May 14

Nunez Dental Google Review Game Experience

Nunez Dental Review Game Experience:

At the start of December 2017, we were at roughly 220 reviews on Google and the executives decided to play the Review game. The staff was informed of the details and that a potential prize was to be given to the person who got the most amount of patients to write reviews for the office. As expected the group got very excited and immediately began to play the game.

Staff members were more attentive to the patients and the overall level of ARC between employee and patient increased. Staff members should engage patients that are higher tone and have high affinity for the overall practice. The ideal way a conversation with the patient should be as followed:

Employee:

How was your experience with the office?

OR

How did you feel during today’s visit?

If the patient gives a positive response continue with something along the lines of:

Would you like someone to have the same or similar experience as you have?

At this point you introduce the idea of review. It is understandable that everyone is very busy and may not have time to sit down with the patient to guide them through all the steps. When that is the case, the best way to go about it is by getting them to agree that they will write one when they go back to the front desk while they’re waiting to schedule their next appointment with the receptionist. That way if they have any questions the receptionist is there to assist them. For this to work smoothly everyone needs to be alert and honest.

Honesty is very important in this game. It is very important that every review that your practice receives has to be from an existing patient in the practice, not from random friends or fake accounts. As the day goes on the patients interact with a lot of people and may forget who helped them and state the wrong employees name giving points to the wrong person. Everyone must be aware of who they speak to and ask. The first person to engage the patient about a review and gets their acknowledgment that they will do it is the one that receives the credit. This is crucial because there are employees that interact more with patients than others and can take points from others.

When Nunez Dental played this game there was an assistant who walked the patients from the operatory to the front desk and took that opportunity to quickly talk to them and on several occasions took the credit where it wasn’t due. This generated several problems and a tension between employees that made a fair amount of players disinterested in the company’s game. Honesty and Personal Integrity is a must, without it the few can ruin it for the many.

With that being said, overall the game was a success. After a month the office received roughly 80 reviews, on average 2-3 reviews per day. This big leap in numbers has given us many long term benefits since many new patients have picked us as their preferred dentist over other practices primarily for the amount of good ratings and reviews we have displayed on our google profile.

May 12

Google Review Game

 

 

Review Game:

Objective: To increase Review Count for a business

We live in a society where the internet is such a powerful tool. It’s a place where one goes to check the reputation and credibility of a business. Reviews are a major influencer to those that frequently browse the internet. With that being said this game is a form of increasing credibility. According to a Local Consumer Review Survey of 2017, 97% of consumers read online reviews on local businesses and a positive review makes 73% of consumers trust a local business more. This is one of the best and effective ways of attaining potential patients interest.

The more reviews you have the more trustworthy you’ll be to the potential customer. Having a 5 Star Rating with only 2 reviews doesn’t really say much but 100 reviews with a 4.5 Star Rating does.

*Games are great ways to incentivize your team, it gets them in action. This is an intense method of increase the number of reviews for your business.*

Rules: As a team the staff must work together to achieve the next milestone in reviews in the deadline allocated by the one in charge of the game.

If and only if the goal has been surpassed the person(s) with the highest number of reviews is rewarded with a compensation of your choice. It would be recommended to have a location that demonstrates the progress of the game for everyone to see.

In the case of a dispute between employees over a review one of two actions can be taken in solving the problem. First, the person in charge of the game can listen to both sides of their story to determine who the review should go to. Second, an annulment will be applied for both parties but it will still count towards the overall gain of the company.

 

 

May 12

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook – Book Review

 

If you’re in the field of communications and/or social media then you should have probably heard about Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s not only the author of this book but a twitter god and an entrepreneur. This book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World should be on everyone’s reading list.  The title is an obviously a reference to boxing, which paints a picture of how marketers can effectively position their product with their consumers to be put in a position where they can ask for a sale. This book shows that social media takes time and effort, but Gary Vaynerchuk gives great examples where it does eventually pay off.

In my opinion, one of Gary’s strongest skills as a writer is his ability to concisely articulate his techniques for social media that are so obvious that you’d go “ohhh, of course! That’s how it should be done.”   Then , you immediately think to yourself why other companies aren’t doing this.

A big part of the book highlights individual tips and recommendations for specific platforms including the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Each individual platform has it’s own example of a business who’ve used his techniques and have done great but then he’ll show you a company that doesn’t do it, which fall short and don’t live up to their audiences expectations. Followed by descriptions on why it did or did not work. It’s very easy to say that blah company did something wrong but it’s much harder showing why. On the contrary, Gary goes in depth and makes it easy for the reader to find the flaws in blah company’s execution.

At the end of each chapter, the book includes a series of questions that content creators like yourself should consider before posting on your company’s social media pages. These questions are very good for content creators to keep in mind when working on their projects. Every content creator should have this book in their briefcase ready to read at ever moment of free time that they have.

May 07

What is Social Media?

Social Media is a form of communication and social interaction through the use of the internet. Although it’s existed since the beginning of the WWW (World Wide Web), only in the past decade or so, have we seen in increase in both popularity and in the number of social media platforms that have been created. It’s called “Social” media because the users of these platforms in a social context including things like conversations, commentary and engagements.

As the years have gone by it has become relatively simpler to publish your content which is one of the reasons why this has become so popular. People who don’t have degrees or aren’t professionals in the publishing industry have been given the opportunity to easily create the content that they want on these rapidly growing platforms.

For businesses, this adaption in web consuming in social media brings much opportunity. Just with the amount of data a company can get on their consumers from social media has them jumping for joy. The true opportunity here lies in the chance to grow everlasting relationships with your company’s customer base with these platforms. This is where your responsibility online to your audience begins. Not only has the behavior of your customer shifted but so has their expectation of you has changed. Whether your business is following these trends on social media or not, customers are having discussions related to your operations. It’s better to be a part of that conversation then not.

This an opportunity for my audience to learn the basic fundamental tips and tricks of the world of social media. It’s time to get your foot in the door to the unknown. Physical advertising and marketing will soon no longer be needed and everything will end up on the internet. It’s best that you know this stuff now before it’s too late and you have to pay thousands of dollars for someone else to do it.

May 07

Good To Great Book Review

I have just finished listening to Good to Great by Jim Collins and I wanted to record my initial thoughts about this on my blog.  As I listened to the novel on Audible I really enjoyed the different values and Ideas he implied were essential in building up a great business. Overall, Good to Great provided a very handy model and framework to develop a business. Such concepts as the flywheel go some way to challenge the ‘magic bullet fascination within the world of business. In addition to that, a level 5 leader instead of ‘Fred the Shred’ might have generated a different outcome for Royal Bank of Scotland in the last year.

With that being said, trying to unveil the complexity of the business world to create the framework that leads a business to become great is a hard thing to execute. The environment in which a business operates in is to complex for a ‘strategy to business success’ to exist. Any business book that states they have found the key to success is most likely full of themselves. Although I don’t feel that Jim Collins does claim this strategy to success in this book, I wouldn’t be surprised if it falls a little short of the ‘answer’.

After doing some research their has been some criticism towards this book regarding some of the companies that where chosen and their subsequent failures, Fannie Mae being one of them. However, the book never claimed that these companies that were chosen will continue to be great beyond the 15 years of great performance that was shown in the book.  4 out of the 11 great companies used in this study were confronting serious challenges to their greatness or had at least already lost it by the time the book went public. It is worth mentioning that Mr. Collins has published another book “How the mighty fall: And why some companies never give in”, which I imagine (because I haven’t read it) goes into more detail regarding certain questions people might have about the falling companies mentioned in this book.

Should you read this?

If you are looking for certain factors that can be proven to bring a business success then NO! However, if you are searching for different ideas that develop your mind and your business with concepts that have been considered by others then YES! This book may not give you the answers but it does provide your brain with some nutrition.

 

 

 

May 07

My Lex Hospitality Corp Experience

 

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The concept of Lex Hospitality Corp began as a conversation which centered around the possibility of creating a unique, never-before-seen concept bar in New York City. After hours of expansion on the idea, it soon developed into the possibility of starting a parent company which specializes in all essential operations needed to open and brand new restaurants, bars, and lounges in the area. We seek to assist aspiring New York City restauranteurs in developing, owning and operating new establishments while creating and maintaining strong partnerships with vendors to reduce overall costs, which will create long-term strategic partnerships for both us and our clients. In short, we are restaurant investment and management specialists. Through our network of connections and knowledge of the entertainment space, we make it possible for anybody, from middle-class retirees to wealthy investors, to open their own establishment and thrive within the greatest city on earth. 

Me and three buddies of mine Nicholas Cardieri (CEO & CFO) , Constantine Petropouleas (COO)  and Kevin Chen (CTO) combined our knowledge to create and implement this idea. As the CMO,  Chief Marketing Officer,  I was in charge of the market research. I’d invest hours and hours using my expertise and access to databases such as: IBIS World, Hoovers and Business Source Complete in order to study the market to see if our client’s ideas were feasible enough to implement and be able to bring in enough profit,  as well as  find ideal location if we decided to work with them. 

Working in this corporation helped me learned valuable skills and lessons which I’ll be able to direct towards my audience in future blogs through real life experiences that I’ve encountered. A major technique I was able to master was the technique of Networking. Not only did I have to speak to clients but find them, bring them into our circle. I’ve spent hours at conferences and dinners speaking to successful middle aged men and women, selling them the idea that Lexington Hospitality Corp was the right choice for them in order to open a successful restaurant/club/lounge.

It’s not so hard when you the right things to say. Look out for my “How To Network” Blog that will be coming soon to my page.

 

May 07

How to Boost Your Facebook Posts

Boosting your Facebook posts is a great and effective way of generating more exposure for your page for a low cost. It’s super simple and easy to do considering that you can do it in a minute and put as little or as much money as you want. It gives allows you to choose what market or audience you want to reach. By targeting different audiences you can reach a lot of different people. You can post pictures and videos, you can promote special events and promotion as well as publishing news.

Step 1: Getting Started

First you must find a specific post that you want to boost. It can be something new or something that is already existing on your page.  Then you click the boost and move onto the next step.

 

Step 2: Who are you targeting

This step consists of who your audience will be. These will be the people who will see your posts so choose wisely and make sure it correlates with the theme of your post. You will have to decide on specific things such as Location, Age, Gender and Interests.

 

Step 3: Deciding on your spending

This is the final step in which you have to decide how much you want to invest on your specific post. The more you spend, the more people will see this picture/ video. It also asks you on how long you want this post to be boosted, it can be anywhere from 1 day to 3 weeks.

 

Decisions, decisions… Boosting Facebook posts can be super effective and bring you much success as well as being a complete waste of time and money if done incorrectly. It’s all about your content and how you portray yourself through your posts.

 

May 07

3 Benefits of Social Media for Dentists

Social Media Marketing for dentists is very underdeveloped and is still in it’s early stages, but more and more dental practices are seeing the power of being active on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. In an industry that is feared by most, what better way to earn new and long term patients than showing them that there is nothing to fear. The dental field is a little different when it comes to marketing compared to retail stores or restaurants., they have to convince people that their product is worth buying but everyone knows they need to get their teeth and gums checked. Ultimately it comes down to earning a patient’s confidence and trust.

To benefit from your social media, you must use it to make patients feel comfortable before they even come into the office. Show them that they’re in safe hands by showcasing your track record, industry experience, other happy patients. If you’re able to do this you will achieve at least one, if not all, of the 3 benefits that Social Media Marketing has brought to dental practices.

1. Better Relationships

People are naturally scared of the dentists and will do anything to avoid their semi annual check up where they fear they will be told they have a cavity. Fortunately, by posting Customer Testimonials, friendly staff photos and Before and After photos will give a chance to create relationships with your audience.

Responding to comments and questions will demonstrate your care and efforts that you give. Answer peoples tweets and like followers comments really shows the friendliness of your practice.

2. Attract New Clients

A vast portion of people take their medical decisions very seriously and turn to google for help in choosing who to go to. According to the article Top 5 Marketing Stats for Dentists “More than half of people use search engines to find a dentist.” Of those people many are turned off because of their lack google reviews. If you’re interested in a way to raise your google reviews fast and gain more credibility, read my “Review Game” blog.

3. Showcase Your Leadership.

Information travels fast in the world of social media. By writing articles and posting videos or sharing important information you can demonstrate your expertise and begin to show your audience your high level of leadership.

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May 07

How to Boost Your Social Media Traffic

 

 

Increasing your social media traffic is a lot like a traffic cop in knowing how to efficiently get cars in and out of the intersections. If each road into the intersection where a different source of website visitors, your social media should be one of those big entrances. I can’t stress enough how important is your social media traffic. If you don’t have people visiting your pages than your posts are pointless. Here are 3 ways to boost your social media traffic:

1. Make your posts easily shareable

We live in a mobile age which means that your content must be easy to read but even more important, easy to share. A critical traffic driver are share buttons on mobile devices. The harder it is for your audience to share your post, the less likely they will share it.

2. Research The Competition

In general, figuring out how well your competitors are preforming is a very common marketing strategy. You should have the  same approach with your social media strategy. A competitive analysis for your social media helps you inspect your social media traffic. You can easily see how audiences respond to your competitors posts.

Get as much information on your competition as you can. This give you a rough estimate on what you need to do to increase your audience. You never want to copy competitors, but it can help you shape your own plan. Try to figure out things like: successful times to post, how frequent they reply to their audience and what kind of content works for them the most (Picture, videos, quotes).

3. Inspire Your Audience with Visual Aids

First impressions are essential. People want good visual content in order to make sure that they made the right decision with their purchase. When customers are able to see their product in action, they are more likely to make a buying decision at that moment compared to reading a text review on the product.

May 07

Build Awareness

Social Media is a great way to gain exposure for your brand. The reach you get on social media now is incredible, with the millions of active users across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. It’s more credible coming from a trusted source that has pictures and videos showing off what you are marketing.

Times have changed, not as many people want to buy from a company just because the product is appealing to the eye. There are a lot of those who do their research and look at reviews, they want to know what your brand stands in addition to what you sell. According to Nielsen.com , 66% of consumers are willing to pay more for products and services from companies dedicated to social and environmental good

Social media can be used as a method of letting people get a behind the scenes look on the culture of the business. It doesn’t necessarily have to be promotions all the time but just friendly posts just to create a better relationship which entices the consumer more to buy your product over the competition.

A company that does this really well is WeWork. WeWork prioritizes the empowerment of entrepreneurs by making their co-working spaces a part of the community.  They use Instagram in order to show their authentic brand, which as a results attracts more customers who  have the same beliefs.