Bad month for the your dental practice? Keep advertising!
June was not a great month for dentists. There are no absolutes in this business, and some practices did well. But by and large, I saw more disappointing production months this past June than in any single month this decade. It was like an epidemic.
Some practices responded by suspending their advertising “until the economy improves”. This is a defensive reaction that reduces the monthly “nut”, but is unlikely to cause positive change in the bottom line. Practices that did this are still turtled up, waiting for outside forces to change their bottom line.
When business goes south, marketing is an attractive first target for budget cuts. That’s backwards thinking however. Marketing is an investment that generates income, not an expense that should be viewed as a luxury or discretionary.
The efficient marketer realizes that ROI success and failure is measured over years, not just a month at a time. Your long term efforts are rewarded by an established position in the mind of the consumer. People still need dentistry, even if some are postponing purely cosmetic procedures. Don’t be the office that disappears. Be the practice that’s been around forever – the one everyone knows. You do that with consistency.
The dental practices who maintained or increased their marketing after the tough month of June rebounded with a strong July. This illustrates the wisdom of long-term planning, and confirms the efficiency of sticking to a plan. Yes we need to track, evaluate and adapt – and we don’t throw good money after bad being stubborn. But a good plan remains a good plan, and a bad month doesn’t change that.
