You may think dental marketing is naturally difficult because you’re talking about such a niche industry. However, that’s precisely the ace you have in the hole that is going to carry you across the finish line. If you truly want to take your dental marketing efforts to the next level, there are just a few simple things to keep in mind.
Better Dental Marketing For a Better Business
If you want to use your dental marketing efforts to create a steady stream of new patients coming right to your door, the first thing you have to do involves going after the right target audience in the first place. Generally speaking, as a dental practice you’ll likely have the most long-term success by going after A) women, who are also B) a part of a larger household. It’s been shown over time that women tend to make the vast majority of all dental-related purchasing decisions for a family. Therefore, if you craft collateral like direct mail postcards that is particularly compelling to these women in particular, you don’t have to also spend time targeting the husbands and the kids – the wives will take care of that for you.
Dentists offices should also be using targeted mailing lists to take full advantage of the unique opportunities that seasonal marketing affords you. Once you’ve separated your lists down into segments like those outlined above, think about periods on the calendar where someone’s lifestyle might intersect with the services you offer.
Case in point: New Year’s. Every year, countless people all over the country make New Year’s Resolutions that involve taking a more active role in their own health. Most people immediately think this means “I’d better go out and buy a gym membership.” But after getting one of your carefully designed plastic postcard mailers, however, they’ll be more than willing to add “I should make an appointment to see a dentist” to that list, too. Not only that, but you could even institute a referral plan so that these new patients can save a little money with every additional person they refer to your practice! New Year’s is also a season when people will begin utilizing their new health insurance benefits that go into effect on the first of the year – something else you can capitalize on as well.
By thinking about things in these terms and by being proactive about your outreach efforts, you’ll be able to strike precisely the chord you need with your target audience when you need it the most.
To find out more about marketing opportunities as a dental office, or to get answers to any other important questions you might have, please don’t delay – contact us today.