Dental practices could employ various marketing tools to bring in more patients, according to the Huffington Post.
Here are six elements of effective dental marketing.
1. Dental practices should show what sets them apart from the competition by highlighting what makes their practice unique.
2. It's important for each practice to understand where they fit into the market. Once a dental practice narrows in on their market position, they can decide how to allocate resources to advertise each service.
3. Most dental patients (57 percent) find their dentists through word-of-mouth recommendations, and 13 percent find their dentists online, according to research from Rebuilt Nation, the Huffington Post reported. Various forms of social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook combine the two. Dental practices could utilize social media outlets to establish a greater presence online, assess reviews from current patients and possibly identify prospective patients.
4. A majority of dentists are not responding to consumer demand in relation to cost. Dental patients cited cost as the number one factor patients consider when selecting a dentist. In RBN's national survey of over 200 dental practices, only 24 percent display coupons or special offers on their websites, according to the Huffington Post. To gain a competitive advantage, dental practices could use coupons or other promotional deals to draw in patients.
5. Blogging is a successful marketing tool. Fifty-seven percent of dental offices claim they have acquired new customers from their blog, according to Dental Economics. Blogs should be regularly updated and have interesting content to peak viewers' interest. Dental practices can integrate their blogs with social media profiles to maximize the number of viewers.
6. Patients want to feel comfortable with their dentists and dental practices should create trust through familiarity. Dental practices can achieve this by posting photos and bios of dentists on its website to facilitate trust.
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