expressed opinion entrepreneur Contributors are their own.
Our marketing agency is by no means “average.” We don’t mass produce content or try to sign anyone and everyone as a client. Instead, we value quality and only work with people who share our philosophy. I’m very proud of the relationships we’ve built with our clients and the marketing campaigns we’ve produced for their dental practices, but I’m always looking for ways to do more and do it better. I’ve always believed that you should be with people who have different skills and abilities than you, and luckily with the team we’ve built and our clients, I’ve been able to do that. That’s why my institution has a clinical advisory committee.
Related: How to Create an Effective Advisory Board
Why we have a Clinical Advisory Board
Our Clinical Advisory Board, or “CAB” as I like to call it, is made up of some of the most successful dental professionals in the industry who have agreed to share their experience and expertise with us and other practices interested in elevating their marketing to a new level. CAB has allowed me and my team to dig deeper than some other marketing agencies and really solve the problems dental offices face in the marketplace.
While I have over 20 years of marketing experience in the dental industry, neither my partner Shawn nor I are dentists in today’s economy. When I was working in the corporate world doing marketing for a national dental lab, I noticed a lab was working with a doctor as a resource. This partnership has always been with me, and when I started my own company, I wanted to re-create the same type of alliance because I knew it would only be good for me, my company, and the dental practice I’ll be working with.
We have a clinical advisory committee at my facility because we want to connect more fully with our clients, their experiences and their actual needs, and we also want some oversight from real clinicians. We use the CAB as a sounding board and resource to deepen our understanding of the current state of the dental industry and what is happening in the various markets our company serves across the country.
Related: The Benefits of Introducing an Advisory Board
How Clinical Advisory Boards Benefit Our Business
To build the CAB, we invited some of the most dedicated and successful dentists we know to participate. Getting feedback on marketing from professionals in the field is important to me. We need a team of dentists to answer clinical questions and help us push our marketing beyond what is usually “expected”. I know working with this group of clinical consultants will differentiate our agency from other marketing agencies that rely only on their general marketing experience and don’t delve into the specifics of the industry.
Having a CAB puts us at the forefront of dental marketing. Participating dentists provided us with information about what is currently happening and the trends they are seeing with their patients and their respective markets. Not only is this information valuable from a business perspective as it makes us more competitive than otherwise, but it is also valuable to the dental practices we work with. The information we get from CAB members helps us anticipate our customers’ needs and gives us more decision-making power.
I’m not the type to settle for what’s acceptable. I always want more. When it comes to my company, my team, and how we market, I’m not afraid to ask for clinical input. This is the best way to perfect our processes and increase efficiency. Sharing the information I receive from our CAB members also holds me accountable to my current and potential clients because I can’t put things out there that I don’t fully support.
There is always something new to learn in marketing and dentistry, which makes CAB a very useful resource. Without it, our competitive advantage would certainly be diminished. Establishing a clinical advisory board for our institution was one of the best decisions my partner and I made for our business.