Elevate Your Dental Practice

Effectively reach & engage quality patients

After working with thousands of dentists and dental teams for the last 31+ years, we get it. As a dental entrepreneur, it’s hard to find time to devote to marketing. You’re handling patients, team morale and training, taking care of financials, managing cash flow, and the myriad of other priorities and interests that you have. You didn’t get into dentistry to mess with marketing … but we did. 😊

Dental practices need to elevate to compete. Practice marketing must stand out in a crowded marketplace. It must provide a superior experience for patients, consistently build brand awareness and authority, and elevate the expertise of the practice.

This combination increases new patients, which, in turn, increases practice production, which improves practice security and value.

The average dental practice has around 2,000 active patients, BUT 25% of those are lapsing out. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if you’re letting low-value patients drift away while you’re driving a good flow of quality new patients in (they have an average value of 1.5x-2x that of an active patient), as it means you can schedule quickly, which is what new patients want.

Marketing must enlighten your audience about the benefits of your practice and the value your brand delivers. This strategy plays a pivotal role in increasing production and building a positive brand image.

The team at Patient NEWS^® is constantly modernizing dental marketing in simple and repeatable ways to help practices acquire new patients and maximize ROI. We help our clients overcome the overwhelm and frustration of trying to figure out what marketing should be in play by providing proven and simplified processes that help dentists and their teams succeed.

Here are a baker’s dozen (13) dental marketing aspects to consider to boost lead generation, new patient scheduling, and case acceptance.

1. Upgrade your website design. Visit your site on desktop and mobile and see for yourself what the new patient experience is like. Better yet, call our team and request a free web audit to find out how you rank across all digital platforms!
2. Optimize for local search. There are a few keywords that really matter for dentists. Make sure you rank for them.
3. Support conversion with Google Ads. Capture interested patients at search.
4. Optimize your Google Business Profile. This is easy, yet many dental offices don’t do it. We include this as part of our website product offering and can help you if you’re unsure.
5. Create relevant, engaging, informative content that your ideal new patient and target audience will respond to. Write at a Grade 5 level, avoid including too much jargon, and ensure you highlight your competitive advantages.
6. Ask for reviews. Our Review BOOSTER reputation tool is the best (yes, we’re biased), and we include relevant oral health information that stands out with patients and creates reciprocity!
7. Respond to those reviews. Read your reviews at weekly huddles to boost staff morale and confidence in service, as well as identify areas for improvement. Never engage with negative reviews online; acknowledge and redirect them to contact you to sort out the situation.
8. Offer distinct value-add for new patients. No one really wants to discount, but you need that “thing” that will make new patients pick up the phone. And then – bonus tip – just answer the phone live! Please.
9. Communicate with patients by email and mail (the only way to reach 100% of patients). Monthly email newsletters keep your name visible, but quarterly newsletters mailed to patient homes really make your practice stand out. When was the last time you received a value-added, well-written, great piece of content from a provider you use? Trust us – this one is a no-brainer for every dental practice that wants to increase elective services, big-ticket services, and referrals.
10. Promote patient referrals. Ask every new patient if they have other people in their household who need a new dentist. Remind patients that you accept and appreciate referrals in every communication.
11. Direct mail. It’s not all the same. Create a neighborhood newsletter campaign to build awareness, establish your practice as “the” expert in the area, and draw in more quality new patients. They work better than postcards – by far.
12. Be consistent, track results, and do more of what’s working. If it ain’t broke….
13. Spring cleaning! It’s time to shake it up. Open your eyes when you physically walk into your practice. Before you approach the door, does the walkway look good? Does the office look and feel clean, fresh, and welcoming? Is the décor a little outdated or dark? Are the staff dressed to win, smiling, and happy? Sit in a treatment chair and look up. Flies in the light fixtures? It’s spring!

You want your dental marketing campaigns to maintain your professional persona while working to attract quality new patients, retain and educate active patients, and grow practice production.

The team at Patient NEWS has a myriad of options to help you achieve your goals. Start with a free discovery call and find out more. Every successful dentist we’ve ever met has always been open to finding out all they can about their market area and growth opportunities. Our discovery process offers SO MUCH VALUE – and it’s totally FREE. Go for it! Schedule a convenient time here.

We can help with it all! (888) 377-2404!

Joanne Bishop