Specialty Practice Marketing - How to Specialize in Niches and Attract Patients (part 1)

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How to Specialize, Uncover Niche Unmet Medical Needs, and Attract Patients 

Health Care providers are afraid to specialize in small niches. Go online, look at a Plastic Surgeon's website ... chances are it talks about 15 different procedures that he "specializes" in. Look at a Cosmetic Dentist, chances are 60-70% of his patients are there for general dentistry.  

EVERY doctor would like to do more procedures that are most profitable. We help them attract patients to make that goal a reality.

Patients have never been more Educated. "Plastic Surgery" or "Cosmetic Dentistry" are not specialties. If a patient is to travel more than 50 miles to a doctor's office most likely he/she's doing so because of a recognized expertise.

• Example 1, Plastic Surgery: A patient is researching online for a facelift specialist in Manhattan. She will be paying for the procedure COMPLETELY out of pocket. There are 50 different surgeons within a 20 block radius. Which one will she choose to schedule a consultation with? I’ll bet you 2 free hours of marketing consulting that she’ll go to a surgeon whose facelifts are at least 40-50% of his work and who is not afraid to promote that fact. Please prove me wrong.

• Example 2, Cosmetic Dentist: A patient is looking for Veneers. After 5 different phone calls and looking at different websites, all he finds are general cosmetic dentists who do “everything” including blatant advertising for general dentistry. He finds a dentist specializing in teeth whitening and veneers, my client and my own dentist, almost 120 miles away and decides to schedule a consultation. He first calls the office, the receptionist tells him that the cosmetic dentist will need to ensure that he indeed needs veneers or if there are other less expensive options to whiten his smile. He was blown away. During his visit, it became evident that he needed braces and that his discolored smile was a result of years of tobacco and coffee “abuse.” He received a $500 whitening procedure (instead of several thousands of out-of-pocket costs) and a referral to an orthodontist who recommended Invisalign. While certainly on the expensive side … the Invisalign and Teeth whitening procedures were certainly less invasive options. Should the patient require more advanced treatments in the future, he will certainly have that option. Within 3 weeks, the dentist received 5 new clients from the patient’s referrals, almost $30,000 in total procedures. It’s a great way to do business. The orthodontist regularly refers JUST cosmetic dentistry patients, patient to patient referrals account for almost 60% of the volume.

Oh, but that's cosmetic dentistry, it's different from my medical practice”

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