While I do enjoy developing clever dental marketing strategies for clients, most of the time dentists need to be focusing on the basics of a good campaign. The following K.I.S.S. (Keep It Super Simple) strategies should lay the foundation for the marketing campaign of any dental practice.
1. Pay Per Click (PPC)
While we always want to win the keyword search battle, that can take time. A quick and effective way to make it straight to the top of your desired search is to simply pay for it. Patients can be easily targeted through their searches, with your ad appearing when someone searches your keyword, with you only paying for the ad when it is clicked. The best place to start is with Google AdWords, where your bid will compete with others in the same category. Well-organized campaigns can generate a hefty return on your investment.
2. Call to Action
You’ve got great images on site, a blog, and your marketing campaign is on point. It is all for nought if you don’t follow it up with a call to action. This is an essential part of a website that many overlook. Look at every page on your website and consider what the goal of that page is, what it is that you want the user to do. Perhaps it’s requesting an appointment, signing up for your newsletter, or downloading a coupon. Whatever it is, your call to action should communicate the need or benefit for the user.
3. Incentivize Referrals
The best place to start looking for new patients is to tap into the pool of your current patients. Most people that are happy with their dentist are happy to refer friends and family to them. It simply doesn’t happen as often as we would like because the subject doesn’t come up! The way to win this battle is to stay top of mind, and you can see an average of twenty new patients a month as a result. You’ll need to ask your patients for referrals as they complete treatment, and offering discounts, coupons, or prizes for those that send patients your way will help them to follow through.
4. Blog
Marketing strategies that work on multiple fronts are usually a good investment. Blogs both offer the value of content (if done right) and search engine optimization for your website. Unlike a print ad, your blog can be visible forever, gaining traction with time. Beyond just shooting for keyword targeting, longform blogs that offer compelling and informative content is becoming increasingly valuable. Do I need to even point this out to you if you’re reading this?
5. Site Retargeting
If you’re fishing and you get a good nibble, you don’t pack it up and go home. You cast that lure out there again and take another shot. If you’re following my analogy, you’ll be interested to know that you can specifically target people who have already visited your website. They’ve shown enough interest to take a look at your content or check your hours, but for whatever reason they didn’t follow through on the call to action. Retargeted ad campaigns give you a chance to cast that lure back out there for another try, and they might be one of the most effective techniques out there.
6. Welcome New Neighbors
One of the most valuable lists that you can get your hands on is that of new homeowners in your surrounding neighborhoods. New families are generally the perfect candidate for your marketing efforts. You can stay in front of them by placing ads in real estate materials, and follow up with new homeowners by sending them greeting cards. New families might not be headed to the dentist right away, but if you can get yourself on their refrigerator, you’re in like Flynn.
7. Ask for Reviews
With Google’s new emphasis on reviews, it’s easy to get left in the dust by competitors who have been asking for reviews for years. As someone who specializes in exactly this topic, I will tell you where most dentists go wrong. As odd as it may seem, after spending so much time gazing into someone’s mouth, many are uncomfortable simply asking a patient to leave them feedback on Google or Yelp. It makes such a difference that I can usually tell when our own dental clients fall out of good habits simply by reviewing the data. If you want a lot of reviews, you generally need to ask.
Get Professional Help
If you have your hands full or you aren’t getting the
results you’d like to see out of your marketing campaign, it’s best to have a
third party take a peek under the hood. Just as a seasoned dentist is likely to
pick up on something subtle before a dental student, the right dentistry
consultant or marketing expert may be able to set you on the right track,
saving you months or years of wasted effort and money.
~Brodie Tyler