Competition for dental patients is fierce, whether you’re in charge of an NHS practice in the United Kingdom, or a private equivalent in the United States. It’s not just about offering competent dentistry (although this is of course the priority!), but you also need to be able to run quality marketing campaigns.
But we get this isn’t your bread and butter. If you are struggling to attract more patients to your dental practice, the following tips will help. Implement just one of these tactics, and you should see an uptick in enquiries.
Invest in SEO
Google Ads work, sure, but they can be incredibly expensive. In the dental industry, for example, you’re often paying double figures for a single click. If you add how much you’ll have to pay an agency to manage a campaign, that will quickly burn through your marketing budget.
The alternative is ranking organically. That doesn’t happen naturally and involves a fair amount of patience and work. But the results can change your business. Here’s why: traffic is free, you’ll get far more of it compared to ad traffic, and the general consensus is that 80% of consumers completely avoid paid ads anyway.
SEO isn’t easy. We advise partnering up with an agency, but doing some of the work yourself. After all, you’re the industry expert. There’s only so far a generalist agency can go. These are a few ways you can do it:
- Write relevant high-quality content –There is no one better to lead the content creation process than you. After all, you’re the expert. Want to be the go-to resource for handpiece care, for example? Put an in-depth guide together. You can of course use an agency to write the bulk of the actual content, but make sure you guide and vet the process.
Be Everywhere
We’ve unashamedly copied this tactic from the legendary marketer Pat Flynn. His strategy is pretty self-explanatory, but there’s a ‘catch’. Simple, but time consuming. You’re going to need to put in some elbow grease to make this one work.
Be Everywhere is about increasing your visibility. We’re not talking ads, but relevant content tied to your niche/industry. You want to be where your potential customers are, making sure they tie your practice to their dentistry needs.
Still confused? No problem. These are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- Become the local expert. Get in touch with local radio and television stations, newspapers, magazines, the works. Let them know that you are available to answer any questions about dentistry. Don’t charge, be friendly, go out of your way to smooth the process.
- Be an educator. You don’t just want to let people know you’re there, but they have to also be confident you’re a dentist of repute. One way of doing this is to offer free education. This can come in the form of webinars or in-person seminars. Topics can include how patients can best take care of their teeth to avoid issues in the future.
Your Current Patients Come First
Dental practices often make the mistake of placing far too much focus on attracting new patients that they completely forget about their existing ones. An exodus of your current batch of patients is an expensive mistake, as it’s far more difficult to attract new customers than it is to keep them.
So before you think of a new marketing campaign to bring in new faces, consider how you’re treating current patients. Do they receive the same offers and deals? Are you focusing on their dental health first and foremost? You’ll find that just by ensuring patients get the best possible care, word of mouth will do wonders for your marketing.
Say No to the Hard Sell
Our final piece of advice is a don’t, rather than a do. Avoid the hard sell as far as possible. It’s just not going to work and in the worst case, you’ll drive your target audience away.
Patients are savvy. They know dentists are competing for their custom. That’s why the ‘hard sell’ just doesn’t work. If they get a hint of being hassled, they’ll go elsewhere.
This doesn’t mean you can’t run ads, of course not. Just try and be a little more subtle about how far you push your product. Don’t shove your services down people’s throats, and let the quality of your services do the talking.
