Dentist Marketing is big business. The American Dental Association provides lots of information about different aspects of marketing including branding, internal marketing, website development, referral generating techniques and advertising. You’re probably already using some of these techniques. But there’s a mistake that most practices in Connecticut make. Are you making it too?
Dentist marketing isn’t just about new patients
According to US News 65.5% of US adults saw a dentist in the past 12 months. So your goal should be to find new patients who need a dentist, right? Wrong. While helping more adults get the dental care they need is admirable, the most efficient way to grow your Connecticut dental practices is by focusing on your existing patients, and by helping them more completely.
Attracting new patients is expensive
In fact, acquiring a new patient can cost five time more than simply retaining an existing customer. Increasing patient retention by just 5% can increase profits by 25-95%. (Outboundengine.com). According to Dentistry Today most dental practices spend their marketing dollars on
- Chatbots
- Map Ads
- Shoppable Posts
- Yelp
- Online Bookings
…all in an effort attract new patients. When you do you’re competing with every other dentist in town, and probably offering discounted “initial visits” to book a first visit.
Retaining patients and helping them better
There are simple ways to retain and help patients better, such as
- Remind them to schedule their next visit
- Offer great customer service
- Promote Your Brand and what makes you their best choice
- Offer helpful oral health tips
- Educate them about how you can help them best.
A different marketing tool
Pay Per Click ads and Online reviews are great, but your current patients (hopefully) aren’t looking for you there. So what’s the marketing tool that reaches your existing patients, and increases consults and loyalty?
Informer messages on hold are marketing messages that are written to appeal to your current patients. They reinforce your brand, educate your patients about more of the ways that you can help them, and can even provide helpful tips.
Informer Messages give your telephone callers…your patients…information in the time they spend waiting ‘on hold.’ Busy dental offices ask about 69% of their telephone callers to “please hold.” (AT&T Research). Most callers wait on hold listening to “Dentist music” but you have a better choice: let them hear information that they want, and that you want them to have.
Interested? Click here to hear samples of our actual clients’ Informer Messages, and think about what you’d like your callers to hear. You can ask about how Informer Messages can work for you by emailing us, or by calling a Connecticut Dental Marketing Messages Specialist at (203) 655-3920, or Nationwide at (800) 862-8896.
