Not every kind of dental marketing is the same, and nowhere is this more true than when specifically trying to attract high value dental patients. The solutions that may work well to attract new emergency patients, may not work at all when targeting cosmetic or other types of high value patients such as those looking for dental implant solutions. If you’re seeking to treat more of these patients, it is important to design a marketing strategy with that goal in mind from the beginning.
What are high value dental patients?
Every dentist knows that not all patients are created equal. Some patients will come in and barely be able to afford the x-rays or initial consult visit, much less the comprehensive treatment that they often need. Other patients; however, are willing to pay top dollar to obtain the smile of their dreams and will likely go with the office that makes them feel the best, not the office that is necessarily the cheapest.
High value patients are generally associated with cosmetic procedures for various reasons. Number one, cosmetic procedures are almost never covered by insurance, and patients are aware of this so from the beginning they come ready to pay cash. In order for a practice to grow profitably and sustainably, it is imperative that management be aware of what the average production and revenue per patient is, and what the average cost to acquire a patient is. More sophisticated practices will break these numbers down further by cohort. This analysis will allow you to determine that if Implant patients are generating your practice an average of $5k in revenue, then you can easily spend $500 to acquire a new implant patient for a 10x return on adspend.
What do high value dental patients care about?
The first question to answer when thinking about how to attract high value dental patients is to evaluate and determine what are the factors that these patients actually value and care about when choosing a dental practice. In almost all cases, they will place a high value on:
- Warm, caring staff that provides a pleasant experience from first contact
- Related to the first point, a practice that exhibits professionalism in all aspects. Having a professional looking dental website is one of the most important factors as this will often be the first point of contact for new patients.
- General upscale feeling of the practice. This can include the decor, the quality of the equipment used, but can go as far as how the staff dresses and how they carry themselves.
- Expect these patients to have a long sales cycle – you may see a patient for a free consultation, but they may not convert until many months later.
What marketing strategies work to attract high value patients?
When focusing on high value patients, our recommendation is to focus on building a solid foundation of SEO that can provide a steady flow of organic leads for your practice. Once you have your numbers and your conversion process dialed in, then you can expand using PPC, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads to bring more leads into your funnel. The reason we don’t recommend starting PPC advertising until you have your numbers in check is because it can quickly turn unprofitable if not done correctly. These campaigns are very competitive as many practices are willing to pay top dollar for these leads, which means that only the practices with the best back end economics will be able to make the numbers work for them.
Should I focus my marketing only on attracting high value patients?
Every dental practice owner wants to only attract high value patients, but dentists and office managers should be weary of the details when pursuing this strategy. It is very important to understand that high value DOES NOT equal high income, and you can often have low income patients who turn into large production cases.
After having performed marketing for every single dental trend we have observed since 2008, we can heartily recommend that emergency dental marketing should be a part of any practice’s strategy. One of the big drawbacks of relying heavily on cosmetic dentistry is that this segment of the market is very cyclical and very vulnerable to a reduction in volume and revenue in the event of a recession. Emergencies, on the other hand, are always present and can even be countercyclical and perform better in a recession. We specialize in helping practices get the best of both worlds as we take their emergency dental marketing off their plate so they can still get emergency patients without diluting their brand and they can focus on the cosmetic clientele.
In summary
As with anything in the world of marketing, there is never a one size fits all solution. A well thought out and implemented marketing strategy; however, can go a long way towards attracting more high value patients to your practice and increase the overall profitability of your operation.