Dos and don'ts for patient marketing: Bring on an internal marketing coordinator

Dentists should spend 98% of their time providing patient care. That means they don't have the time to effectively market their practice. That's why Levin Group recommends offices use an internal marketing coordinator (IMC) -- a part-time employee who handles the majority of the practice's marketing.

Delegate 95% of marketing activities to the IMC. The IMC handles everything related to marketing the practice, including the following:

• Designing a marketing plan for the year
• Creating strategies that target current and new patients
• Implementing the strategies, including a strong patient referral program
• Tracking the success of each strategy

With an IMC in place, the dentist can focus almost exclusively on providing patient care.

Don't try to do it all yourself. Many dentists have a hard time giving up administrative activities, especially marketing. Some believe that no one else can do it better than they can. Some don't want to entrust this critical duty to a team member. Unfortunately, the more nonclinical activities you hold on to, the less productive you are as a dentist.