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My wife had been mentioning a strange smell in her car. I’d not noticed it the times that I’d driven it, which is mainly to the car wash and back.

But the other day, as we were heading out to get our Santa Photos taken, as I jumped into the front passenger side seat, I dislodged the floor mat and underneath, guess what I found?

Water!

Well, actually, wet carpet. Sopping wet!!

So immediately I thought there’s a hole in the undercarriage allowing water to get in.

Or a door seal leak.

Because although it doesn’t rain much here in Sydney, the car regularly visits a high-pressure car wash.

And the car is also now six years old…

I even thought it might be a windscreen seal leak, or a leak from the tray below the front windscreen…

Anyway, as wives do, we needed to get this water problem seen to….immediately.

So Jayne phoned the dealership Service Department, who immediately diagnosed the problem….then and there over the phone…..

Air conditioner hose leak!

Now who’d have thought that??

Who knew there was an A/C hose right there?

Not me. Not Jayne.

My point is this.

As amateurs, my wife and I had no idea where the leak was, and what was causing it.

Just because we owned the car, didn’t automatically make us experts on that car, just because we drive it.

It took an expert to instantly diagnose, and fix, our problem.

And if we’d left the problem, and let it go untreated as we either tried to find it and fix it ourselves, or just tried to find time to get around to finding and fixing it, well, we could have allowed a great deal of damage to happen to our car and to ourselves.

So what’s my point?

The same thing that happened here to my wife’s car is happening every day to every business.

And the same plans of diagnosis and repair are killing people’s businesses.

I’m talking Internet and social media and websites.

Just because you own a business, have a website, use the Internet yourself, and have a Facebook page doesn’t make you an expert in Online Marketing and Social Media.

Period.

Yet I see so many businesses out there doing themselves a disservice, a disgraceful disservice, by putting out an old and dysfunctional web presence, and an amateurish at best Social Media campaign.

Just because you post your food photos on Facebook doesn’t make you an expert on Social Media.

So now, as we turn the corner into the new year of 2014, today, you need to review and sharpen your pencil about your business’s current online presence.

In particular, we’re looking at your online reviews, your Facebook presence, and your website.

I’m really hoping that I’m preaching to the converted here.

Because in 2014, if you’re not on your game, you’re putting your business way behind your competitors when it comes to presenting your dental office as a credible place to receive dental treatment.

You see, the public, all the public, want the latest and greatest.

Look around. Everyone is carrying an iPhone or a Smart phone of some sort.

And a tablet. Or an iPad. Or an iPad mini.

And they’re reading books on eReaders.

They’re using their phones and their tablets to keep up to date. News. News channels. Newspapers. News services.

It’s not just about texting anymore.

And if you don’t embrace this change, and be present in the now, and in the future of presenting your business in this modern world, well guess what?

The public will leave you behind.

They’ll toss you out like an old rag doll in a modern day world of robotics and electronic toys.

Because who wants to be provided for, when it comes to health, by a dinosaur?

And it doesn’t matter how great your knowledge is, how many courses you’ve been to, how great your customer service is, or how many CADCAMS and Cone Beams you have…

If the public don’t perceive you as modern, if they don’t see you as cutting edge, if you don’t present your dental business as modern, well, as one of my friends so aptly put it, you may as well be winking in the dark.

Because you know what you’re doing, but nobody else does.

And you’re being left behind.

So how is your online presence?

How is your online presence really??

And in particular, your Facebook, your website, and your online reviews?

Now I’ll be frank here.

Handling your own online marketing is like doing your own brain surgery. Or dentistry. Or car repairs.

It’s possible.  But not really very smart.

In 2013, and 2014, more than ever, you need specialist help with your online marketing presence.

Because, it’s a jungle out there.

And the only businesses that are going to survive are the ones with the best and most up to date online marketing.

Because they’ll be the ones with the modern day presence. The modern day accuracy. The modern day image.

And the public won’t tolerate the weak, and the amateurish.

They don’t want them doing their teeth.

They want quality.

And they’ll choose quality by the quality, and currency of your online marketing.

And I’m not just talking about attracting new patients.

Your existing patients will be looking at your online presence to justify their choice of staying with you.

Your current patients will be using their smartphones to recommend your dental office to their friends. Whether you like it or not.

So here are some simple things you need to be on top of when you’re presenting your business online.

Website suitable for any size screen.

In this day and age, nothing shows how out of date you are more than a website that does not fit and adapt to a Smartphone screen.

If your online visitors need to expand your website and toggle around each page because your website does not adapt to their mode of viewing, then you may as well just post a Landing Page with a T Rex on it!

You’re immediately telling those visitors that you ARE NOT up to date!

Collecting Google reviews

Depending upon your state jurisdiction, collecting and displaying testimonials on your website may not be allowed.

If that’s the case, then the Google Reviews, which are independently gathered, need to be cultivated….and there is a way….

Facebook business page

Your business needs a legitimate presence on Facebook.

The public are now using Facebook as a directory, just like the Yellow Pages was used thirty years ago.

So if you’re not in it, or looking amateurish, your business is sending out another great big DINOSAUR message!!!

Keeping them up to date

So you’ve got time and knowledge to manage all these media yourself?

Yeah, right!!

And I haven’t even mentioned blogging, Twitter, LinkedIn….

Personal Facebook page

You need to keep a tidy relevant personal Facebook presence.

This is your 2014 external image.

It’s a great way of showing the public what a great person you really are…and that you really are real.

Photos of family, sports, food and places are in. The public want to identify with you.

Pass nice comments about great books you’ve read, movies you’ve seen, and places you’re visiting. And keep them current.

And avoid comments and photos that are negative, and politically incorrect.

Because Facebook is here to stay.

And not having a Facebook presence tells the world you have something to hide….

Or that you’re a dinosaur…

So today we’ve covered three more topics from last Friday’s blog list “Your Dental Practice Is Too Small!”

Make it your New Year’s Resolution for 2014 to bring your Online Presence up to date.

With the help of an expert.

Merry Christmas, and enjoy the break.

Happy times.

The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple easy to implement system I developed that allowed me to build an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb.  If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.

Email me: david@theUPE.com

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