General

Australian Dental Association - http://www.ada.org.au/

Dental Innovations - http://www.dentalinnovations.com.au

Dental Software

Centaur Software - http://www.centaursoftware.com.au/

Social Media

Clever Starfish - http://www.cleverstarfish.com/

"Even though I have sent staff to PLATINUM Professional Development courses (and they report such enthusiasm for attending), I was  eager to see Kathy in person present to a group of Practice Managers. I must say, Kathy was engaging, motivating and inspirational. My only disappointment was that Kathy was given a strict timeframe to deliver such appealing content. I was in awe. Thank you Kathy – my staff and practice benefit greatly from your seminars."

Practice Manager - Perio Care, Chermside Queensland

No matter what Kathy talks about we all sit there in awe, listening intently and she has the students walking out, pumping the air with their fists!    

Kellie Hewitt – Dental Nursing Australia & Kingston Training and Employment
South Australia

"I couldn't recommend highly enough Kathy Metaxas and the team at PLATINUM.  I finished a 2 year period with Kathy last January in which I doubled my gross and found myself in the fortunate predicament of needing bigger premises.  I have since then more than doubled my floorspace and totally renovated the entire premises.  Kathy is a fantastic team motivator and gets the best out of every staff member.  She is always available for any of the staff to ask questions, even now after we have finished with her.  The systems she put in place have really made a difference.  Expect a lot of hard work initially as change never is easy.  However, at the end of the day as you can see from my experience, the rewards are well worth the effort."

Dr B Lee
Dentist - Western Australia

 "PLATINUM's initial two day team development seminar was motivational, inspirational and fun, contributed greatly to team morale.

It was the stepping stone to a difficult, yet very dramatic and fulfilling metamorphosis.  To gain maximum effect it is imperative to be open minded, prepared to implement new systems and methods of thinking and accept change.

We are now experiencing a more effective working environment, which is financially rewarding and a happy and lively place to be." 

Midland Dental Care
Western Australia

 "Just when we felt our Practice had plateaued, PLATINUM helped guide us to new, undreamable heights! What set PLATINUM apart from the others is their absolute personalised, hands on involvement in the development of our Practice. A commitment to the training and coaching in everything that counts in the Dental Practice of today. PLATINUM leaves nothing to chance, relentless attention to detail and systems that work, KPI’s and accountability. I cannot recommend PLATINUM more highly, it’s hard work, but the results make the journey worthwhile…many times over!"  

Dr P Stacy – Smilecare Dental
South Australia

 “Kathy, thank you for all of your support/mentoring over the last couple of years.  I know that I have grown immensely both personally and professionally and our business has exponentially expanded to levels I would have never of imagined.  I am thrilled to know that we are one of your top 10 achievements. I feel that we are still on the way up and hopefully we become one of your highest achievements.” 

Dr Tsiopelas – Dentistry on Unley
South Australia

"Dear Kathy
Thank you again for your wonderful workshop. You have DNA "raving fans", the students were absolutely blown away by your energy and enthusiasm!
It was just what I needed also; I can get so caught up in life sometimes and forget that I'm the one responsible for how I am! The points made about generations will certainly help me both personally and professionally, your delivery as usual was outstanding.
Again I can't thank you enough, I feel recharged and on purpose. You are truly sensational and an inspiration."

Kylie – Dental Nursing Australia
Western Australia

“Dear Kathy,

Thank you so very much for a wonderful conference in Bali. We have all learnt so much and also gained reassurance that a lot of what we are doing is still the gold standard.

You present in such an easy to listen and entertaining way that I did not lose focus for even 1 minute of the whole 3 days talks. I am sure everyone else felt the same and therefore more information would be retained by our staff.

Thank you again for incorporating our concerns into the topics you covered. It has truly been very helpful and we have changed our answering machine already.”

Julie and Brad – The Smile Team
Victoria

“Dear Kathy,

I was at the DHAA Canberra session yesterday, I just wanted to write and let you know that I really loved the day. I have been too many professional development days and this was by far the best I have ever seen. I am so motivated to go to work on Monday and share this information with my team.

Thank you, you are really an inspiration.”

Rebecca Karr – DHAA ACT Professional Development attendee

When assisting practices with their marketing plan, I often find they are using a lot of effort to attract new patients, but not doing enough to retain their existing patient base. Gaining new patients is essential, but if existing patients are leaving as quickly as new ones are coming in, your marketing dollar is going to waste.

To retain your existing patient base, you need to keep in touch and six monthly intervals are far too long to leave your patients without contact. In the meantime, dental amnesia causes them to forget about the amazing experience they had with you and they become susceptible to the lure of the low-cost drill-fill-bill practice down the road.

A quarterly newsletter keeps you front of mind without becoming spammy. It’s a great way to keep your patients up-to-date with what’s happening in your practice. A three monthly newsletter gives you an opportunity to introduce new team members and promote new services.

To prevent your newsletter ending up in the recycling bin, follow my tips to add some interest to your publication.

1. Go Electronic

Printing our paper copies of a newsletter will only reach the people already in your practice. Mail-outs are a huge time vortex and have minimal impact these days. Technology offers some fantastic ways to get your newsletter out to your patients via email and this is now the standard for most professional industries. My favourite platform is the website Mail Chimp. Simply choose a pre-designed template, dump your content in, import your mailing list and send. The best part is, it’s all free. Choosing this style of newsletter delivery opens up possibilities. You can add features like interactive surveys, links to your website and social media pages and links to other external resources. Patients can unsubscribe if they choose – don’t be offended- and Mail Chimp reports on the success of your campaign. Any half tech-savvy person can teach themself how to use the program in about an hour and about 3-4 hours is required to complete each quarterly publication. The result is an email newsletter that could rival any corporate marketing departments’ and will blow the socks off your patients.

2. Variety

Try to mix up the content of your newsletters. Patients don’t just want to hear about the latest toothbrush design or the new research on microbes – what excites you as a clinician may not excite your patients. Topics to consider are;

•       New practitioners or team members
•       Promoting new services and educating about existing services
•       Changes at the practice
•       Special events
•       Practical tips
•       Holiday stories and photos
•       Weddings, babies, special occasions
•      Team profiles 
•      Add something they weren’t expecting – a healthy recipe, an exercise tip or a healthy lunchbox idea.   Think of some of the common interests of your patients.

Patients love to get a sneak peek into your life and it helps to build rapport and interest. Keep it brief and keep it classy.

3. An oral health article

Include an article written by one of your practitioners – Hygienists and Oral Health Therapists are fantastic at this. Choose a topic that patients often ask about in your practice. Use language your patients will easily understand. As well as educating your patients, these articles show your patients you know what you’re talking about and help you can become more trusted and sought after.

4. Presentation

Use photos; preferably photos you have taken rather than stock images. People are attracted to photos when they open your email and especially photos of people. Clip-art is a definite no-no; leave it where it belongs…in the Nineties.

Experiment with colour, but don’t overdo it – limiting to two or three colours is most effective. Keep your font and the font size consistent for the body of each news piece.

5. Engage your audience

Encourage interaction from your patients by offering competitions and special offers, but familiarise yourself with the Dental Board Guidelines for advertising first.

6. Ask for feedback

Actively seek feedback about your patient’s experiences with your practice. Their feedback can be collected in a variety of ways – ask them to email you directly, provide a link to a survey (try the Survey Monkey website) or encourage reviews on consumer review sites like Yelp or Womo (yes, it’s within the guidelines).

7. Get it out there

Once you have emailed your mailing list increase the exposure of your newsletter by;

• Print it out and keep copies in your patient lounge
• Post it to your website and social media pages
• Share it with your business partners – suppliers, laboratories, company reps etc.

If you’re starting to think “Where do I begin?” or “How do we get time for that?” consider outsourcing your newsletter creation. PLATINUM Professional Development can help you reach your patients with minimal effort and time required by you or your team. We can even create content for you.

Call us on 08 6181 3580 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.