I've been presenting the "How to Sell to Dentists" workshops and seminars for many years now and have worked with almost 200 companies and over 12,000 sales/marketing reps, directors, and managers. One of the segments in these programs is called "Rate the Ad" where we review current pieces that are in dental publications and determine whether they are 1 (poor) or 10 (great) ads (or something in between) and why. Many who attend are shocked at how many ads that "look nice" to them are poorly rated or completely unappealing to the TARGET audience--the dentists! In fact, only about 12% of ads (and I've surveyed my colleagues for hundreds of them over the past few years) get a "7" or higher. This means that MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in marketing spending is "wasted". And, again, as I mentioned in a previous post, 73% of dentists only NOTICE (let alone read through) 1-3 ads in a print publication like Dental Economics per issue.
I just received the current issue of DE, and (as I always through) looked through the dozens of full page ads (going for $8k or so per) and was even amazed myself to see that there was only ONE (and my job is to purposely notice ads) that I found appealing (as a dentist and a sales expert and trainer).
So what gives? Yes, some of it is that there are simply SO many places now to advertise and it's certainly becoming harder and harder to get dental office's attention.
However....there are 5 main reasons that you aren't getting results, AND each of these can be addressed. I urge you to read this and take action! Some of you will need to focus on just one but most companies have to address most or all of these. They are in no particular order of importance. And, by the way, these aren't just for print ads--they hold true for most of what else you do--direct mail, social media marketing, product flyers, trade show marketing/selling
1. Your marketing department thrives on being creative! That's nice, because you hired them because of their ability (to be creative), but most I have worked with try to produce pieces that are so creative, they become confusing, overwhelming, and/or too cutesy for a dentist/office that has only a couple of seconds to decide whether to read or not to do so. They often elect to skip/pass. It is always better to keep it simple, clean and crisp.
2. Your marketing department doesn't understand dental! This is a HUGE problem out there. The feeling is, as long as they understand their company/product line, they can produce effective marketing. Many don't even do this in-house, they outsource to a company that works within many industries (and especially other medical/healthcare). I have news for you! Dental is a different animal! Your marketing team should be trained and should study dental just like you and/or your sales team do, and even more so.
3. The "message" (if there actually is one) isn't resonating with the dentist!Over 90% of the ads out there focus on how "great" your company/product is. Great--you want to pat yourselves on the back ..I get it. But the truth is that if your message doesn't fit within what's "most important to the dentist" (there are a handful of things -- financially or emotionally that do) you lose. It's about them and it's about how your product/program FITS into their practice. We (dentists) already know you think your product is great...it doesn't mean that much to us. Not every product can be the best, so part of it psychologically is that we become skeptical. Tell us what this means for MY PRACTICE. I don't need to see the name of your product, or your company name, or your "#1 composite" award as the main message.
4. The marketing department and sales department are not in synch! Over 85% of the dental manufacturing companies I work with show a strong 'disconnect' between sales and marketing. Very little consistent communication. Even if marketing creates a piece that gets results, the sales team gets the lead and then prospects offices with a completely different message! HELLO? It's not that hard to get both sides together on a plan!
5. You aren't running your ads by your target audience or the "experts" beforehand! Ok, so you've committed to a large ad campaign for 2015. You are putting a full page ad in five publications and running each of these six times. Add that up..you have just committed a huge amount of money and banking on the success of that ad. 12% of ads get a "7" rating or higher. You are gambling. Question is...why aren't you, with that sort of financial commitment, asking for someone's opinion (to assist in tweaking and revising it a bit) before you are releasing it? Let's face it. The publications aren't going to tell you your ad sucks! (And yes, they know many of them do...I've spoken to many of them off the record) Their job is to take your money and you're on your own. Yes, it's true that they SHOULD give you feedback (if they are qualified and some are) because if you are successful, you will continue to advertise. But it doesn't work that way. I can look at an ad for a few seconds and immediately know whether it will produce decent results. Again, same with direct mail pieces, trade show strategy, and/or social media messaging. You're committing hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases. For a MODEST additional investment, you can get feedback BEFORE you send it to print.
If you are a CEO, President, or VP Marketing/Sales and are reading this, I can help! Contact me to discuss! [email protected] or 646-375-2067
I just received the current issue of DE, and (as I always through) looked through the dozens of full page ads (going for $8k or so per) and was even amazed myself to see that there was only ONE (and my job is to purposely notice ads) that I found appealing (as a dentist and a sales expert and trainer).
So what gives? Yes, some of it is that there are simply SO many places now to advertise and it's certainly becoming harder and harder to get dental office's attention.
However....there are 5 main reasons that you aren't getting results, AND each of these can be addressed. I urge you to read this and take action! Some of you will need to focus on just one but most companies have to address most or all of these. They are in no particular order of importance. And, by the way, these aren't just for print ads--they hold true for most of what else you do--direct mail, social media marketing, product flyers, trade show marketing/selling
1. Your marketing department thrives on being creative! That's nice, because you hired them because of their ability (to be creative), but most I have worked with try to produce pieces that are so creative, they become confusing, overwhelming, and/or too cutesy for a dentist/office that has only a couple of seconds to decide whether to read or not to do so. They often elect to skip/pass. It is always better to keep it simple, clean and crisp.
2. Your marketing department doesn't understand dental! This is a HUGE problem out there. The feeling is, as long as they understand their company/product line, they can produce effective marketing. Many don't even do this in-house, they outsource to a company that works within many industries (and especially other medical/healthcare). I have news for you! Dental is a different animal! Your marketing team should be trained and should study dental just like you and/or your sales team do, and even more so.
3. The "message" (if there actually is one) isn't resonating with the dentist!Over 90% of the ads out there focus on how "great" your company/product is. Great--you want to pat yourselves on the back ..I get it. But the truth is that if your message doesn't fit within what's "most important to the dentist" (there are a handful of things -- financially or emotionally that do) you lose. It's about them and it's about how your product/program FITS into their practice. We (dentists) already know you think your product is great...it doesn't mean that much to us. Not every product can be the best, so part of it psychologically is that we become skeptical. Tell us what this means for MY PRACTICE. I don't need to see the name of your product, or your company name, or your "#1 composite" award as the main message.
4. The marketing department and sales department are not in synch! Over 85% of the dental manufacturing companies I work with show a strong 'disconnect' between sales and marketing. Very little consistent communication. Even if marketing creates a piece that gets results, the sales team gets the lead and then prospects offices with a completely different message! HELLO? It's not that hard to get both sides together on a plan!
5. You aren't running your ads by your target audience or the "experts" beforehand! Ok, so you've committed to a large ad campaign for 2015. You are putting a full page ad in five publications and running each of these six times. Add that up..you have just committed a huge amount of money and banking on the success of that ad. 12% of ads get a "7" rating or higher. You are gambling. Question is...why aren't you, with that sort of financial commitment, asking for someone's opinion (to assist in tweaking and revising it a bit) before you are releasing it? Let's face it. The publications aren't going to tell you your ad sucks! (And yes, they know many of them do...I've spoken to many of them off the record) Their job is to take your money and you're on your own. Yes, it's true that they SHOULD give you feedback (if they are qualified and some are) because if you are successful, you will continue to advertise. But it doesn't work that way. I can look at an ad for a few seconds and immediately know whether it will produce decent results. Again, same with direct mail pieces, trade show strategy, and/or social media messaging. You're committing hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases. For a MODEST additional investment, you can get feedback BEFORE you send it to print.
If you are a CEO, President, or VP Marketing/Sales and are reading this, I can help! Contact me to discuss! [email protected] or 646-375-2067
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