Whether you are a recent dental school graduate or a seasoned dentist who has relocated, you now face the challenge of attracting patients to your new dental practice. How can you stand out among the local competition and develop a steady client base?
Patients4you, experts in dental website design and digital marketing for dentists, suggest dental marketing ideas that will keep your appointment schedule full.
Offer Patient Referral Bonuses
If you already have some existing patients happy with your services, you can encourage them to refer others to your clinic by offering a referral bonus program.
Most referral bonus programs work like this: your existing patient recommends your clinic to a friend. The new patient schedules an appointment and mentions their referrer. Then, the referrer gets a reward, such as a discount on their next treatment or complimentary teeth whitening.
Referral programs have a double benefit: they help you reach new patients organically and strengthen your existing patients’ loyalty. In time, such a program can snowball and become all the marketing you need.
Use Your Competitors For Ideas
When you set up a new dental clinic, you will almost always need to compete against existing dental practices in your area. Study your local competitors, see what dental marketing ideas work for them, and try to do even better.
For example, if your competitor offers composite dental fillings for $99, try pricing them a little lower. Or offer a new patient bonus, such as complimentary dental cleaning.
Make your dental service stand out in ways other than low pricing. Patients often find it challenging to fit dental treatment into a busy day. You can gain points if you are willing to accommodate your patients’ schedules with evening, early morning, or weekend appointments.
Cultivate Your Online Presence
Often, people visit a dental clinic’s website looking for information on a product or service long before they’re ready to schedule an appointment. They may need an answer to a specific question, such as “Who is a good candidate for Invisalign treatment?”
Regularly publishing readable, relevant, and informative content will help you establish yourself as a local dental authority. In addition, blog posts, a YouTube channel, and social media activity are all extremely useful for connecting with potential clients.
Email marketing emerges as another promotion channel you want to explore. Encourage your patients to sign up for a newsletter with updates about discounted dental packages, new service announcements, or oral care tips. Make sure your newsletter offers genuine value and doesn’t flood patients’ emails with annoying hard-salesy messages.
Pay Attention to Your Reviews
What are your patients saying about your dental service? Potential new clients will likely browse your clinic’s Google reviews before they schedule an appointment. A new practice can sustain untold damage from a review that says, “Terrible, unprofessional service! I will never visit this clinic again.”
Any dental clinic can encounter a disgruntled patient now and then. You need to answer every review in a polite, professional way and use it as an opportunity to improve your service.
A negative review now and then won’t harm your reputation if you also amass positive online testimonies by satisfied clients. Encourage your patients to review your clinic at the end of each appointment and thank your reviewers personally.
Invest in Emergency Dental Marketing
Emergency cases provide a fantastic opportunity to gain new patients for your dental practice. In dental emergencies, people are often in much pain and will likely choose whatever dental clinic that can schedule an appointment earliest.
Consider these emergency dental marketing strategies for building a trusting relationship with your patients:
· Be kind, compassionate, and reassuring during emergency calls and appointments
· Schedule a same-day appointment whenever possible
· Do all you can to help the patient reduce pain and stress before and during the appointment
In many cases, emergency patients have long-neglected dental issues which you may help them address. If you follow up with a patient after emergency treatment and suggest a comprehensive oral health plan on convenient terms, you will likely gain a loyal client.
Patients4you: Dental Service & Dental Emergency Marketing Leaders
For 13 years, Patients4you has been helping dentists grow their practices. Want to drive new patients to your clinic? Enhance your service funnel with an attractive, easy-to-use website, SEO strategies that help your site rank in Google search results, and Facebook ads that capture the right target audience.
Learn more about our dental emergency marketing and other digital dental marketing strategies for new dental practices by calling 1-888-371-4184 or requesting a demo today.