Market Like a Shark by Dr. Nick Riccio

Build a better brand with effective (and fun) marketing techniques

by Dr. Nick Riccio

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• Publicity through traditional media: Newspapers, magazines and television. This may seem boring and challenging for tracking ROI, but it remains a tried-and-true marketing strategy, especially for brand awareness campaigns. If your ad is boring, spice things up. There’s nothing more delightful than hearing someone mention my wacky ad featuring a picture of my adorable son in a local magazine.
• Unconventional PR: Think publicity stunts that are big, cheap, fun and, ideally, original! Are you ready to take the plunge? Get a dunk tank, inviting the community and your loyal patients, and watch how much they love getting payback for all those rubber bands and retainers you’ve made them wear! Pro tip: Reach out to the local media to cover the event. They’re always looking for stories, and it doubles your marketing effort in one fell swoop.
• Search engine marketing: Paid search targeting a select number of keywords.
  • Test broad terms: “Ortho.”
  • Add specificity: “Hinsdale Ortho.”
  • Use negative keywords: Not “Orthopedics.” Epic fail? There is a large orthopedic group in my area called Hinsdale Orthopedics, and we used to get a lot of calls about broken bones! Lesson learned. We adjusted our keywords and ultimately changed our name to avoid confusion. Be prepared to course-correct!
• Search engine optimization: Using popular search terms on your website. Most people know this improves your ranking in Google searches, but they fail to realize there is a lot you can do to help with this. Try writing 2–3 blog posts per month. Just answer common search questions with appropriate keywords—done!
• Business development: Building strategic relationships that benefit both you and partners. For example, we offer a debond menu for adults who complete treatment, allowing them to select a special gift from a list of options. These include high-value gift certificates from local businesses that generously provide them to us at no cost. I love it because, as I like to say, “If it’s free, it’s me.” Your partners love it because it helps them attract new clients without requiring additional marketing. Patients love it because it’s unexpected, unique, and thoughtful. It’s a win-win-win for everyone!
• Leveraging existing platforms: The reverse of the previous example—target companies with similar customer bases to reach an audience they’ve already cultivated.
• Community building: Establish yourself as the friendly neighborhood orthodontist by supporting local schools, businesses and initiatives. I love patronizing local businesses and socializing with people, so you’ll often find me strutting around town in my Hinsdale Ortho T-shirt, and writing blogs about where to get the best sub, massage or haircut. Anything that makes people think, “Hey, that’s my sub shop! Dr. Nick gets me. I like him!” I call it “shop small, smile big.”
• Social media: Authentic, fun content creation (free) and paid ads (expensive). Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok—oh my! I dare you to look at our TikTok. It’s very silly, and the comment sections are wild. Despite the occasional haters on there, you can see a loyal tribe of followers forming before your eyes. These folks are demonstrating the unity principle from Robert Cialdini’s “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.” They’ve chosen to be on the Hinsdale Ortho team and go out of their way to support us and rave about our office completely on their own accord.
• Networking events: Trade shows, meetings and study clubs. Have fun with these! For example, you can set up an iTero scanner at a local bridal show and offer quick aligner touch-ups for motivated brides and grooms. Don’t be surprised to see your fellow GPs there doing the same thing with whitening or cosmetic dentistry. You can also join your local study club or even start your own. I’ve done both and made some great friends and solid referral partners through those networking opportunities.
• Potpourri: Direct mail, billboards or anything outside the box—or even borrowed from other industries—is worth a shot! Seeing my son’s smiling face on a billboard will forever be my favorite marketing effort. It’s too funny!

 

 

 

 

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• Got cute kids or a sweet fur baby? Put them in your marketing copy! People love babies and puppies and will be thrilled to tell you about seeing your ad. While it’s not exactly lead-generation marketing, it’s fantastic for brand awareness in a sea of forgettable noise that people are subjected to every day. I include our son, Massimo, or our dog, Barney, in as much of our marketing as I can. If nothing else, it brightens my day to see them there.
• Love throwing parties? Start your own local study club! It’s essentially party planning, after all, and you’ll be a natural. Turn work (networking) into play!
• Got a team member who loves TikTok and thinks they can outdo you? (This literally just happened to me yesterday.) Let ‘em have at it! It’s still authentic, as they’re an extension of your brand, and their passion will shine through in their efforts. They are doing something they enjoy, as opposed to being assigned another task.
• Have a wife who’s a dual-trained pediatric dentist and orthodontist? Change your practice name for the fourth and final time in six years to Hinsdale Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry and never look back! Obviously, that last one is specific to me and Dr. Blair, but I rest my case. Look around at the low-hanging fruit. Use it or lose it!

Dr. Nick Riccio is a board-certified orthodontist who trained at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. He co-owns and operates a dual-service pedo-ortho practice in Hinsdale, Illinois, with his dual board-certified wife, Dr. Susan Blair. He and Susan were honored with the distinction of “40 under 40” by Incisal Edge magazine. Riccio cofounded and runs a de novo study club called “Masterminds,” exploring a wide range of topics from clinical innovations to practice management to health and wellness topics.