Asking the right questions

Old school question:

Q – “So how did you find us?”

A – “I had a look at your web site.”

So the marketing team record this as an internet lead and it looks from your marketing spreadsheet as if 1/3rd of your patients are word of mouth and 2/3rds are internet leads.

The story, however, is actually very different.

New school question:

Q – “May I ask what sequence of events led you to our web site?”

A – “I was admiring my friend’s new smile in the wine bar on Friday night, she told me you were lovely people and she was thrilled with the result, so I checked out your web site over the weekend.”

So the marketing team need to record this as a word of mouth referral plus an organic Google search.

Your marketing spreadsheet shows 1/3rd of your patients from direct and digital marketing and 2/3rds from word of mouth – a normal ratio for my clients.

In fact, if 2/3rds of your new patients are NOT from word of mouth, you are marketing incorrectly and (probably) at too much expense.

Recording the correct data is essential for analysis – asking the right questions is the start of that process.