Five dental marketing tips for taking your practice to the next level from Dr. Leonard Weiss
We know youre always on the lookout for new patients, which nowadays, due to the ever-fluctuating economy, arent so easy to come by. So how can you continue to expand your practice when everyone already has their go-to dentist? We sat down with the very successful Dr. Leonard Weiss to gain insight on how his marketing techniques grew his business into a million dollar practice. Heres what he had to say on how to market your dental practice:
1. Theres no one medium.
Lets face it as with most things in life, theres no simple solution. If you want to expand your practice, its going to take time, investments and patience. Be mentally prepared to invest an average of 10 percent of your gross monthly income if youre really set on making an impact with your advertising. You can try nearly every marketing technique under the sun. You may find out that advertising your practice on the radio increased your practice by 15 patients in April, and then have only one new patient in May its a constant trial and error process. So be creative, try different outlets and dont be afraid to try something new. And in order to successfully identify what marketing techniques are working for your dental office, track your results and engage your front office staff to ask new patients how they heard about your office.
If you dont have an Internet presence, youre missing out! Our world, like it or not, operates nearly entirely online. Did you know that when determining whether to purchase a product or service, people generally have completed 58 percent of the buying process before they contact you? Now more than ever, people are doing their homework and finding information online and on social media outlets yes, that means places like Facebook and Twitter. Your practice needs a website somewhere that prospective patients can go check you out before they check in at your office.
3. Remember, people talk.
Word of mouth. Its the oldest trick in the book, and the best one to date. People listen to friends and family and feel more comfortable visiting a dentist who has been referred to them rather than one they find in the provider directory. The clients that tell their friends about you are the same ones who end up writing your Yelp and Google reviews keep that in mind the next time you have a patient in the chair.
4. Give them a freebie.
With all the fees your patients have to pay, theyre going to flock to you if you give them anything for a discount, or my heaven, for free! So why not make them feel a little special and do just that? Hosting a free cleaning day, for example, will definitely bring traffic through your door.
Now youre probably thinking, If I give away a free cleaning to eight patients in one day, isnt that a loss to me? Well, think of it this way you know the bulk of the cost coming out of your pocket is your hygienists salary, an average of $25 an hour. If youre utilizing the 10 percent of your gross profit for advertising practice, chances are youre spending quite a bit more each month than the $200 to $300 it will cost you to have a free cleaning day. Getting patients in your office is more than half the battle. Give them that great cleaning that will encourage them to tell their friends and family. Once you know theyve had a great experience, send them on their merry way and ask them to write a nice review for you - *insert tip #3 here*. While you have them in your office, its a great time to talk to them about other dental services you offer, too! Establishing trust, offering them a service for free, and by creating as positive in-office experience, these free cleaning clients can quickly turn into new, loyal patients.
5. No one ever did it alone.
You may want to take on the dentistry world all on your own and be the big kid on the block, but sometimes its good to have a little help getting there. There are tons of other providers out there who, just like you, are trying to expand their practices. So instead of spending more funds than you may have to in order to compete with all of them, partner up with one or a few that you trust. If each of you can agree on a few different outlets of general advertising and split up the cost, youll cover more ground at a better price while making new friends. Who doesnt like making new friends?
If these tips didnt give you a direct course of action, hopefully youve taken away some ideas to consider in the future for your practice. As cliché as it might sound, the sky is the limit, especially when it comes to smart ways to market your business.
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