Healthcare: Creating an Expanded Market

Situation

Woolston Inventive worked with an orthodontist at a private practice in urban Texas who was interested in building his client base. He was also deeply committed to improving oral health by providing high-quality care and outstanding service while also making it affordable for families throughout the metropolitan area. He had several locations and was interested in expanding not just the client base but the number of facilities from which he practiced so that the client base could grow even further.

Solution

We identified an opportunity to fill a knowledge gap in the public. Most people know orthodontists as the medical professionals who straighten teeth, which means their patients are generally teenagers who have lost all of their baby teeth. Orthodontists typically don’t start working with patients until around age 12 when the permanent teeth have all arrived, so many families don’t begin to think about orthodontia until that point.

The practice was marketing to families with pre-teens for several reasons. The obvious business-case reason is that if pre-teens have already been seeing this orthodontist already, they will come to him for their braces. The service-case reason is that orthodontists can identify a wide range of potential and growing oral problems by seeing children at an earlier age.

Most parents are reluctant to take their children to see an orthodontist because they aren’t sure whether it’s even necessary, and even if it is they are concerned about the cost and the pain. We helped the practice expand their marketing to pre-teen families by recognizing the opportunity in seeing an orthodontist earlier and addressing both of those concerns. We put together a two-part knowledge campaign.

We needed to show why “Eight Is Great” and why “Twelve Is Swell.” We created a durable, double-sided card with fun images and accessible language (an 8-year old teddy bear on one side, and a pre-teen teddy bear on the other!). The message outlined why and when it is helpful to see an orthodontist even before you need braces. The card touches on what kind of issues orthodontists are looking for. It also provides assurance that they will not push unnecessary procedures. They address the fear of discomfort (it is not as painful or uncomfortable as many fear it will be!) as well as the cost issue (the consultation is free and involves no commitment).

Success

The information card proved to be the perfect format. Its convenience and portability made it a popular and easily shared promotional piece, and the information it contained in such a friendly style gave it real staying power so families kept it. This combination also made it a popular piece to carry and share at other dentist offices, partners to the orthodontist. This contributed to the strategy that helped the practice grow in client base and the expand across the city.