Marketing is key to the success of any business and dental practices are no exception. For a dental practice to grow, a single dentist should be seeing 24-50 new patients per month. And in order to attract new dental patients, a practice must offer a competitive product at competitive pricing, along with convenient quality services – all backed by a solid dental marketing plan.
When trying to figure out how to market your dental practice, the first step is always a SWOT session. In case you’re not familiar with this term, it’s simply a structured way to determine your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Dental Marketing Ideas That You Can Implement Today
Dental marketing ideas listed below will help you quickly amp up your practice marketing so you can start attracting a steady flow of new patients.
Update your brand
The first step is to evaluate your overall brand. As advertising expert John Williams explains on Entrepreneur.com, “Your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors’.”
Start by taking a look at your practice logo. Does it accurately reflect your office’s personality? Does it convey what you do and what makes your practice special? If not, it’s time for an update.
Then, carry the new logo and its overall feeling through all of your marketing materials and your office. Consistency in branding makes your practice recognizable and builds trust in the minds of current and prospective patients.
Update your website
Your website is the hub of all of your marketing efforts. It needs to reflect your brand, be up-to-date and designed to convert new patients. Here are a few specific things to look for on your site:
- Is it designed to appeal to your ideal patient? (i.e. families, seniors, emergency cases, etc.)
- Do you differentiate your practice? In other words, is it clear why a new patient should choose you over your competitor?
- Has your website design been updated recently? A website’s shelf life is only 3-5 years. An outdated design sends the message of an outdated practice.
- Is it responsive, designed for mobile compatibility?
- Does your website contain professionally written content designed to persuade visitors to choose you?
- Does your website showcase professional photos of you, your team, and your office? Actual photos of the business owner, office and employees establish trust in prospective new customers.
- Do you have calls-to-action encouraging website visitors to schedule an appointment?
If you see one or two areas in which your site could be improved, make the updates today! If your dental website needs a major overhaul, talk to your current website provider about an update, or reach out to a website provider who specializes in dentistry and offers an integrated online marketing solution.
Manage your reviews
Do a Google search of your name and then your practice name. Note the review sites that come up in the search results and take a look at your reviews. Don’t have any? Setup your profile on popular review sites like Yelp and HealthGrades to start getting patient reviews.
If you already have reviews, make sure you’ve claimed your profiles and filled them out with complete, accurate information. Then read your reviews. Thank those who have left positive feedback and reach out to patients who have left negative feedback.
Setup social media pages
Part of an effective online dental marketing strategy is being active on social media. If you haven’t yet, set up a Facebook business page. Fill it out accurately with your practice information, add a high quality profile photo and cover photo, and you’re ready to start engaging with your patients.
Get more new patients with a valuable offer
I know many dentists balk at the notion of discounts for serious dental work. But, as Chris Salierno, DDS, (the editor-in-chief of Dental Economics) says some folks don’t have access to dental insurance. They still need a dentist!
A 20% discount can make dental care that is otherwise out of reach possible. Think of it as a way to give back to your community while growing your practice.
Use videos to market your practice
There’s no doubt about it: videos are more engaging than plain text. Speak to potential patients by posting a well-made video on your website, which maybe features a tour of your office. Visuals tend to work better than other marketing schemes.
Search retargeting
You know how you can place ads on Google for certain search words such as “dentist in city”? That’s Google Adwords. Within Adwords, you can do what’s called search remarketing, which only shows search ads to people who have previously visited your website. So imagine this: someone visits your website and they leave it to go back to Google to look up competitors or do more research, and they see a different ad that you display that says, “You just visited my website. Here’s 20% off if you call right now!” That’s powerful stuff.
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