Together that's how we roll
Until now marketing in dentistry has been all about one practice competing with other practices. This is called antagonistic marketing. Marketing in dentistry has historically been antagonistic. It is conceptually negative in nature. A practice wins by minimizing the ability of others, by claiming superior skills and knowledge. Antagonistic marketing seems to work well in situations where the need is generated by media reports and advertising, the competition is excessive, where the demand is great and the public has become fully aware of the service.
Antagonistic marketing implies and sometimes even states that a different treatment modality is ineffective and that a different practitioner is somehow inferior. Antagonistic marketing negates working with colleagues who provide similar outcomes but with different therapeutic modalities. Antagonistic marketing can also be thought of as destructive marketing. Destructive marketing is a side effect of antagonistic marketing. Advancing the cause of the individual comes with a price that must be paid. That price is a destructive effect on the profession as a whole.
But suppose you want to market a service where the need is great, the market is huge and growing, the competition is limited and the public is unaware that the service is available and effective?
Will Search Engine Optimization work effectively in a situation where potential patients don't know the service exists? What keywords will potential patients enter? Do prospective patients know to search for the terms sleep apnea or snoring in conjunction with dentist? Suppose that none of your target market knows or cares what sleep apnea is and whatever it is they are sure they don't have it. How can antagonistic marketing possibly build your dental sleep medicine practice?
In a situation where there is a huge and growing potential target market for a service and there is a limited amount of competition to provide the service but the public is unaware that the service is available, collaborative marketing is more effective.
True collaborative marketing includes the combined marketing effort of a group of indivi
duals for the benefit of all the individuals comprising that group. This synergistic effect is only possible because of the global connectivity provided by the World Wide Web. Collaborative marketing harnesses the power of cooperative marketing efforts from multiple practices.
Collaborative marketing is cooperative marketing not competitive marketing. The more practices involved, the greater the chance of success. This type of marketing succeeds by true collaboration with colleagues in other fields of expertise.
It is way more effective for a practice to market with other practices than it is to try to break through all the marketing clutter alone. Marketing in a world where each individual is exposed to well over 3000 messages a day can only be accomplished by individuals working together collaboratively. There is just too much marketing noise for any single practice to accomplish it alone.
Snoring Isn't Sexy provides the tools for true collaborative marketing.
Toll- free Phone Numbers
Snoring Isn't Sexy has acquired two toll-free phone numbers: 1-877-77APNEA and 1-888-SNORE20 (10,11, 12, 13, 14 etc.). These phone numbers have been programmed such that all members can use these numbers in a joint advertising campaign with other members. Both numbers work through the same computer system and each works identically so that an individual dentist or group of dentists can use either number depending on how they wish to structure their advertising campaign.
When a potential patient calls either number, he/she is asked to enter their zip code. If a dentist has secured that zip code, the number rings through to the dentist's office directly with no interference from an operator who asks questions and determines who is best suited to handle the caller. The phone number works transparently, avoids selection bias and gives the impression that a single dentist has placed the advertisement. If no dentist has secured the zip code, the caller is directed back to the main Snoring Isn't Sexy Web site (snoringisntsexy.com) and given the opportunity to expand their search.
Examples of Collaborative Print Advertising
Because of a collaborative of the dentists in Snoring Isn't Sexy on the East Coast and in the New Yor new Jersey area, Snoring Isn't Sexy was able to place a 1/2 page advertisement in a Wall Street Journal Supplement and a full page advertisement in Newsweek.Each dentist's name and contact information was listed. These advertisements were accompanied by special web sites that linked to each dentist's introductory page and then to their Snoring Isn't Sexy Web site.
Wall Street Journal Sleep Apnea Supplement - December 11, 2009
Newsweek - New York, New Jersy Sleep Apnea Edition - December 2, 2009
