DISQUS

Dentist SOS: Web Savvy Dentists: What A Dumb Idea - Round 2

  • Rita Zamora · 7 months ago
    Hi JB, In response to the comment "My dentist is not in the yellow pages, not on the web and he is not accepting new patients because he is too busy with the ones he has." I think it is important to point out that "busy" does not always mean successful. Over the last 16 years working hands-on in dental practices, I've seen "busy" practices that are very successful and some that are not.

    I think it's also important to point out that many dentists don't like to market. I've heard many dentists say they wish they could just practice dentistry and not have to market- but that is unrealistic because even in the most successful practices where referrals and good word-of-mouth fuel the practice, there are still patients that leave the practice due to job change/move out of area, change of insurance, illness, and unfortunately death, etc., etc.

    Another example might be a new dentist, fresh out of school... when they start a brand new practice, if marketing is seen as "distrustful" what is the new dentist to do, hang a shingle outside their front door and wait for new patients to walk in? That is unrealistic. In addition, when the yellow pages are gone- and the internet is slowly but surely drowning print advertising- dentists will need to be web-savy in order to make informed decisions about how to allow patients to find them.

    There are plenty of wonderful, highly skilled dentists out there who are amongst the best in their field- and while they may build their practice by referral, some may still need to "resort to marketing"(and yes, dentists are allowed to enjoy success and quality of life just as much as any other service provider).

    Finally, I'll say that web-savy for dentists is not only important in terms of being found online, it more importantly allows dentists to explore digital and new technology options that help improve diagnosis and patient care... That's another topic entirely though.

    Thanks for the opportunity to share,
    Rita
  • DentistSOS · 7 months ago
    Hey Rita,

    Thanks so much for both your comments on this conversation. I am glad you can be the voice of reason on this matter. I was about to give up trying to convince this person that Web Savvy Dentists are not Dumb. I am still waiting to hear from him this last time so hold onto your hat if he ever finds out about your comments...;-)

    Thanks again

    JB