Five Simple Steps to Better Market Your Dental Practice

No matter the business or industry, an effective marketing plan is key to growing and succeeding, and your dental practice is no different. But not every practice has a team of marketing and advertising professionals to develop a strong strategy and roadmap for a wider reach. So what do you do when you can’t turn to an army of professionals to get the word out? There are a variety of executable strategies that are easier than you might think, with the right tools and a plan.

 

1. Go Digital

The internet provides the largest platform to reach the most people at once, but with so many options available, where do you begin? What’s the most effective way to make your communications count?

•   Develop a strong web presence- Your website needs to do more than display your hours, address and contact information. It’s a community hub, a scheduling tool, and an opportunity to make a meaningful connection with both existing and new patients. When planning your website, adding a blog for useful news and content, and appointment making tools will give your patients more reason to return to your site more often, and help build stronger relationships between visits.
•   Stay active on the right social media platforms- Knowing your audience is key. With so many social media platforms available, it’s important to research which will successfully reach your target with the right messaging. Joining special groups within a platform will also help further expand your audience and help establish your expertise.
•   Retargeting ads- Retargeting is the practice of reaching out to previous, unconverted visitors to your site, and trying to get them to take a specific action through targeted messaging. Facebook Ads is one of the best platforms for this approach, allowing you to retarget based on specific activity on your site.

 

2. Direct Mail Still Works

To the modern consumer, junk-mail no longer gets delivered by the post office. It floods our email inboxes. While email marketing can often get lost in the mix, direct mail is more effective than ever, when done strategically. Recent studies have shown direct mail campaigns generate five times larger conversion rates than email campaigns, and when combined with digital marketing, the results grow even more. It can even be targeted to specific demographics with direct messages about services and products with helpful tools from USPS.com.  

 

3. Show Your Customers Loyalty

If you want your customers to be loyal to you, you need to give them a reason. You need to show them you care. This can be as simple as sending a birthday card, or reminding them of upcoming appointments, or great new products or services that can improve their oral health and confidence. You can also develop loyalty programs for self-pay elective outpatient procedures, like cleanings, or whitening treatments, where after a certain number of visits they get a discounted price. Introducing better solutions and products for your patients can also reinforce your concern for their wellbeing and help build a stronger loyalty. Setting them up with subscription services like the SmartBox Oral Health Program from SmartMouth can keep them engaged with their dental care in-between visits.

 

4. Referral Incentives

Give your patients a reason to spread the word. An incentive-based referral program can help you get more patients through your door. Offering an incentive to both your existing patient and their referral, such as a credit towards their next service or a complimentary dental exam  is a great way to introduce your practice to new patients organically, while providing more incentive to existing patients to return for more services.

 

5. Get Involved 

A great way to increase your practice’s exposure is by getting involved in a non-profit cause. Partnering with a program not only helps support a worthwhile cause but also reinforces your dedication to the larger ideals of good dental health. Working with the SmartMouth Partner program to sell SmartBox Oral Care subscriptions provides access to Give Kids a Smile, a not-for-profit organization working to eliminate the silent epidemic of dental disease for underserved children. Each SmartBox subscription sold to a patient results in a donation on your behalf.  

Are you ready to take your marketing to the next level? Join our SmartMouth Partner Program and gain access to great tools, news, insight and more.