Dentists discovering ways to bring new patients in the door every month
As dental patient acquisition has become more competitive across the country, many dentists have found that getting more new patients now requires an unrelenting focus on marketing ROI; otherwise their dental marketing spend can quickly become unprofitable.
The typical strategies for getting new dental patients
Owners of dental practices are familiar with almost every marketing strategy available in the market. They know this because they have either tried it themselves, or because they are getting pitched and sold by a new company every single week. Given that most dental practice owners are not sure if their current marketing dollars are being well spent, it is understandable that they are skeptical of any new strategies. The typical marketing strategies dentist are familiar with are:
- Direct mail
- Listing with health insurance providers
- Good dental website design
- Search engine optimization
- Pay per click marketing
- Referral programs
- Sponsorships
- Traditional media: Print/TV/Radio
Nearly all of them have become more competitive over the last 10 years, particularly with the rising prominence of private-equity backed Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) who have very large marketing budgets to throw at the problem and can crowd out smaller and independent dental offices.
How to get more emergency patients
As a provider of digital marketing strategies for independent dental offices, Patients 4 You has found that there are three core strategies that are still effective in 2021 for attracting new patients:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Pay Per Click Marketing
- Emergency Dental Marketing
Most dentists are already familiar with the first two strategies, as these are a typical component of any digital marketing strategy, but of particular interest is the emergency dental marketing strategy dental practices are using to compete in their markets.
Marketing for dental emergencies
Marketing for dental emergency patients is very different from marketing for general dentistry or even cosmetic dentistry. The average dental patient will take several weeks considering various offices before even calling for an initial appointment/consultation, let alone actually committing to a treatment plan. In contrast, the dental emergency patient will make a decision the very same day they have the emergency, and in many cases will not call more than 3 offices before making a decision on which office to choose. For this reason, it is important that dentists looking to get more emergency patients know how to get in front of these patients. Most dental emergency patients find their dentist through a Google search, and so it is imperative that dentists appear top of page and top of mind for these patients when they are searching for a solution to their needs.
Advantages are different
The way dental offices are being able to still compete with DSOs in the dental emergency niche is that the set of advantages for attending to dental emergencies is different than those typically associated with general and cosmetic dentistry. For emergency patients, it is very important that the office has a responsive and caring front desk, but also that they have an efficient process for turning the call into a patient in the door. Dental practices that answer after hours calls, or that use a service such as an outsourced call center or missed-call textback software solution have a considerable advantage over practices that are not using these techniques. Providing a quality and caring experience is paramount, and can pay dividends. A patient who has had a dental emergency taken care of by an office is likely to return, and not only that, they are very likely to recommend the office to any other patients they know in need of dental care.