By: Dr. Travis Campbell
In dentistry, the relationship between marketing and insurance is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of practice management and profitability. I’ve faced challenges where marketing campaign investments yielded minimal returns. These experiences pushed me to explore the intricate dynamics between marketing, insurance, and overall practice success. Keep reading, or skip to the bottom to watch the full on-demand video for more insights and details.
The Insurance “Mindset”
First off, before we even start discussing external marketing campaigns, let’s recognize the powerful, though understated “force” or mindset that the availability of insurance exerts on the overall public. They have been repeatedly trained, through medical insurance plans, but also homeowner insurance, car insurance, etc., that they need insurance because insurance will pay for a good majority of their unplanned expenses. So, naturally they purchase dental insurance and want to use their insurance plans.
Whether your practice is in-network or out-of-network, “insurance” heavily influences patient behavior and therefore your dental practice and any marketing campaign needs to recognize this subtle dynamic. About 85% of dental spending involves insurance in some capacity, making it a driving force behind many patient visits.
The Marketing of Insurance
For in-network practices, most patients naturally gravitate toward seeking treatment within their insurance network. As a result of the discounts and the insurance driven mentality of many, marketing efforts for in-network practices are often more efficient and cost effective.
Conversely, out of network or fee for service practices face the challenge of appealing to a smaller segment of the patient population. This distinction significantly impacts marketing strategies and patient acquisition costs. Out of network offices can also attract patients, albeit requiring more substantial investments in internal and external efforts to overcome the inherent insurance bias.
Profitability is attainable in either type of practice. It is a matter of aligning your practice philosophy and personal management style with your insurance participation preferences. And most critically, that you design your entire practice’s systems, processes, and patient journey to support the style practice you envision.
Internal Marketing Before External Marketing
Before launching an external marketing campaign for your practice, you must get your team involved and ready. The secret to success with any external marketing campaign is to first shore up your internal marketing systems and practices. Here’s why. Let’s take the most common marketing campaign … sending out a mailer to advertise. The primary goal of this type of campaign is to increase the number of phone calls to your business, which will hopefully translate to more patients, and more revenue. Easy … right?
But what happens if your front desk receptionist is new, and hasn’t had any special training in phone techniques? Even if they are experienced, they may not know the latest techniques in how to treat “NEW” patients distinct from existing patients. The easiest moment to lose a potential patient is when they first call your office. The marketing campaign won’t work further, no increase in revenue will be achieved if new patient calls aren’t converted to an appointment. Your investment can be lost before you barely get started.
Internal Marketing for Each Step on the Patient’s Journey
In the same way, every step of the patient’s journey needs to be examined / improved before any upcoming external marketing campaign. Your team must “market” the practice at each step of the way. So what steps are important in the patient’s journey through your office?
Website. Is your website up to date? Hours, services, and phone numbers, correct? Are the messages on your website consistent and supportive of the marketing campaign’s message?
Reception and Call Answering. Are all team members clear about how the office is being marketed, and how in-person visits and call answering techniques need to align? Are patient call conversion rates being tracked with each team member answering the phone?
New Patient Office Visit. Do all aspects of the first visit match the way in which your marketing campaign says your office is known for? Are all team members trained and ready?
Treatment Plans. Do you track your treatment acceptance rate, and will recognize if the new patients you gain through a marketing campaign are accepting and scheduling treatment?
Billing and Insurance. On average, the most complaints received by dental offices involve problems with billing and insurance. What are your complaint trends, and what steps have you taken to shore up any challenges or complaints before they happen?
Metrics of Marketing Success
Marketing is an investment when it works well, and just another expense when it doesn’t. It’s an investment when you achieve:
More potential patient phone calls
New calls are converted to appointments
New patients show up to their appointment
Treatment plans are accepted and successfully delivered
Patients or their insurance pay their bills
Insurance claims are submitted in a timely manner, with minimal claim denials
Your practice receives positive reviews
Revenue and profitability go up!
However, it can break down at any point, and these internal system failures are often far more damaging to achieving return on investment than any external efforts. So, it is essential that you prepare for and track each step along the new patient journey to ensure that you are maximizing the investment you believe you are making in any marketing campaign.
Have you found yourself jumping from one marketing company to another, only to feel frustrated by the process and lack of results? It's a common challenge for most of us, and one we personally experienced years ago. During this session, we'll explore the reasons behind marketing failures, strategies for enhancing the process, the influence of insurance on both in-network and out-of-network offices, and, crucially, internal steps you can take to ensure a significantly improved return on investment for any marketing efforts, regardless of the company or type of marketing involved.
