According to "Dr. Wo" Wm. Randol Womack, Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

Making Tough Decisions in Tough Times


Wm. Randol Womack, DDS
Editorial Director,
Orthotown Magazine
Today is March 9, 2009, and I spent my lunch hour eating a sandwich from QuickTrip and watching 16 minutes of a CNBC interview "The Oracle of Omaha," Warren Buffett. Mr. Buffett's main assessment of our financial condition was that we have gone through an economic Pearl Harbor. He said, "Fear is very contagious. I have never seen the consumer more fearful and confused. Confidence has been replaced by fear. You can become fearful in five minutes, but you won't get confidence for some time."

The truth spoken by Mr. Buffett is predictably current as you read this right now. So what is the plan as we wait for consumer fear to subside and confidence (and spending) to return? As for our office, we had a staff meeting to face the facts as they are. I solicited ideas from everyone and we agreed on a strategy going forward. We did four things:
  1. We froze payroll.
  2. We reviewed our fees to see where we could make adjustments.
  3. We intensified our Internet marketing program.
  4. We fine-tuned our Web search optimization.
Our staff agreed to selectively and voluntarily take time off on days when the schedule had unfilled appointments. This is an effort to reduce total payroll expense without having to cut back on staff at this time. We reviewed expenses for all categories of supplies. To enhance our efficiency going forward, we installed an inventory software program and spent some of our "slow time" doing the data input to make it functional.

Our OrthoSesame Web site was published more than two years ago. We contacted Sesame to do an evaluation of our site's "appeal" to Web surfers. They have a new program called "Patient Appeal Rating." This program measures how well your site connects with a "Web-searching" patient. Their research found that when a site succeeds in connecting with a patient, they stay on the site longer and keep on reading. Sesame not only identified what aspects of our site might actually be driving patients away but they also recommended changes and/or enhancements that would encourage patients to stay on our site. The objective is to yield a higher percentage of them who actually make the decision to contact our office.

Today the economy is a waiting game according to Buffett. "The economy can't turn around on a dime... and a turnaround won't happen fast." If you join those who are complaining about how bad things are and you decide to just "ride this out" you might be making the worst decision of all. Agreed, these are tough times. Saving in some areas of your budget to invest in other areas requires some tough decisions. But in tough times, the tough don't just sit around... the tough get going!
Sponsors
Townie® Poll
What format of CE do you prefer?
  
The Orthotown Team, Farran Media Support
Phone: +1-480-445-9710
Email: support@orthotown.com
©2025 Orthotown, a division of Farran Media • All Rights Reserved
9633 S. 48th Street Suite 200 • Phoenix, AZ 85044 • Phone:+1-480-598-0001 • Fax:+1-480-598-3450