Whether you just launched a new dental practice or you’re wondering how to attract new patients to your existing dental practice, this blog post is for you. We are going to show you 7 actionable marketing strategies that will help you attract new patients to your dental practice.
Just like every good marketing plan. Let's start a SWOT Analysis because answering these 4 essential questions will help you understand where your dental practice is currently positioned in the market and determine how you can use these actionable marketing strategies to start attracting new patients to your dental practice.
This step is essential for patient growth and the long term success of your dental practice.
Consider these 4 questions:
Strength: What sets you apart from other dentists in your area? Why should they choose you?
Weakness: What is currently preventing you from getting as many patients as you'd like?
Opportunities: What are some marketing tactics that your practice can take advantage of?
Threats: Who is your main competitor? And what are they doing better than you?
1. Create a High Converting Web-Presence
First impressions are everything.
Does your website clearly demonstrate what you do? Is it easy to navigate? When was the last time you updated it with new content? Does it accurately reflect the quality of your services and experience? Was it designed with the goal of attracting and converting potential patients online?
If you answered 'no' to most of those questions, chances are your website is not converting as many patients as you'd like.
Your Dental Practice needs a website that is simple, clear, and actionable. Your website is intended to provide just enough information for potential patients to make the decision to book an appointment with your dental practice. Think of it as a full-time salesman that is remotely working 24x7 for your dental practice.
Just imagine how many patients you'd be able to attract to your dental practice if you had a high converting website designed by a dental marketing agency that understands SEO, the digital customer journey, user design, user intent, and user experience.
But, if you trust yourself to get the job done on your own, consider these tips:
Make sure that your website is easy to navigate & mobile-friendly
Create valuable content that really helps your audience with a pre-existing problem
Ensure that your audience CLEARLY knows how to contact you or schedule an appointment (bonus tip - Give them multiple options to reach you)
Make sure your website has reviews with customer photos and patient testimonial videos
This is a tough one to do without marketing experience, but make sure that your website is properly optimized for search engines like Google.
2. Ask your Patients for Reviews
Your online reputation is SO critical.
If you want to attract new patients to your dental practice you need to understand the importance of patient reviews and video testimonials.
This survey, which features responses from more than 800 people about online reputation and patient reviews, generated several key data points:
74.6% of respondents had researched dentists online
69.9% said a positive online reputation is very or extremely important in selecting a healthcare provider
51.8% of patients who had submitted negative online reviews about a medical practice had not been contacted to address their concerns
Patient satisfaction doubles when a medical practice addresses a negative online review
The truth is, reviews are the number one factor people consider when making a purchase decision. We all know how intimidating it is to go to an unfamiliar dentist, and as a result, we mainly look for and ultimately select a dentist with dozens of positive reviews or reassuring patient video testimonials.
So if your dental practice is offering the best dental care and is providing an amazing customer experience, why aren't you making the most of your compliments and your positive patient feedback? If you really want to attract new patients to your dental practice, ask your patients to leave a review or participate in a video testimonial.
So, how do you do that?
A gentle nudge, via email or text message to patients after an appointment, should be enough to get them to share their feedback. Especially if they had a great experience worth talking about.
Make sure to respond to all of your reviews, (yes I mean the good the bad, and the ugly) directly address any patient concerns, and let them know how much you appreciate them. Remember, it is not only important to attract new patients to your dental practice but you need to create a strategy to retain them as well.
3. Promote a Patient Referral Campaign
Word of mouth marketing is one of the most effective ways to attract new patients to your dental practice. Patient referrals are extremely valuable especially if you’re just starting out and need to grow your customer base. If your patient refers a friend to you it's very likely that you'll get their business, because they have already established trust with that person so it's far easier for them to convert.
The saying, 'the best kind of marketing is a happy customer' could never be more true. Whenever a patient has a great experience they will share it with friends and family, and here's the best part (it virtually costs you nothing). However, it's not enough to rely on patients to refer you to others; just like reviews and patient video testimonials, you need to directly ask for them with a patient referral campaign.
Here is a Simple & Actionable Dental Referral Campaign Idea:
Encourage your patients by offering a free cleaning or special discount whenever they refer a friend. All you have to do is hand out a simple referral card at the end of their appointment or send them a follow-up text/email explaining the referral campaign.
4. Engage Followers on Social Media
There are about 3 billion social media users online every day; in fact, studies show that most patients are influenced by social media when selecting a dental practice; and prefer to book appointments with Dentists who have active social media profiles, -- Consider using these 5 smart social media marketing tips.
Social media is an extremely powerful tool for attracting new patients to your dental practice. However, many dental practices approach social media marketing with the wrong goal.
Don’t be one of those dental practices that hardly engage with their followers online and overuse stock images (read this post to find out why). Your followers will not feel connected to your dental brand. Social media is designed to be a digital community, you’re not just there to promote your products and services but to engage with your audience and provide valuable content that connects them to your dental practice.
Use social media as a place to offer value, connect and answer frequently asked questions. Create content that patients can use to help them make informed purchase decisions with your dental practice. Patients want you to show them all of the available treatment options that could benefit them and understand what they need to do next. Share your expertise with captivating video content and provide valuable knowledge on important dental health-related topics that your patients can use to improve their quality of life.
Give Value. Get More Customers.
Also, make sure you have a dedicated person or social media marketing and management agency that understands how to monitor your social media reputation and develop a monthly content strategy for each of your channels.
5. Get Active in your Digital Community
Host & Promote Digital Events
The latest healthcare industry trend is to host virtual events online so that patients can interact with your practice wherever they are in the world.
One of the most effective approaches to attract new patients to your dental practice is to get involved in the digital community! Let the digital community know you're not 'all business,' but that you can provide a fun and engaging digital experience as well.
Go LIVE on Facebook or Instagram, host a digital webinar or have a weekly Q&A series that patients can interact with and get responses to their most frequently asked questions. Social media is all about community and engagement, so figure out the best way to make it work for your dental practice.
6. Monitor Your Competition
This is something that you should always, and I mean always be doing. Your competitors are your competition for a reason.
It wouldn't hurt to see what they're doing to attract new patients online. Always stay up to date with the market and adjust your marketing tactics as needed.
Your patients need to be constantly reminded of the difference between you and other dental practices so that they keep coming back to you. This ties back into the SWOT analysis that you completed earlier.
Did you know that most patients who switch dental practices do so because they were not greeted at the front desk or had an unwelcoming patient experience?
Make sure to advise your team to be friendly and welcoming because they are representing your brand and can equally damage your reputation if they have a bad attitude at work. They need to effectively communicate your brand's value and vision in bringing the best patient experience to the dental market. So make sure that everyone on your team understands your mission and the values of your brand.
Something as simple as a bad phone call can cause your patients or even potential patients to switch dental practices. It is crucial that every single member of your team understands the value of each patient interaction in order to align their efforts with the values of your brand.
7. Offer Specials to New Patients
If you want to attract new patients to your dental practice consider offering patient specials to bring them in. Potential patients are much more likely to respond to special offers and discounts especially when it's directly for new patients.
Attract news patients with specials that encourage them to book that first appointment. Offer a free whitening service with their first visit or give them a discount on their first treatment. Create a new patient special that works best for your dental practice. Most importantly make sure that whatever you offer is unique, compelling, and competitive.
Do you need help putting these tips into action?
Our team of content strategists, content creators, and creative marketers would love to help. Book your free virtual consultation with us at any time.