No Free Lunch

The orthodontist asked his friend to help develop a direct marketing campaign to increase his client base. The friend contacted me.

"Talk about synchronicity, I said, (I've been very big on synchronicity this week), "I 've been doing research on orthodontists for an article I'm writing for the Chicago Tribune about the fact that the fastest growing segment in adults who wear braces are folks who qualify for AARP.( the link is only good until April 25th, after that it's in the archives).

"Well," said my friend, " He wants to do a direct mail piece to drum up business."

We talked. I shared my viewpoint. I didn't think that direct mail would be  effective since the majority of people either relied on dentist referral or referrals from friends. 

I said if he were introducing a revolutionary product or treatment then direct marketing might be okay, but for a general, please come get your braces here message, I didn't think direct mail was a good idea.

We met with the orthodontist. I suggested we begin with research to get a better understanding of why he wasn't getting as much business as he wanted. I outlined a plan that would include interviews with staff, referring dentists, patients ,and people who had come in for a consultation but had not selected this particular orthodontist.

From that, I would be able to develop key messages that would be relevant to his target audience.

He agreed to do the research. I began working.

Then came the first email. He and his staff were uncomfortable with having me interview dentists. They were concerned it would send up a Red Flag that their practice was in trouble.

He said in his email,

"We cannot change everything we do to accommodate a very challenging group of dentists who will not change referral patterns unless their present practioner(s) screws up. They don't read what we send them anymore than patients do and most don't care about results since they assume everyone gets roughly equal outcomes. Unless they hear negatives from their patients, they won't change. Logic and quality has  little to do with it. While dentist interviews will be helpful in exposing my flaws and those of my practice, I see little to be gained in changed referral patterns even if said deficiencies are remedied. I want your efforts to be directed toward obtaining that data which is most likely to produce results."

You'd think that after 25 years  of doing this kind of work, I would have learned my lesson. You'd think after 25 years I would know that this project was going absolutely no where but south.

But no. I persisted.  I said I understood and could work around the dentist issue.

Then came the phone call. He had just received a solicitation from a company that guaranteed results. They said  they guaranteed profits or he would pay nothing.

Then the question.  "Can you guarantee that what you'll do for me will result in profits?"

It was a Gotcha moment. Of course I couldn't guarantee something that I had no control over.At that point I didn't know why he wasn't getting the business he wanted. Were people not going to him because of his personality?

The attitude of his staff?

The hours or location of his office?

I made one last ditch effort to save the business. I said while the direct mail may bring you new clients, I was concerned about the potential collateral damage. 

Just as he was concerned that interviewing dentists might send a message of desperation, I cautioned that sending a "canned" direct mail piece might send a similar message to his target audience. For every client he gained, I warned, there might be 10 more who questioned his competency.A canned direct mail piece could damage his reputation and image.

Not surprisingly, he didn't take my advice. Hope springs eternal when someone promises a free lunch. Then again, many of us learned a long time ago that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

I probably will never know whether his canned lead generation program was effective.  Oh, but I did send him an invoice for time spent on the project. 

I doubt I will see a payment, in fact, I could almost guarantee it.

Comments

[Bill]

Interesting commentary. Orthodontists and dentist have zero training in business management and marketing. We learn it from scratch when we graduate. this a truly great void in the professional educational process. What sources would a marketer recommend for learning more about marketing a professional service? Thank you. Bill