Marketing your practice is the best way to open new doors to prospective clients in your area. But a quick Google search on ‘dental practice marketing tips’ can lead to thousands of hits that offer varying advice on how best to improve your dental marketing strategy. We believe that external communication should make your practice more approachable and display your unique mission and values. Impersonal marketing tactics can leave patients hesitant to entrust their oral health to a “faceless” dental practice. Developing effective dental marketing while maintaining a personal touch is the key to increasing your marketing ROI. Below, find two easy, low-cost ideas to adopt this spring in order to advance your practice’s marketing strategy.
Ready to take dramatic steps to improve the efficiency and success of your dental practice? Contact Jennifer Pearce, Founder, Owner and Executive Lead Prosperity Coach, at (817) 975-4576 to arrange a coaching consultation. Jennifer has been involved with dental practices for over 23 years and understands your management pain points.
Increase Online Reviews
Online reviews are huge in today’s market. You probably check online reviews yourself for everything from carpet cleaners to music lessons. Maybe you’ve heard of the term “social proof.” It’s a psychological phenomenon that explains why online reviews are so important. Basically, social proof is the idea that people will mimic the behavior of others in order to respond the right way to certain situations. If someone is looking for a dental practice when they move to a new city, they’ll check online to gather information about other people’s experiences before selecting a provider. It’s a way to help protect themselves from failure by selecting a provider they have “proof” has been a great choice for someone else.
Yelp, Facebook, Healthgrades: all of these are highly-trafficked sites for prospective patients who are trying to find their next dental provider. Does your practice feature reviews, photos, and practice information? If not, take the time to improve your presence on these influential sites. The more reviews a prospective patient can read about your practice, the greater the social proof about your practice.
Encourage patients to leave reviews by attaching a small card to their receipt following treatment, and by sending a follow-up email the day after their appointment. Consider offering monthly incentives such as a coupon for a free professional whitening session if they complete a Facebook review. Any investment into review incentives will be well worth the social currency you receive in return from a long list of authentic reviews.
Use Authentic Photography
Prospective patients are looking for a practice where they can picture themselves, with patients to whom they can relate. By highlighting your actual office, examination rooms, as well as staff, doctors, and happy patients, you can give them a sneak peek of your practice before they ever set foot inside.
While stock photography is fine in some cases, try to highlight actual photos of your practice as much as possible. It will lend authenticity to your website, social media accounts, and marketing pieces, and help you stand out from the crowd of sites that exclusively use stock image photography.
Contact Prosperity Dental Solutions
Jennifer Pearce can help you improve your dental practice with experienced coaching and integrated workplace solutions that have come from her years of experience in the field. Call her at (817) 975-4576 for more information on tangible ways to improve your practice today.
