You invest money, and perhaps time, into marketing your dental practice. You do what the experts recommend. Why, then, is your dental marketing investment tanking? Why isn’t your schedule full? The answer to this question depends on many factors. I recommend that you seriously contemplate these key issues so that you can amend your marketing strategy for success.
Website
The goal is to have your website on page one of Google for the keywords you value most.
Your website should have stellar SEO, which means original content, metadata, tagged images, keyword-rich slugs, incoming and outgoing links, integration with social networking profiles, and more. To determine whether your website is well optimized, MDPM offers a complimentary analysis. Just email or call us, and we’ll be happy to explain your dental website’s SEO status. If you have access to your Google Analytics reports, use them to gain insight on your website traffic, and tweak your site as needed to improve its SEO. Your dental consultant or MDPM can advise you on improvements.
Overall Internet presence
The goal is to show up multiple times on Google for the keywords you value most.
While your primary website is the center of your online marketing strategy, it will not be sufficient to compete in a metropolitan area. To supplement your dental website, you need a blog with at least one original post per week, microsites that focus on your core services, and active social networking profiles. For dentists in highly competitive areas, like Denver and Houston, multiple blogs, microsites, and other content management strategies can prove beneficial. MDPM has some clients who show up for valuable keywords four or five times on page one of Google.
Brand consistency
Your image is important, in person and online.
“Brand” refers to the image and ideas people have when they think about a company. For dentists, a brand should inspire thoughts of trust, comfort, expertise, precision, and good health. Everything that influences these ideas contributes to your brand. So, in addition to your dental practice logo, tagline, website, blogs, microsites, articles, print ads, radio ads, TV ads, billboards, and other marketing efforts, the way your staff and office look, how your phones are answered, the service patients receive, how patients perceive you and your treatment, and even the location of your dental office influence your brand. You can control your brand, but it takes work.
Local involvement/advertising
The Internet is global, and dentists are local. The community’s perception of you is vital to your success.
In this digital age, Internet marketing is more effective than phone book advertising, and the wisest investments are made in a dentist’s organic strategy, rather than in pay-per-click advertising. However, dentists are a local business. They are usually entrepreneurs who own their practice and provide not only the clinical dentistry, but also HR duties and overall business management. As a small business owner, a dentist should invest in his or her community. Opportunities such as town fairs and festivals, high-school football field signage, and PTA-sponsored health presentations for students are ideal for building a recognizable brand, as well as respect, in your community.
Proper reception
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Likewise, you can lead a potential patient to call your office, but you can’t make them book…or can you?
Who answers your phones during the day? After hours? What does that person say to a new patient? How much does your receptionist know about your practice, clinical dentistry, and administrative issues, like insurance and financing? This blog on answering the phone in a dentist’s office sheds light on how to improve transition from potential patient to booked patient.
Print advertising
Internet marketing is more measurable than print, but for some demographics, print marketing yields great results.
As a rule, we advise dentists to first invest in a solid online marketing strategy. However, after that foundation is established, a savvy dentist will consider other avenues for marketing. The question is, what works? Newspaper? Yellow pages? Billboards? Direct mail? Print advertising is expensive and can fail miserably. Once your message is in print, there’s no turning back, no editing, and no do-overs. Before spending time and money on print marketing, consider your audience, goals, budget, and what a “good” return on investment (ROI) would be. Then, talk with your dental consultant or MDPM about planning print marketing that will appeal to your target marketing. Arbitrarily sending out a postcard with a stock design is no way to market your practice!
Your Dental Marketing Consultant
What is your marketing plan missing? At Modern Dental Practice Marketing, we understand the value dentist need from their marketing investment. We partner with our client dentists and their dental consultants to deliver targeted, customized, well-planned marketing strategies that bring in new patients. Call MDPM today at 972-781-89861 to discuss your dental website, as well as your overall marketing plan.
Related posts:
- First Steps in a Modern Dental Practice Marketing Consultation
- Balance and Harmony in Dental Marketing
- 10 Practical Tips for Your 2012 Dental Practice Marketing Plan
Source: http://moderndentalmarketing.com/2012/09/why-does-dental-marketing-fail/
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