Speaking to a dental practitioner, we don’t have to sell you on the importance of regular check-ups! However, have you considered that your marketing efforts can benefit from a routine check-up as well? The very fact that you are reading this indicates that you do. A regular assessment of your dental marketing goals, strategies and tactics is essential to growing your practice but knowing where to start can be a challenge. Here are 5 effective strategies to ensure the health of your dental practice.
5 STRATEGIES TO MARKET YOUR DENTAL PRACTICE
Visibility
One of the best marketing tools you have is your physical business location. For many, convenience is a major determining factor when choosing a dentist. Wanting to minimize the inconvenience of an appointment, people tend to select a practice based on the proximity to their work or home. One of the most straightforward ways to market your practice is to ensure that the outside of your business has a strong visual presence. Take a critical assessment of your location’s exterior. Is your outdoor signage outdated? Does it easily convey what services you provide? Is it easy to spot? A fresh take on your
exterior signage and even the addition of
eye-catching window graphics will ensure customers take notice when they pass by.
Online Presence
While your physical presence is important, in this day and age, so is your online presence. When someone searches for ‘dental practice’, you want to ensure your practice is among the options to come up on the first page. Online presence is broken into three categories:
- Your Website: A dated website is like a cavity, the longer you ignore it, the more damage it does! Make sure your website appears fresh and welcoming, is mobile friendly, and has the correct address, contact info, and services.
- SEO: Beyond the basics of a good website is good SEO (search engine optimization). These are the steps you can take to help ensure that your site comes up on the first page. Actions such as claiming and completing your Google MyBusiness page, actively asking for online reviews, and incorporating keywords into your meta-descriptions, page titles and H1 & H2 headings of your copy can all help increase your organic (non-paid) SEO over the long run. There are also paid methods to consider such as Google ads.
- Social Media: From Facebook to Instagram to Twitter to LinkedIn and even Pinterest, every business should have a social media presence. Make sure the content you put out is more often informational, with just the occasional sales pitch, to encourage engagement. Use social media to show the ‘human’ side of your dental practice by sharing about philanthropic efforts, your staff, and more.
Creative Outreach Via Mail
Call it old-fashioned if you want, but there is a reason print marketing is still around, it works! People often don't open an email, but they are sorting through their mail. According to this report by the
US Postal Service, 81% of people scan or open their mail daily. Want your mailing to stand out? Get creative with your design or your offer. A
postcard with engaging visuals or a stand-out, well-targeted offer, like free preschooler-friendly first dental exams, will help your piece stand out from the rest.
Get Involved
Want to increase your visibility? Get involved in your local community. Consider sponsoring a youth sports team or participating in local events. The key to doing this successfully? Don’t be passive and think creative! Hand out mouth guards to the sports team you are sponsoring along with an informational card on protecting your teeth while playing sports. At local events, make sure your booth stands out, with an eye-catching
booth display and attention-drawing activities or
giveaways such as a photo booth (showcase that smile!) or fun game and promotional item.
Take a Look Inside
While many of us tend to look to the outside for opportunities, taking a look inside can often yield the best results. Review your day to day processes, your patient interactions, and your partnerships. What can be done to improve the relationship with your current patients and increase referrals? For example, if you don’t already do so, consider sending out reminders via email and/or text, to help improve appointment retention. What do you do to make patients feel valued? Consider sending out birthday
cards to patients or holding a monthly raffle with entries from appointments that month. Do you acknowledge or reward referrals? If not, don’t miss this opportunity to thank your patient for their word-of-mouth marketing.
Take a look at the inside of your practice, including the
forms and
informational materials you hand patients. Are your forms streamlined or do you have patients filling out multiple forms with duplicate info? What about any informational materials you hand out? Is it the same info you’ve been using for the past 10 years (with that same dated photo)? Finally, what about the interior of your practice? Is it in need of a refresh? If your interior is looking lackluster, but you don’t have the budget for a complete overhaul, consider a fresh coat of paint and new
prints,
posters or
interior graphics to help update your space.
YOUR TWIN CITIES DENTAL MARKETING RESOURCE
Whether you are ready to move forward with one of the strategies mentioned above or another approach altogether, you’ll need a reliable and experienced marketing partner. A great idea is the first step toward reaching your marketing goals. The second step? Implement the idea effectively. At Alphagraphics in
Apple Valley and downtown
Minneapolis, we help businesses successfully plan, design, print and execute marketing strategies. We’re more than a printer, we’re a team of marketing experts. Our extensive work with businesses of all types, including numerous dental practices, means we come to the table with not only the technical know-how, but the marketing and project management know-how as well. We provide full-service, one-stop solutions for everything from graphic design to printing to fulfillment. As 20-year veterans of the business-to-business
printing industry, we take great pride in providing high quality, reliable and timely service to our clients, year and after year.
Contact us today to set up an appointment to get a start on marketing your dental practice in new and effective ways.