Every dental practice has individual needs based on the services they are providing, their local demographics, their location and how long they have been established. However, the following are the marketing building blocks that should be considered to help you grow your practice further in 2017:
1# LNC – Least number of clicks
By now you will have no doubt used Google Ad Words in some form or another to drive traffic to your website. However, if your Ad Words provider is just sending all the traffic to your home page, you are certainly not gaining the maximum benefit from your budget.
By segmenting your website into the topics you want to promote and want to be known for, and then driving traffic directly to these areas of the site will produce far a better result.
If you want to attract single unit dental implant case you might run a Google Ad that says ‘Missing a tooth? Dental implants from $49 per week.’ You would then send this traffic to the Dental Implant page of your site, which shows a short video explaining the procedure and payment options and encourages the viewer to book an appointment there and then – all on the same page!
2# CTA – Call to action
Gone are the days when you could send traffic to your website and simply hope it would convert into new patient enquires. Every procedure you provide has an appropriate next step, whether that is to book straight in for treatment, have a free consultation or receive more information. Every procedure page on your website should be leading the viewer to a next step in the transaction.
3# Cookies and remarketing
It costs money to drive traffic to your website, either through Search Engine Optimisation or
via Pay per Click advertising. By dropping a cookie on to the viewer’s device means you can serve banner adverts on other websites they visit and this reminds them of your brand and the service they were researching. This is a very low cost but highly effective strategy.
4# SEO is alive and well
Every year some marketing ‘guru’ reports that SEO is dead, yet being ranked highly on the pages of Google on desired search terms is still your best on-line marketing and you rarely get these spots by chance. Map positions also play a major role in your organic listing and can also be manipulated with ethical optimisation techniques.
5# Video converts
The mediums the public use to research a new supplier have changed radically since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007 – but what they are looking for has not changed. The vast majority of the public what to know who will be treating them and feel some level of trust – even in the early stages of their research. This is why word of mouth should always be your most effective marketing.
However, video content can also help build trust with a potential patient as when created correctly it can really help convey your personality, your commitment to patient care and your special interests and skills. Video is currently the fast growing area of marketing and you should embrace this medium as soon as possible.
6# Payment options
The chances are you already have some flexible payment plan options available in your practice. However, the way these payment plans are presented is crucial to case acceptance. If you only offer a payment plan option after a patient has indicated the treatment you are proposing is not immediately within their budget, then you are probably missing out on a great deal of work. By the time you have told them they can pay it off over a number of weeks, they have already said no to you (I will have to think about it is a No by the way) you are then already on the back foot. By simply presenting a weekly payment option as part of every case presentation will boost your case acceptance significantly.
7# We still empty our letterbox
Most traditional print media has died or is terminally ill. However, the electric age has not stopped us emptying our letterboxes and the response rates from a letterbox drop have actually improved in the past few years. Flyers need to be well written and designed and project the professional standards the public want from their dentists. When these messages correctly conveyed you can expect a good response. Flyer drops are particularly useful when launching a new practice or a new service such as orthodontics into an existing practice.
MORE: 11 Top Marketing Tips for Australian Dentists in 2017 – Part 2
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