When you dine at a nice restaurant, there’s a flow that reassures you, you’re in a fine establishment. In addition to receiving excellent service, the ambiance is part of your overall experience. The waiter and menu and even the restroom all feel well planned.

In contrast, when you go to Joe’s Pizza (no offense to Joe, he makes a great calzone), the pizza boxes feature a red and green imprint of Italy, and there’s a mirror with the New York skyline on the wall. The red-and-white-checked tablecloths match on one side of the restaurant, but on the other side…not so much. Joe’s website must have stock images, because this place looks nothing like the website. The bathroom, on the other hand – who decorated, Joanna Gaines? It’s great! Like something out of Better Homes and Gardens!

Your dental office needs to have a cohesive flow that’s seamless, from website to newspaper ad to curb appeal to lobby to operatory to checkout to recall to second appointment. When patients think of your office, they should remember a calm, inviting feeling and excellent service – which we call your brand.

That brand needs a physical image, which we call a logo.

Your marketing, everything on the bulleted list below, should reflect and reinforce your brand.

If you let the newspaper staff design your ad, a random web company create your website, and yet another company create your direct mailers, your brand will become disjointed. Your image will fall into the style of Joe’s Pizza before you know it, and all of your initial hard work will disintegrate into a marketing mess that no longer projects your beautiful patient experience.

Don’t let that happen!

When it comes to marketing, do you know what’s necessary?

If you’re like many dentists, you’re disappointed and perhaps frustrated by previous investments in marketing ventures that have not produced good return on investment (ROI). What has proven fruitful for other dentists has not paid off for your practice. How can you determine what’s right for your dental office? What’s going to bring YOU the RIGHT KIND of new patients? Have you defined what the right kind of patient looks like?

There is no magic potion – no prize formula for sale. Every practice is different, as is every market, and so many factors contribute to a dental office’s success. You can get the new patient numbers you want. That’s for certain. However, its’ going to take more than time and money.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to publish a series of articles on the various aspects of building a complete dental practice marketing strategy for the private practice. We will cover:

Marketing Plan – (Part of Your Business Plan)

  • Mission, Vision, Promises
  • Target Market and Avatar
  • Competitors
  • Budget

Initial Set Up

  • Logo
  • Website
  • Google Accounts
  • Social Accounts
  • NAP/Citations
  • Collateral
  • Location & Signage
  • Uniforms
  • Third-Party Collateral

Internal Marketing

  • Team Interaction with Patients
  • Print Materials
  • Posters & Displays
  • Patient Retention Plan/Recall
  • Call Data Tracking Plan
  • New Resident Marketing

External Marketing

  • Website Marketing/SEO
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Paid Search Advertising
  • Online Reviews
  • TV/Radio
  • Print
  • Word-of-Mouth/Referrals
  • Community Events/Involvement
  • Business Partnerships

Eye on the Prize

You spend an inordinate amount of your life – time and money – in your dental practice. That’s time you could spend with family, friends, and enjoying the activities you love, other than work. It’s money you could spend on your family, travel, and pursuits dear to your heart, whether philanthropy or collecting antique cars. The goal of your enormous investment is, most likely, to ultimately gain a return that yields a comfortable retirement and wealth to pass on to your children. The decisions you make today affect that goal, and that’s why you’re making the sacrifices of time and money, doing what’s necessary right now.

Get Marketing Help for Your Dental Office

First, get some help. While you’re busy hiring staff, managing your office, and caring for patients, let Identiwrite Creative take care of your marketing. Call Shauna at 940-395-5115 or email shauna@identiwrite.com today, and let’s talk about your dental practice’s marketing needs.

Next, follow this blog and learn more about how to handle marketing in your office. If you don’t want to outsource your marketing, and someone in your office can set aside a few hours a week to work on it, the blogs on this website will prove extremely educational!

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