Congratulations to our Practice Of The Month!

This month, we’re proud to share with you the story of Dr. William Ma and his practice, Everlasting Smiles Cosmetic & General Dentist.

We’re going to show you how they came to be one of our most successful clients and continue to see consistent new patient growth at their Palm Beach Gardens, FL dental practice.

Everlasting Smiles came on board with Firegang in the fall of 2017 because they weren’t satisfied with the results of their current marketing company. New patient numbers had plateaued and were beginning to drastically decline. The practice knew something had to change.

“They [previous marketing company] built our website about 20 years ago and then did nothing with it. We sunk a lot of money into it and got nothing back. We left and partnered with Firegang and it was the best decision we ever made.” - Venetta, Office Manager - Everlasting Smiles

Success "By The Numbers"

Today, the practice’s biggest problem is keeping up with the new patient appointments! They plan to add a new associate to help Dr. Ma handle their schedule in the coming months.

“We are doing our best to keep up and thinking we might need to bring on an associate! Dr. Ma is running around seeing patients, the phones are always ringing and last month we had 44 new patients...we’ve never seen that before!” - Venetta, Office Manager - Everlasting Smiles

The dental practice attributes most of their success and massive new patient growth to Firegang’s Google Ads and Facebook Ads campaign management.

“What sets Everlasting Smiles apart is their willingness to truly partner with us. For example, in January [2018], Venetta and I met to discuss the less than optimal performance of their Google Ads campaign.

We sat down with our PPC Ads Manager and proposed a small budget increase to combat the high competition for new patients in their local area. They followed our advice and it has made a HUGE difference. Dr. Ma immediately saw results in an increase of new patients because of that one small decision.”
- Britt, Client Success Manager - Firegang Dental Marketing

Another vital piece to Everlasting Smiles’ success has been their positive online reputation.

 

 

Their staff is not only trained to provide an outstanding patient experience, but to also ask their best patients to leave Google reviews. This has resulted in 114 Google reviews, ranking their practice at 4.9 stars!

 

“We could never find our practice in Google search results before. Not only am I seeing us now - our patients are telling us that we’re the first ones that popped up in their search and our reviews are great. That’s awesome! It tells me that you guys are doing what works. I really can’t ask for more than that.” - Venetta, Office Manager - Everlasting Smiles

All of Everlasting Smiles’ marketing efforts tie directly back into their new website, which Firegang launched in October of 2017. The practice’s number of new patient appointments reflects how well the new site is converting visitors to new patient phone calls and appointments.

 

Why is Everlasting Smiles Such A Success?

Like all of our success stories, there isn’t just “one thing” Everlasting Smiles is doing well that has led to their consistent increase in new patient appointments.

The major factors leading to their success include:

• Providing an excellent patient experience
• Training the front office staff to convert new patient calls into appointments
• Asking the best patients to leave Google reviews
• Investing in marketing and online advertising
• Trusting Firegang’s process

“So far we’ve seen our new patient growth go up by at least 50% if not more, since we started with Firegang. Dr. Ma had a goal he wanted to hit for production numbers within the first 6 months of working with Firegang and we got there in just 3 months!” - Venetta, Office Manager - Everlasting Smiles

We wanted to get the whole picture of Everlasting Smiles’ success over the past 9 months, so we asked Venetta if she’d take a few minutes to answer some questions for us...thankfully she agreed and we couldn’t help but ask what she thought about their partnership with Firegang so far!

“I appreciate you guys, just keep doing what you’re doing! I’m so happy I have you guys. Working with Firegang is just phenomenal and I want to keep this going…we plan to be with you for awhile!” - Venetta, Office Manager - Everlasting Smiles

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Q & A With Venetta, Practice Manager At Everlasting Smiles Cosmetic & General Dentist

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and how you came to work with Dr. Ma at Everlasting Smiles?

I came on board with Dr. Ma in 2010 and then left in 2016 to finish my Master’s Degree. I came back to the practice in 2017. That’s when I realized that we needed to come into the new age of digital marketing.

I was skeptical about marketing to begin with but after going to school and coming back to the practice, I realized it’s important. We decided to pursue that route and reach out to Firegang and the results have been great. Our patients love us, we’re growing.

When did Everlasting Smiles begin it’s partnership with Firegang and what was the practice like at that time?

Our contract began in October of 2017. You laid out a plan and we set goals. I was still skeptical but tried to keep an open mind. At the time I didn't realized we could do better, that we needed to focus on our new patient growth and what was next.

We were getting stagnant new patient numbers and production numbers and we knew we needed to do better and join the ranks of dentists doing online marketing.

So far we’ve seen our new patient growth go up by at least 50% if not more, since we started with Firegang. Dr. Ma had a goal he wanted to hit for production numbers within the first 6 months of working with Firegang and we got there in just 3 months! I’ve definitely seen a difference and we’ve committed to following through [with marketing] to keep our growth going.

What is it like in your practice now that you have this kind of new patient growth?

We are doing our best to keep up! We’re starting to think we might need to bring on an associate. Dr. Ma is constantly running around treating patients, the phones are always ringing, and last month we had 44 new patients - we’ve never seen that before!

Within the first week this month we were up to 12 new patients already. As a practice, we work hard to keep patients happy, to keep wait times down, keep our word and create trust with them to move forward.

Is Firegang the first marketing company you’ve worked with?

No, we’ve worked with another one. I won’t say which one, but it was just fair. They built our website about 20 years ago and then did nothing with it. Back then I wasn’t into marketing so I didn’t really push it.

Unfortunately we sunk a lot of money into it for optimization with them and got nothing back. They were taking money and not doing anything and when we asked about it they really pushed back because they thought they were doing so much, but we still weren’t seeing any results. We eventually left and it was the best decision we ever made. We were wasting money while they were doing nothing for us for years!

Why did you decide to partner with Firegang?

I listened. I really listened to what you said you would do and I compared costs against our previous marketing company because it had to be affordable.

We had heard the runaround from other companies, but I listened and we ready your reviews - everything looked good and we liked that you had been around almost 10 years. Signing a 1 year contract made me nervous, but we were wasting money with our other marketing company so why not try it.

Having our front office staff trained, improving our Google rankings, getting the new patients we needed, that’s what I really wanted.

We could never find us on Google search results before. Not only am I seeing us now - our patients are telling us that they Googled and we’re the first ones that popped up in their search and our reviews are great. That’s awesome! It tells me that you guys are doing what works. Can’t ask for more than that.

Was there anything you’ve been surprised about since you started partnering with Firegang?

Our CSM (client success manager), Britt, is awesome. I am so used to people not following up, not doing what they were supposed to do, me having to do their job for them, leaving messages with no one responding.

But Britt has been with me since day 1! I send her 10 emails and I get responses back on all 10 of them, she’s on top of everything. I think we’ve really bonded even though we’ve never met in person, but she’s a great support through the whole process with me.

I appreciate Firegang, just keep doing what you’re doing and I’m so happy I have you guys. It’s just phenomenal and I want to keep this going and we plan to hang out with you for awhile!

Do you feel like you get a lot of transparency from Firegang?

I don’t feel like anything has been hidden from me. You guys have really been up front, have let me know what to expect and I’m seeing the results. If I think I am missing something I can ask, and I never feel like I get the runaround, you guys have been very transparent and I’m grateful for that.

What advice would you give a practice that is just starting to look for a marketing company?

I would definitely say do your research. It takes a lot for anyone to commit to marketing because it can be pricey. But be careful of the marketing companies that make big promises for cheap. Ask questions, read their reviews, see what their clients say about them.

Once you find a marketing company you want to go with look at what they offer and remember you don’t really need a huge variety of services, you need what works for your practice. You need the services that will get you the new patients.

How important do you think marketing is for a dental practice?

The way things are now, you really do need marketing to grow. A lot of dentists are out there, there are 2-3 next door and one on every corner. To compete, you have to get out there and market your practice.

Dental practices need to stand out. It’s not just about a nice signpost and a beautiful office, you need more than that. You need to give patients a reason to pass the 10 other dentists on your street and come to your office.

 

Thank you for your kind words, Venetta! We’re so proud to have Everlasting Smiles as one of our clients and success stories. We can’t wait to see how you continue to grow and build your practice.