Effective External Marketing Strategies For Dental Specialty Offices
In 25 years, I have learned when it comes to external marketing for dental specialties, it’s important to focus on strategies that can bring in new patients. If you’re running a dental specialty practice, you might wonder how to attract more patients and grow your practice. In this article, I will share some effective external marketing strategies that I have found successful in my dental specialty practice.
Generating new patients
External marketing involves attracting new patients by promoting your practice through various channels. One way to do this is by creating a strong online presence, which can include developing a website highlighting your specialty services and creating social media accounts to engage with potential patients. There are several creative options if you’re looking for dental raffle ideas to engage and reward your patients. One idea is to run a social media contest. You could ask your followers to share a photo of their best smile or dental hygiene routine and tag your practice to win a dental care package or a gift card to a local restaurant or store. This can help increase engagement on your social media platforms and generate buzz about your practice. Another effective strategy is to incentivize your existing patients to refer their friends and family to your practice. You could also offer a discount or a free consultation to patients who refer a new patient to your practice. Implementing these strategies effectively can attract more patients to your practice.
Website
Your website should accurately reflect your practice. It should be up-to-date, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate, with educational content. In addition, generating positive online reviews is a successful method of marketing your dental website. Encourage your patients to leave reviews online, respond to any negative reviews promptly, and showcase your positive reviews on your website and social media channels. Another important aspect of dental website marketing is active content marketing. Consistently adding new, high-quality content to your website improves your search rankings and drives more traffic. This can include blog posts, articles, videos, and other forms of content that are relevant and valuable to your target audience. By investing in these marketing strategies, you can effectively market your dental website and attract more patients.
SEO Campaign
One effective way to enhance your marketing approach is through search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages for relevant keywords. Doing so can increase your online visibility, attract more website visitors, and ultimately, bring in more patients to your practice. One of the key benefits of SEO for dental practices is that it can help reduce your paid advertising costs. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be expensive, and it’s not always the most effective way to reach potential patients. Investing in SEO can improve your organic search rankings and reduce your reliance on paid ads. SEO can also help drive more visitors to your website, resulting in more patients for your practice. By optimizing your website for relevant keywords and providing valuable content, you can attract potential patients who are actively searching for dental services in your area. In addition, SEO can help you establish your practice as a trusted and authoritative source of dental information online. By creating high-quality content that answers common dental questions and addresses patient concerns, you can build trust with your target audience and position yourself as a leader in your field. An effective SEO campaign can benefit your dental practice in numerous ways, from increasing your online visibility to attracting more patients and reducing advertising costs. If you are interested in learning more about how SEO can help your practice grow, consider working with a reputable digital marketing agency that specializes in dental SEO.
Referral Marketing
As a specialty practice, referring doctors are one of the most important sources of new patient referrals. Therefore, it is essential to implement effective marketing strategies to maintain and grow these relationships. One effective way to market to your referring doctors is through referral amplification. This involves identifying your top referring doctors and developing a targeted marketing campaign to encourage them to refer more patients to your practice. This can include personalized letters or emails, special promotions or discounts, and other incentives that can help strengthen your relationship with them. You may try selecting an office of the month where you recognize your top referring practice. One idea is to deliver them a personalized lunch on the day of their choice. Take a picture and promote them on social media, giving them special recognition. Overall, marketing to your referring doctors requires a combination of different strategies and tactics; these strategies can effectively strengthen your relationships with them, attract more patient referrals, and grow your specialty practice. Another great way to enhance the connections with your referring doctors would be to create a daily, monthly, and quarterly calendar. This can include reminders for doctor’s birthdays, preferences, and anniversaries. This will also allow you to easily track special events such as open houses, practice milestones, and luncheons.
Community Engagement
Participating in community events and outreach programs is a hands-on, effective way to market your practice. This can help create awareness about your specialty practice and build relationships with potential patients in the community. Incorporating a booth at a local event, such as youth sports opening day, sponsoring a team, or participating in an awareness walk can be a great way to market and stay active in the community. You can also consider hosting seminars or workshops to educate the public about your specialty services and treatments. These events can help position you as an expert in your field and build trust with potential patients.
In conclusion, external marketing for dental specialties can involve a variety of strategies, from creating a strong online presence to building relationships with other healthcare providers, and participating in community outreach programs. By taking a comprehensive approach to external marketing, you can attract new patients to your practice and build a strong reputation as a leading provider in your specialty field.
About the Author
Paula Kopf, FAADOM, has been in the dental field since 1998. She was inducted as an AADOM fellow (FAADOM) in 2016 and currently serves as the chapter relations director for the Contra Costa AADOM Chapter. Paula has enjoyed working in an oral surgery office with Dr. Alijanian since 2011, encouraging her to fulfill her passion for improving patients’ dental health through personalized care and education.
