© 10,000 hours | Getty Images 10,000 Hours | Getty ImagesWhen things go wrong, it's easy to point fingers at external factors. We are usually reluctant to admit that we ourselves may be responsible for an undesirable outcome. Entrepreneurs - like me and the dentists I work with - can be very proud and don't always like to think they can be the reason opportunities don't turn into customers (or patients in our case) and therefore they usually focus only on the source (i.e. direction or opportunity) rather than thinking about its own internal processes.
I know this because I have witnessed it and done it myself in the past. As a marketing agency, my company's goal is to create opportunities for the dental practices we serve to capture new business, and we are largely responsible for the types of opportunities that practices receive. However, are we to blame that these opportunities do not turn into new patients? Maybe yes maybe no.
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Collaboration is key
Marketing agencies are often accused of producing poor quality leads, and the same goes for highly specialized agencies like mine that only work with dental clinics. In theory, however, the quality of the leads we produce for the firm depends primarily on the specificity of the metrics for those leads, and that's the information we get from the firm itself. It goes without saying that the more accurately we can identify the types of potential customers they want to attract, the more likely we are to be successful in targeting that demographic in a specific area. That doesn't mean that every lead you get will be perfect, but many will be or come close.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: marketing is a partnership between the agency and the client. The more you can work together and develop synergies, the better the result will be. I agree with the doctor. David Pierce, a highly respected dentist in New York who worked with my agency and now advises doctors on this issue. In a recent article, he wrote, "The better the dentist understands the marketing business and vice versa, the more they can help each other." He knows that to get the leads the business wants, they need to partner with a marketing agency that can help them understand the needs of the business.
Now, of course, identifying the perfect customer or prospect can be difficult for some businesses, and understandably so, especially if you've never taken the time to really dig in. But here too, a marketing agency can be very useful. Marketers are experts at digging deep for answers. The more an entrepreneur is willing to participate in this process, the more potential customers he will get and the less he will have to “filter” to get rid of bad customers.
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Test your process
What if you're getting a lot of leads, but they're not converting? Is it the fault of the marketing agency? If those leads don't meet the quality standards you've established with the agency, the agency bears some responsibility. However, if these clues are still of good quality, meaning they match most, if not all, you may need to look inside to understand the gap.
Let's take an example from my experience marketing a dental practice. Let's say a dentist receives 100 good leads from a marketing agency, but only 15 of them convert (i.e. become regular patients). It's definitely a low score. But is it because the leads aren't good enough or is it because there's a flaw in the studio's sales process? Again, this is where a marketing agency can be a great partner. When a dentist is willing to let a marketing agency go through the sales process from start to finish, they can identify gaps that could be preventing prospects from converting to patients.
Dr. Pearce also explained this in his article, adding: "While one marketing company cannot make the necessary changes, the best marketing companies have mechanisms in place to help each of their clients improve the process. ." So, although a marketing agency is not responsible for a low conversion rate, they can help increase it to a more acceptable level if the dentist is willing to work with them.
However, in my experience, quality leads don't always turn into quality patients right away. You can contact them and organize a first meeting, but the work should not stop there. As Dr. Pierce says, “Quality patients don't just walk into the office and say, 'Doc, where have you been all my life? The best dentists have a system that adapts to each new patient who is about to say yes to optimal dentistry. From this starting point, the team will build and develop patient understanding and the value of optimal dental care." Fortunately, if a business owner isn't used to thinking that way about prospects and customers , he has help.A marketing agency can work with them to identify opportunities and convert more leads into quality, long-term customers.
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Trust your partner, but also do your part
If sales and marketing doesn't come naturally to you or your team, finding a good agency partner can go a long way. However, for this partnership to work, you must be open to the possibilities and ready to change your approach and your lead generation. Be sure to ask your marketing partner if they offer sales training or resources to improve your sales approach. Sometimes they at least have materials you can use and distribute to your staff with some tips on how to handle leads.
My Company offers resources on how to properly approach new interested leads to train office staff on proper phone call handling and lead generation for all digital marketing activities. You can also ask your marketing company to record phone calls to better understand how your incoming calls are handled. It's a good way to give specific examples of what's going well and where you might need to improve your sales process. In short, the more available you make yourself and your employees, the more productive your partnership will be.
It is also very important that you are honest with your marketing partner. It is not enough to simply express your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the service. If you really want to benefit from the partnership, please provide the details. Take notes and tell your marketing agency exactly what isn't working for you and why. Give concrete examples of things that you feel are not meeting your expectations, especially if the relationship is new. When you provide detailed feedback, your marketing partner can better tailor and target campaigns to your specific needs, and together you'll generate more quality leads.
Once things improve and you find a better place, be careful not to stop. It's easy to fall back into old habits when things are going well and the results start to fade. To avoid this, ask your marketing partner to check the report from time to time (if they haven't already). These one-time calls will help you and your partner remember your marketing strategies, and it's also a good time to discuss what works and what doesn't. Regular meetings keep your marketing partner informed and hold you and your staff accountable.
So who's to blame when the prompts don't work? Sales or marketing agency? In my experience, no one is ever entirely to blame, and playing the blame game will get you nowhere. Pointing the finger at a marketing agency for not delivering quality leads or a company for abandoning the sales process won't solve anything. Real progress happens when the marketing agency and the business come together as partners to achieve better results.
