It's too time consuming to follow up." I learned a long time ago that nothing in life is free and that no business venture or any project will be successful without some work and follow-up. Any marketing program you choose [even if it is not ours] will require some follow through. The necessary time commitment to your own eNewsletter depends on you. How creative do you want to be? What are your marketing goals? Our software is remarkable and will provide you with many opportunities to communicate with people and to measure their response. It's your choice on how far you want to take it. Nothing is etched in stone. You may start slowly and expand the concept. Or you may embrace the idea and jump in headfirst. All past eNewsletters are saved in your system and can be sent or evaluated at any time.

"I don't have a web site yet. So, wouldn't this be a waste at this time?" That's the beauty of the eNewsletter. It's less costly than building a web site, the program includes links to secondary pages that can be stored and viewed on our server and, yet, you can still have your practice presence over the Internet. Any time in the future your eNewsletter can be linked to a web site, regardless of who builds and hosts your site. Of course we also provide professional functional web sites and would be happy to discuss a combination package that will save you money, while handling all your Internet needs.

The one-time cost to get started - design a newsletter banner and custom response, set up your e-mail database and tracking software, and upload the image library and patient article archives - is $895. The monthly hosting and eNewsletter cost is $150 per month. Once you have become a client, your monthly rate will never change. As new software is developed, it is made available to you at no charge. There are no long-term contracts. Your credit card is automatically billed each month. You can cancel at any time with 30 days written notice. If you want to pre-pay the first 12 months, you can save 15% [$270].

If you still have questions, would like to "pick my brain" or would like to see the concept demonstrated online, call me toll-free at 1.888.385.1535 [1.516.593.3806 out of the US].

We recommend that you outline your marketing goals and see if the Internet based eNewsletter makes sense as part of your program. If you want to grow your practice and your income, sitting back and doing nothing is not a choice. If you choose us or some other company or concept, at least you will move ahead and stay competitive in the 21st. Century.

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