Promoting a dental practice in a highly competitive market can seem like you are fighting off the end of the world but follow these tips and you wont need to feel like you are facing a Zombie Apocalypse.
1. Don’t throw money at it!
Yes, promoting a dental practice in a competitive market takes money but it is very important that you set an expectation. Either set a budget and work to determine realistic goals based on that budget or establish your goal and work out an estimate of the budget necessary to achieve them. If you don’t approach your marketing efforts this way, your pockets will feel a lot emptier.
2. Know your competition
Online competition can be very different from local competition. The dentist you know that is one street over may not be who you are competing with online. Too often, dentists don’t spend any time or effort understanding who their competition is and what they are doing. Do an analysis, identify strengths and weaknesses and determine who is keeping you from achieving your goals.
3. Play Your Game
The downside to knowing your competition is that dentists tend to get too caught up in what the other guy is doing. Your program should be determined your goals and your budget. By focusing too much on the other guy you can lose site of your plan.
4. Walk Before You Run
Websites, Branding, Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Adwords, SEO the list goes on and on. If you read articles about internet marketing, you’ll realize that in their own way, all of these things can have a positive impact on your practice…but beware! If you try to do too much before you have established a strong foundation, the marketing process will become overwhelming. You will end up dedicating too many hours, too much money and effort to do it all.
5. Make the Most of What You Have
I can’t tell you how often I talk with dentists who come to me wanting more. More traffic, better rankings and more leads. All of this is extremely important but the first question I ask is how are you doing converting the leads that are coming in now? You need to make sure that you are making the most of your leads whether it is 2 or 102. If the phone rings, make sure it is answered. If it is answered, make sure your staff handles the call correctly. If someone requests an appointment, make sure you follow up and most importantly always ask for the appointment.
Consider these tips the next time you analyze your marketing efforts. They just may save you time and money.
By Bill Mulcahy, Vice President of Ads Next
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Posted in: Dental Marketing, Dental Website, Local Internet Advertising, Websites and Marketing