• 3
• Dental Marketing ,
• 07 Nov

Dental practices are one of the businesses with the highest customer loyalty.

Once you provide a good service, there are really high chances that a person will come back in the future. In the past, it was really easy to predict profits for dental practices.

Unfortunately, times have changed.

People are less likely to stay in one city for their whole life. In fact, there are a lot of people who will change the country. This makes it harder for small local businesses such as dental offices to retain their customers.

Marketing has increased in popularity as it allows you to have stable revenues no matter what.

While this might seem a bit expensive, just imagine what would happen if you wouldn’t invest in it!

Dental marketing consultants have become increasingly popular in the last 2 decades, and here is how your business can benefit from hiring one.

What can a dental marketing agency do for you?

Obviously, they can help increase your profits.

But, let’s dig a bit deeper:

• It can perform basic analysis of your dental business

If you have trouble attracting or retaining clients, this probably has to do with your presentation. Keep in mind that this doesn’t necessarily have to do with your skills. Instead, you might be making small marketing mistakes. A dental marketing consultant will assess your office, check the design, see how you’re behaving on a daily basis, and how people are responding to your treatment. Nowadays, most marketers focus on things such as online marketing as the best way of attracting potential patients. While traditional marketing shouldn’t be neglected, we need to consider how effective web advertising is. After performing basic analysis of your business, a dental marketing consultant can give you a few suggestions to improve it.

• Identifying strengths and weaknesses

SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) is one of the main analysis performed by marketing agencies. In order to penetrate a market and receive a sizable share of it, you need to understand where your strength lies. It is the first thing you do after the basic analysis, and it is performed prior to taking action. With SWOT, you get better data that you can use for activities. It serves as a way of comparing the prices, determining how strong your competitors are, how you can modify services to make them better, what is your innate advantage, etc.

• Determining the right approach

Keep in mind that no company is the same. Some dental offices will want to focus on things such as web optimization, while some will want traditional marketing. After determining your strengths and weaknesses, a dental marketing specialist will offer you a few choices. If we’re talking about internet marketing, this usually comes down to SEO (search engine optimization), SMM (social media marketing), and PPC (pay-per-click). All three methods are viable for dental practices; it is up to you to choose which one you want to implement. Keep in mind that the best results are achieved when you invest in all of them. Most dental digital consultants can perform all 3 tasks, which is great as you can get all the services in one place.

• Creating an actionable plan

After an owner chooses an approach, a marketer can start creating a plan. At this point, you should’ve already talked about the budget. Establishing the budget is very important as it allows a dental marketing consultant to create a plan based on it. There is an old saying that you can never invest enough in marketing. While this is true, you should also be realistic regarding your needs. After the plan is created, the dental marketing specialist will walk you through it. If you, as a dental owner, do not understand a part of it, you shouldn’t proceed with the plan. Given that most of it revolves around digital marketing, some people will not fully understand it. Make sure to ask all the questions you need to ask, so it is easier to understand whether or not the dental marketing company will live up to your expectations.

• Monitoring and modifying the process

The last task that a consultant has is monitoring and modifying the process. The best thing about online marketing is that unlike traditional marketing, you can make changes on the fly. There are things you can improve each day.

This is precisely why the marketing profession attracts proactive, creative individuals. During this last step, a dental marketer will ensure you stay on the right course and make any adjustments if necessary.

As you can see, there are various things that a marketing professional can do for you.

Some dentists will want to perform an audit; others will analyze the performance of previous marketing experts. The great thing about digital marketing is that you can tailor-make a campaign according to your desires and abandon it if you feel it doesn’t provide good results.

Is there anything better than that?

Do you really need a dental marketing specialist?

Unfortunately, there are lots of dentists who don’t believe in marketing for dental clinics.

They think that the best advertising is when you do a good job. While this is true, we also have to consider how much the dental marketing profession changed.

Making a decision to hire a professional is not an easy one. This is especially true if you just opened your dental practice and have to pay off equipment debts.

Here are 5 important factors that you need to consider before you make a decision:

• Marketing is an investment

The first and biggest issue about marketing is that most people see it as an expense. However, it is more of an investment. Like with equipment, getting better products will result in better customer satisfaction. The same goes for advertising. Every penny that you spend will propel your business. It might take a week, a month, or even more, but you will definitely get your money’s worth.

• It speeds up processes

When dentists start a business, they are usually preoccupied with paying off their equipment. Marketing poses another financial burden, which is why most people avoid it. But, it actually quickens the process and allows you to pay off equipment even quicker. In fact, don’t be surprised if you break even quicker than expected by relying on a dental marketing consultant.

• It protects your position

Online marketing helps big companies as much as it helps small ones. By investing in advertising, you’re making sure that no one will overtake your business on a specific market. It further increases your reach, allowing you to saturate a bigger percentage of the market. Also, it helps you build a better reputation among clients and other dental experts.

• It is a long-term solution

Another common mistake is when people think that marketing should quickly generate revenues. This isn’t always true, as marketing is closely connected to building your brand. This is especially true when it comes to dental SEO and social media marketing, which take some time to kick in. While the first months may be grueling, they ensure a company’s long-term success and marketing position.

• It puts your business in the hands of professionals

Some dentists prefer doing their own social media marketing and SEO. This is a major mistake! You shouldn’t overlook the proficiency of marketing experts. Although social media is something you’re accustomed to, it doesn’t mean you will do a good job promoting the business. Experience is something that can make or break a campaign, so make sure to entrust your practice to a person who knows what he’s doing.

• Best way to expand

Let’s say you already have one office but want to get another one. Scaling your dental business can seem hard, but in reality, it is quite easy. All you have to do is invest in online marketing. This will boost your brand, allow you to increase prices, and it will increase the revenues. When you open a new office, you will always have brand loyalty behind you, and it will be easier to get clients for the second practice.

How to find the right dental marketing expert?

Perhaps the biggest issue is finding the right dental marketer to handle the project.

There are lots of companies that are great at this business, but unfortunately, a lot of them who suck. Finding the right solution can be quite a task.

Here are six things you need to pay attention to:

• Track record

Like with any other online company, you have to rely on the track record for data. It is really hard to establish whether or not a company is successful. This is especially true if we’re talking about a marketing organization from another country. So, make sure to insist on a good track record when recruiting.

• Experience

Experience is not the most important factor when recruiting a dental marketing consultant. Internet marketing is constantly changing (as well as the dental profession), which is why you need to find people who are continuously learning. Nevertheless, it is better if a person has enough experience as he or she can make the right decision given the specific situation.

• Price

Like experience, prices are important but not crucial. Price can tell you a lot about a company. If a marketing professional has a good track record and looks for a lot of money, this is usually a sign that they know their price. Here, you need to decide what you want to do. Investing more money doesn’t always mean you will get better results and vice versa. Still, hiring an experienced dental consultant is one of the crucial factors you need to consider when making a decision.

• Reviews and reputation

You can learn a lot about a person by simply going through social media and Google reviews. These dental review sites can tell you more about the company and expose certain weaknesses. Ratings are especially important as they allow you to compare various service providers.

• Transparency

We cannot emphasize enough how important transparency is for web companies. Given that most dentists have limited knowledge of SEO, SMM, and PPC, it is really easy to trick them. This is why you need to hire a company that is transparent and willing to share progress results during the campaign’s duration.

• Ease of communication

Lastly, it is better to hire dental marketing experts who are easy to talk to. Given there will be some back and forth, you need to find people who are always available, ready to talk and disclose information. This will save you time but will also allow you to avoid unnecessary stress.

In conclusion

There are lots of good reasons why you should hire a dental marketing consultant. Making more profit is just one of them!

If you do decide to make this step, don’t forget that our company can provide awesome service at a relatively low price.

Make sure to call us for additional information!