You: “I’d like to speak to the manager please”

Receptionist: “Certainly sir, can I tell him what it’s about?”

You: “Yes, I’m bringing my Aston Martin back and I’d like a full refund please.”

A few minutes later…….

Manager: “Sir, what exactly is the problem?”

You: “I’ll tell you what the problem is. You told me that the engines in these cars were built by BMW in Stuttgart and that they are some of the best engines in the world.”

Manager: “Yes sir, that’s correct?”

You: “Then you told me that each of these cars was hand-built on your production line in Warwickshire and tested to perfection.”

Manager: “That is also correct sir?”

You: “Well the car has been on my drive for 4 weeks now and it hasn’t moved an inch – I have nothing to show for my money.”

Manager: “I’m sorry sir, I don’t quite follow? You are complaining because the car hasn’t been anywhere?”

You: “Yes – you told me that it would get from 0-60mph in 4 seconds and would cruise all day on the motorway in cruise control – well it has done neither – I keep looking out of the lounge window at home and it just sits there on the drive, costing me a fortune.”

Manager: “With respect sir, can I ask a few questions?”

You: “Go ahead…”

Manager: “Did you put any petrol in the car sir?”

You: “Petrol? You never mentioned petrol when you were selling this to me?”

Manager: “And, sir, please forgive me for asking but did you, or any member of your family, ever get in the car, press the ignition and try to drive it?”

You: “Try to drive it? How the hell am I supposed to know how to drive? I’m a dentist, not a chauffeur, what the heck do you mean? I didn’t buy this car so I would have to fill it with petrol and drive it, I bought it because I wanted to get from A to B faster and in style!” Now you are adding in small print. I want my money back!”

If that sounds ridiculous, I agree with you.

So why do dentists buy marketing solutions and then assume that they and their teams can just sit back and watch “it” happen?

In dentistry:

The Petrol?

• The petrol is the number of email addresses you can collect from your existing patients and new visitors
• The petrol is also the number of new visitors you can attract to your website

The Driver?

The driver is the member of your team who has dedicated time to “DO STUFF” at your end.

Stuff like:

• Making sure that those precious email addresses are being collected and collated
• Making sure that business referral cards are being handed out
• Making sure that direct marketing and digital marketing material (even our own MagicBox™) is being deployed
• Making sure that written and video testimonials are being collected and recorded
• Making sure that business2business events are attended and supported
• Making sure that your digital marketing is analysed every month for return on investment
• Making sure that your web site remains attractive
• Liaising with your digital marketing advisors
• Making sure that your social media channels are busy and well followed/shared
• Making sure that your blog is updated regularly
• Making sure that your monthly marketing plan is on track
• Making sure that conversion statistics are collected from your TCO team
• Making sure that you are regularly nurturing your prospect and patient database (even our own Artisan™ Lifecycle Marketing systems)

No Petrol and no Driver means a very expensive piece of immaculate engineering sat on your drive and you getting frustrated that you feel as if you are going nowhere (and you are right).

So please don’t buy expensive cars unless you are prepared to put a little in at your end.

At 7connections we build beautiful cars using some of the best engines in the world – we need you to supply petrol and a driver – then jump in and enjoy the ride with us!