Engage Your Clients

Strengthen and maximize current relationships with a variety of strategies

By David H. Khalili

For many dental laboratory owners, marketing campaigns focus primarily on seeking out new dental offices and engaging them to try the laboratory’s work for the first time. The belief is that the key to growing the business lies in accruing as many new clients as possible and convincing them to send in cases. However, this type of front-end marketing strategy overlooks several key factors for sustained revenue growth.

New Client Engagement

One restoration created by an unfamiliar laboratory is only the first step to building a client relationship based on trust, loyalty, and communication; it is not enough to convince a dentist that your laboratory is the best choice for serving the patient’s needs. However, through well-thought-out protocols and built-in incentives, new clients can be encouraged to try multiple cases while getting to know the laboratory’s range of products, service standards, and company culture. Once dentists get in the habit of sending cases to the new laboratory, they are more likely to continue.

Re-engaging Lapsed Clients

A mid-sized laboratory with a client base of 60-80 dentists may have serviced hundreds of individual clients over its lifetime. These former clients may have tapered off for a number of correctable reasons, including: dissatisfaction with a laboratory practice that has since been improved, the lack of a product or service that has since been added, a perceived indifference to their needs that can be remedied through communication, or a better offer by another laboratory that may no longer be in business. Reaching out to these former clients and letting them know how the laboratory has improved since they last sent cases will often persuade them to give it another try.

Incentivizing Low-Volume Clients

The Pareto Principle, commonly known as the 80/20 rule, when applied to business predicts that 80% of a company’s sales come from only 20% of its clients. This rule rings true for dental laboratories. The vast majority of an average laboratory’s monthly sales volume comes from just 20% of its dentists. This means there is an opportunity to increase case volume from the 80% of existing clients through marketing efforts. Learning more about these under-producing clients and targeting messaging to address their specific concerns or needs can quickly boost sales and develop high-quality client relationships.

Cross-Selling Limited-Service Clients

Most dentists use multiple laboratories. For example, they will use one laboratory for removable cases, another for fixed restorations, and a third for implant work. Without research and communication, a laboratory producing PFMs for one of these dentists might assume that the practice does not need denture services. It is important to let existing clients know about all products and services the laboratory provides, including material options, special offers, and new improvements.

Strategies for Engagement

Client engagement is a long-term marketing strategy designed to build brand loyalty, instill trust and confidence, increase order frequency, and address issues efficiently. The goal of client engagement is constant communication to make dentists feel understood, appreciated, informed, and sympathetic.

The first step to client engagement is segregating clients based on categories to focus marketing efforts—for example, New, Lapsed, Low, or Limited. These categories can be further refined to provide a tailored marketing experience designed specifically to the target audience. Each group of clients then must be entered into a marketing contact list for efficient tracking and communication. This list can be a Word document, spreadsheet, or client relationship management (CRM) tool. Next, as much information as possible should be gathered about each client in the list. Record staff names, complete contact information, websites, social media, hours of operation, average monthly case volumes, types of cases ordered, lengths of client relationships, and other information that will be useful for targeting communication. Update these records each time the dental office is contacted, and add notes that will inform future communication. Use the laboratory case management software to track order trends. What types of cases are most popular with this group? What underused case types could benefit them?

Listen and Encourage Feedback

Often, dentists consider switching laboratories when they feel their current laboratory is not meeting their needs or is indifferent to their feedback. Providing dentists with ample opportunities for feedback and making changes based on the feedback will make your clients feel understood and in control. This strategy will encourage dentists to work with you to correct shortfalls, rather than look around for another laboratory.

Effective client feedback requires an organized approach. As a first step, include a survey card with each case that has both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Be prepared to receive more negative feedback than positive; volunteer response bias tends to highlight shortfalls over strengths. It is important to not react emotionally to negative feedback; taking things personally will not help the laboratory grow.

Identify one staff member as the feedback liaison who collects the feedback, analyzes it to identify trends, and makes recommendations to the rest of the dental laboratory team. The feedback liaison should regularly call clients to ask how things are going and relate the trends back to the team. When dentists contact the laboratory to complain or comment about a case, this information should be tracked and routed to the feedback liaison.

Once an effective feedback system is in place, dentists will feel more comfortable sharing their perceptions about the work they receive, and the laboratory will have an opportunity to make adjustments before the dentist begins to consider using another laboratory. When dentists are encouraged to provide feedback and feel that their concerns are taken seriously, they feel a sense of ownership in the laboratory and thus become more loyal.

Develop Protocols and Open Lines of Communication

Regular communication builds strong client relationships. Stay in touch with clients through phone calls, social media, email newsletters, mailings, case stuffers, or a blog. These methods remind dentists that the laboratory is available to meet their needs and are a constant reminder that your business is a go-to for services and information.

Most dental offices have their own website and social media page. They are very appreciative when a laboratory “likes” and “shares” their pages and content, provides positive reviews, and engages by leaving friendly comments. This will encourage the dental office to reciprocate by “liking” and “sharing” your laboratory’s content.

Any client marketing campaign, whether by phone, web, mail, or email, should be tracked to gauge effectiveness. Analytical software can help gauge how dentists engage with your content and what piques their interest.

Inform and Educate

The dental laboratory industry is in a constant state of flux with new technologies, materials, and technical processes debuting routinely. Dentists rely on their laboratories for information on these new products, their indications, and applications. When the laboratory proactively provides dentists with valuable information about these new restorative offerings, dentists will feel more confident prescribing them. This strategy will also help establish the laboratory’s image as one of expertise, confidence, and reliability.

David H. Khalili is CEO of DentalLabSupport.com, Inc. in Los Angeles, California.

See more at: http://www.dentalaegis.com/idt/2017/02/engage-your-clients#sthash.o3CHH9ZR.dpuf

David H. Khalili, Founder & CEO of DentalLabSupport.com

We won't deny it: it's tempting to consider the success of your marketing and dental lab success through lenses that focus on customer acquisition. The amount of new dentists per month, along with other metrics such as lead conversion rates, gives you a great idea about your growing dental laboratory and what you can do to accelerate that growth.

Unfortunately, while these metrics are undoubtedly important, they may not be enough if you're looking to accurately estimate the success of your dental lab, for one simple reason: retention. None of them actually measure how easily you keep current dentists on board, which is a core component of any dental lab success. 

 That's why when considering Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for your business, you may want to look beyond acquisition metrics. Instead, here are some alternatives and additions that can help you measure, and ultimately improve your customer retention efforts.

Average Customer Life Span

On its surface, this metric is relatively straightforward. Once a member of your target audience becomes a customer, how long do they stay on?

Of course, it's also much easier to measure for businesses with recurring revenue models than it is for merchants selling consumer packaged goods. In that case, your customers generally show less loyalty, and purchase more infrequently. Other metrics can better help you evaluate your retention metrics.

Customer Lifetime Value

Customer Lifetime Value, or CLV, takes the concept one step further. Instead of focusing on time span, it helps you understand how much revenue an average as well as individual customers actually brought to your business. Because of its value-focused nature, this metric can be applicable to companies in any industry.

Calculated by simply adding up the average purchase values over their life span, CLV helps you compare individual customers and better determine the long-term success of your marketing efforts. If, for example, customers gained through Facebook have a higher CLV than their counterparts gained through a Google Search, you know where to focus your efforts for maximum retention.

Repeat Purchase Percentage

Where life span-based metrics work particularly well in recurring revenue pricing models, repeat purchase percentage is most beneficial as a retention metric in industries where customers buy irregularly. Again, the metric itself is straightforward: what portion of your first-time customers comes back for more after a while?

Repeat Purchase Percentage takes timing completely out of the equation, which can be helpful depending on your industry. You can, for example, more easily track loyal customers, even if they only buy from your company once a year.

Post-Purchase Engagement

Finally, don't underestimate the value of post-purchase engagement as a customer retention metric. A one-time customer may not need to buy from you again in order to remain valuable to you. If they simply continue to engage with you on social media or via email, they can still remain a valuable brand advocate helping you to grow your business.

Imagine, for example, a one-time customer who continues to share your Facebook posts on social media. According to each of the above metrics, this customer is no more valuable than one who buys your product only to never be heard from again. But through tracking post-purchase engagement, you can determine those who loved your product, and turn them into loyal brand advocates over time - even if they don't ever have need for your product again.

Optimizing Your CRM for Customer Retention

By incorporating some or all of the above metrics, you can more accurately track not just how many new customers you gain on a regular basis, but also how many of them become productive and valuable repeat customers and brand loyalists.

Of course, you also need a CRM that can help you in these efforts and make a tangible impact on your retention strategies. For help in that regard, contact us. We'd love to talk to you about DentalLabSupport.com, and how it can help you retain more Dentists.

Contact DentallabSupport at 1.888.715.9099 or info@dentallabsupport.com

3 Steps to Improve Customer Retention

By:  David H. Khalili
Founder of DentalLabSupport.com

Too many dental laboratories approach customer retention with arbitrary efforts. They think that as long as they sell a good product and offer the best possible customer service, they'll automatically build customer retention. 

This just leaves businesses spinning their wheels. For real improvement, you need an actual strategy that goes into specifics. Here's one way to go about improving your customer retention: 

Start tracking your doctor satisfaction 

The first mistake dental labs make is not tracking their customer satisfaction. Many just assume that there's no way to measure this metric quantitatively. While customer satisfaction seems qualitative in nature, it's absolutely possible for dental labs to track it. 

Test different methods and keep Dentists coming back

Once you have a concrete idea of your customer satisfaction, you can start testing with different methods. The idea is to throw things at the wall one-by-one and see what sticks.  

A common customer retention tactic is to introduce a customer loyalty program. A recent Business.com article explains why you should try this out and track its success: 

"Using rewards systems to secure customer loyalty is an old tactic, but it’s an effective one. There are many loyalty program options for restaurant owners to choose from. Make sure that the program you choose is supported by your POS System before investing, as it will help you accumulate invaluable customer data."

There are many programs you can create to keep your dentist's coming back. Consider offering discounts, adding more value to your service, and giving coupons to repeat customers. 

This, of course, is just one tactic. There are other possibilities, such as using social media and email marketing to bring your customers back. The important thing here is to try each tactic one-by-one so there's no problem isolating the cause for changes in customer retention. 

Check for changes in your customer satisfaction and customer retention

Now that you have a system to measure your customer satisfaction and have tested tactics to improve customer retention, you can see if your strategy made any difference. 

See if your customer loyalty program or social media marketing efforts made any impact on your customer retention. Similarly, track your customer satisfaction over time to see if there were any changes in its trend. 

Customer satisfaction and customer retention are related, but they don't always move together. It's possible for your customer satisfaction to increase and your customer retention to stay stagnant or vice-versa. 

In this respect, it's important to prioritize one goal over the other. Keep in mind that customer satisfaction is more volatile in the short-run while customer retention is likely a more important indicator in the long-run. 

It'll never be an exact science, but there are steps you can take to push customer retention in that direction. To talk more about customer retention, or anything else, contact us today by visiting DentalLabSupport.com or calling 1-888-715-9099. 

Improve Customer Retention with Personalization, Content & Surveys

It's impossible to understate the importance of customer retention. Not only are returning dentists cheaper than new ones, but they also represent long-term success in regard to your dental lab. Building customer loyalty isn't easy, but you can get started with these techniques:

Send personalized emails 

Email is the most effective platform when it comes to improving customer retention. Unlike social media, you can send personalized messages to individual users based on their order history and preferences. 

The mistake most dental labs make is sending cookie cutter messages out to the entire subscriber list. Dentists can spot these emails from a mile away, and most won't even open them.  

This recent Iamwire article talks about the strategy of personalizing emails. According to the article, just sending a simple birthday message can lay the foundation for customer loyalty: 

"Most marketing emails begin with the standard robotic messages that don’t involve any amount of personalization. Starting emails by addressing the person with his/her name not only creates a higher recall value for the customer but also shows them how much the brand cares about/ remembers them. Wishing customers on special occasions such as their birthdays or gently reminding them when they have not checked out from their cart and the likes is a great way to keep them engaged with an eCommerce platform."

Personalization makes all the difference in regard to email marketing. While robotic messages will inspire users to unsubscribe from your campaign, individualized ones will stand out to users and increase engagement. 

Create content that doesn't directly promote your dental lab

Promotion usually does more harm than good in the context of online marketing. The general rule of thumb is that if it's not on your website, then the content shouldn't directly promote your business. 

In regard to customer retention, you shouldn't even come close to promoting your products. Instead, you should create content with the goal of engaging and informing your customers. This Forbes article explains how relevant content balances your marketing efforts and build customer retention: 

"On our blog, we share content that reflects what our values are as a brand. This gives us credibility on a range of topics that goes beyond our product. New product announcements, employee features, and event recaps aren’t enough. That’s still relevant content to share, but to build retention and bring balance, it’s important that we publish articles that go beyond promoting our company directly."

This is the type of content you should share on social media and in your marketing emails. It should educate customers about your industry so they can get more out of their products and services. The better their understanding, the more likely they'll return to your business. 

Create customer surveys 

Customer surveys serve two important purposes in regard to customer retention. For one, they remind customers of your business relationship. If nothing else, they'll at least keep you in contact with your target audience. 

In addition, customer surveys also demonstrate that you're serious about your brand experience. You're asking customers for feedback with the intention of improving your business operations. If you actually take the steps to incorporate their suggestions in your strategy, then they'll see your dedication to customers first-hand. 

Creating customer surveys is fast and easy. You can include a link in your emails and on your social media profiles. The more exposure you give your surveys the better, since you want to get as many responses as possible. 

Improving customer retention takes years of patience, practice, and planning. You won't build customer loyalty overnight, but you can make great progress by executing the techniques mentioned here. To talk more about customer retention, or anything else, contact us today 1.888.715.9099 or visit DentalLabSupport.com 

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