Client Loyalty: Winning More Work from Existing Clients

Winning projects from new clients is much harder than securing follow-on work or a next assignment from your loyal cadre of ongoing clients -- that is if your ongoing clients are, in fact, a loyal cadre. Many opportunities are missed by not using a relationship to explore the organization for other divisions that you can work for. Even worse, neglect, or being taken for granted, compromises many clients' loyalty -- risking even the work already in hand. The author shows how to build loyalty and leverage relationships to the benefit of your client and your company, using the following steps: 1. Preliminary planning, including mapping client organizations, securing constructive feedback, confirming what the client values about your service, determining opportunities to improve your relationship, and strengthening your relationship by listening, then acting; 2. Engaging the client by honing your repertoire of client-friendly behaviors, conducting feedback interviews, reporting on contacts, and re-planning your strategy; and 3. Formalizing the system by planning annual contact programs for each client and keeping the enthusiasm and activity going after the first meeting.     

How to institute and develop a strategic marketing plan for your pediatric dental office

As what may be the most important element in a successful pediatric dental practice, marketing is often misunderstood. It requires careful planning and a long-term commitment. Before implementing your marketing plan, understand the definition of marketing and what it will mean to your practice. To develop your plan, ask yourself several important questions that will help you analyze where you are now, as well as where you want to be. Then, promote your practice by incorporating 12 important qualities into your plan. The plan is the blueprint for your efforts to repeatedly, consistently, and positively communicate with your market for the long term.     

Practical marketing for dentistry, 8. Communication strategies, identifying audiences and developing messages

This article examines the various communications strategies that can be used in marketing your practice, how to identify your target audience and how to develop messages appropriate to your market.     

Dental ethics in the culture of the 90s: from creed to action

There are six proven ways to integrate a healthcare financing program into your practice. Challenge yourself to maximize your financial service. You will see more people receive valuable care. You will grow your practice. You will reap financial reward. You will provide more of the quality dentistry that makes the art and science of your profession a joy.     

Pencil and paper: the simple solution to getting the numbers you need to effectively manage your practice

Once you have mastered the basics by going through the monitoring exercise once or twice, you will find it takes little time and effort to start finding out just where your practice stands. You only solve a problem after you have found out that there is one and you might find that this simple monitoring exercise shows you areas of your practice where a little attention from you will pay big dividends. Monitoring is like a fine wine: it improves with age. As you begin to compile more and more months of data, you will be able to start comparing this month's performance with last month's, or this quarter with last quarter, this year with last year. One of the most useful things monitoring will do for you is to allow you to compare your practice's performance with that of other practices. Averages, norms, and performance survey results are to be found in a range of practice management publications. Using your monitoring information in this comparative way helps you to identify those areas in your practice management that are holding you back from achieving your true potential. This lets you focus your management time and effort on the truly important issues, which, when solved, will help you turn your practice into a less stressful, more enjoyable, and more profitable place to work.     

Evaluating health plans and marketing the gastroenterology practice under managed care

More patients will have managed care in the future. Therefore, every practice should have a strategy for working with managed care organizations (MCOs). Learn how to evaluate an MCO and how to obtain detailed information about MCOs in your area. Know how to market your practice and build relationships between your group and MCOs. Develop a practice profile that outlines all the benefits that your group can bring to an MCO. Plan how you will respond when an MCO says, "No."     

What to do if IDPR comes to your office. Illinois Department of Professional Regulation

What should you do if the Illinois Department of Professional Regulations comes to your door? First thing, don't panic. Second thing, call your attorney.     

Direct determination of blood recirculation rate in hemodialysis by a conductivity method

Effective interviewing skills are critical for any nurse seeking a position in today's challenging job market. The successful applicant is more than just poised, appropriately dressed, and courteous. Jobs go to applicants who are well prepared, qualified, confident, and motivated. To win a competitive edge, convince employers of your genuine desire for the position, your ability to do the job, your positive attitude, and the strengths that distinguish you from other applicants.     

Job interviews: tips and techniques

This paper outlines appropriate preparation for a job interview, including preparing yourself to focus on your own personal assets and on what you can bring to the job. The various kinds of interview questions are examined: the traditional- 'tell me about yourself'; questions you dread because they will home in on 'weaknesses' and the unusual, open-ended questions intended to uncover specific information. Suggestions are given on how to use the experience of an interview to your own advantage, whether your application is successful or not.     

Oy vay, Y2K!

If you haven't begun inoculating your information system and medical equipment against the year 2000 bug, it's time for some triage. Here's how to diagnose your most serious weaknesses for computer crashes--or worse.     

Juggling nursing school and family. A snowstorm and a missing shoe take their toll

You can dramatically increase your profits by: extending credit and earning interest on the unpaid balance; doing all of the undone treatment in your practice; providing financing for everyone who deserves it; treating bigger cases; and avoid treating deadbeats. These five cash stream strategies will revitalize your practice with more new patients, better case acceptance, and increased cash flow. But bottom line, you must get good at financing. You must have in place an organized, proven, financing system--just like the finance companies do.     

Providing patient-friendly financial options

Having flexible payment options ensures that patients will have all of the motivation and information that they need to accept care in your office. An HCCC simply offers you the chance to make more expensive treatment available to those who need or want it. The small cost of using a HCCC program more than pays for itself--in fact, it costs less than one-third of what you would spend if you were to bill these patients instead. Having consistent financial policies and flexible payment options can dramatically increase your office's productivity and profitability, while expressing your commitment to customer service and high-quality dentistry.     

Legal and societal issues facing survivors of childhood cancer

The Boy Scouts have a good motto: Be prepared! Childhood cancer survivors and their families--and, if that is their preference, spouses and significant others--must learn to become their own best advocates. Life after cancer should be attacked with the same determination and perseverance that is allocated to life during cancer. Know your resources and how to use them. Learn networking skills and establish your own helping network. This article should give you a good start. Do not let yourself become a victim. Take charge of your future. Childhood cancer survivors are a hardy breed and should be a productive and successful force in society.     

Helping the alcoholic patient recover

The patient may come to your unit because of any of the numerous possible health consequences of alcoholism. Or his dependence may surface after he's admitted for some unrelated problem. In either case, your challenge is to see him through withdrawal and set him on the path to long-term recovery.     

No passport is required to incorporate cultural appreciation into perioperative nursing practice

As you read this issue of the Journal and celebrate OR Nurse Week, think about your daily opportunities to practice the principles of international nursing. Look for chances to appreciate cultural values different from your own as you provide patient care and interact with visiting international colleagues. Adopt a global perspective to perioperative nursing.     

Efficient use of the Internet

This section explains how to make most of your time on-line by providing tips on how to reduce the cost of using the internet. Suggestions are given on how to get the best from your existing hardware and software. There are also recommendations for some additional hardware and software.     

Beyond ‘Six Sigma’

If your firm has reached its optimum production cycle but you need work done better and faster. What do you do? You might try a fresh perspective. Most approaches to increasing productivity, including six sigma, aim at improving current processes, concentrating on reducing an operation's average cycle time and eliminating any defects, errors, or scrap in the process. Eventually, however, a process reaches a point where it can no longer be improved. This article shows how to look beyond your traditional processes to find better, more productive ones by using experts from a variety of fields outside your own and developing these ideas into something that give you even better performance.     

Advanced marketing strategies to build the esthetic dental practice

Esthetic dentistry is truly a major part of the future of the fee-for-service practice. There are still many patients who seek high-quality elective care and these individuals need to be swayed to make an initial appointment with you. Whether you reach them through your present patients or through outreach to the community, the important key is your method of handling each of these patients as they join your practice. Customer service needs to be stronger and more obvious than ever before in order to differentiate your practice from others and to attract more referrals. The days of waiting for patients to arrive have clearly come to an end. Managed care and a decline in the need for traditional services has eroded a significant component of the dental market. When you combine that with the realization that only 50% of the population visits the dentist even once a year (and far less in many countries outside the United States), then it becomes obvious that the total available market for the elective services of esthetic dentistry has declined. Esthetic dentistry programs must be better defined, with an ongoing focus to educate present patients and to attract new patients. As I state in my seminars, I firmly believe that any practice today can still be highly successful. I do not feel that I will be making that statement three to five years from now. The time to begin positioning your practice for future growth of esthetic dentistry is now. As managed-care programs increase, it will become more difficult to turn around a declining practice. Having a quality marketing program already in place will make the difference for your esthetic practice. The new patient phone call is critical. It is there that you will begin to help patients understand fully the overall attitude and policies of your office. Successful management of new patients is to win their trust by giving them ultimate customer service while convincing them to fit your present system and schedule. When a new patient calls the practice, you want to get them scheduled within a reasonable time frame while their motivation is still positive. Remember, you only get one first chance to make a great impression. Each office should decide which questions are appropriate to ask. The front desk coordinator should ask these questions calmly and clearly so that the new patient has an opportunity to answer them without feeling that they are going through the inquisition. At the same time, the more information you have about this patient, the easier it will be to gain treatment acceptance because of your understanding of the new patient's needs. Many offices will ask new patients how they came to choose their particular office. Since many practices gain new patients from existing patients, it is appropriate to know when this has occurred and properly thank the referral patient. By thanking the patient who referred the new patient, you will encourage further referrals.     

Practice management applications

Even though you will never find a dental management system that will do exactly what you want, there are a tremendous variety of systems out there with some incredibly powerful features. Look for a system that can handle most of the tasks you need. Keep your eye on other technologies that you may want in your practice. The system you purchase now should be able to handle whatever technologies you decide to add on in the next 3 to 4 years. Once you have made the decision to purchase, the transition to automated management begins. It will be necessary to train you and your staff on how to use the system. Depending on the system chosen, it may be necessary to adjust your management strategies in a number of areas to take advantage of the system's features. This may cause a few adjustment problems at first, but things will work out with a little time and effort. In the next few years, advances in technology integration will allow you to seamlessly blend practice management, voice charting, intraoral cameras, CAD/CAM, lasers, EDI, video imaging, etc., into a single potent system for complete clinical and practice management. A dental practice management system is the first step to realizing that future. Shop wisely and invest your time in learning the terminology and techniques of automated information management.     

The sleep of long-haul truck drivers

Antibiotics may be a helpful addition to your therapy for IBD. Although it sounds as if there are a number of side effects, most patients do well, without any problems. If you develop new or worsening symptoms, or if you have other concerns, feel free to discuss them with your physician.