Have you noticed that the phones aren’t ringing as often as they used to? And maybe some of your regular patients have even disappeared?
It’s probably not your fault, or the fault of your staff. The reason is a sharp increase in competition.
More and more dentists and orthodontists are crowding into high-population areas, and at some point, there aren’t enough good patients to go around. It truly used to be that if you started a practice in some of these areas, you could easily start getting patients without effort.
Now, oral health professionals are becoming more reliant on great marketing to stay competitive. After all, only one practice can be #1 in local search results.
Marketing for Patients
Many practices offer introductory pricing or deals for first-time patients, which could tear away some of your regular patients. How do you counteract that? By reminding them of your value-added offerings and benefits that they can’t get elsewhere!
Whether you’re known for friendly staff, a dentist who really knows and cares about each patient, having the latest dental technology, or perks like video games and gift cards, it’s important to have something that reminds patients why they chose you.
(Notice we didn’t mention price—if you try to compete on price, someone else will always beat you!)
There are different business units within a dental practice, and if you want to be successful in marketing, you need to target the right people with the right message. With any elective services, for instance, you’ll definitely want to advertise, because fewer of these services are covered by insurance.
Ultimately, to be successful in your marketing, you need a solid plan and real metrics to monitor your results. You’ll probably want to utilize a combination of traditional outbound marketing, communication with current patients through techniques like MyProViewer, and the ever-important inbound marketing strategies.
To find out more information on growing your practice and building up a solid patient base without overpaying on your marketing, talk to us at Inbound Systems!
Relax. More customers are on the way.
