Marketing is essential for dental clinics. It helps potential clients know where to book their next dental appointments and learn more about your business. According to a dental website design company, Dental Marketing Guy, even dentists with several years of professional experience may not successfully run their dental clinics without highlighting their experiences through marketing. Besides attracting new patients, marketing helps you gain patients’ loyalties and retain them as regular clients. There are various strategies for marketing dental clinics, but you must choose what works best for your business. Here are some practical tips for marketing a dental clinic:
Create a Marketing Budget
Creating a realistic marketing budget can help you grow your business and predict the success of your dental practice. The best way to draw a marketing budget is to consider the budget based on your gross revenue. Allocating a percentage of the business’s gross revenue helps you work with actual figures to ensure the sustainability of the budget. If the clinic is not yet operational, you can create a practicable marketing budget by assessing your revenue monthly or quarterly after opening. As the business grows, you can increase your budget.
When drawing the budget, consider your target market, competitors offering the same services, and how much marketing they do. This lets you know how much to invest in marketing. You can rate your competition on a 1 to 5 scale. If the competition is up to 3, consider using a 25% marketing budget from your gross revenue.
To maximize your investment in marketing, start with your immediate surroundings. You can leverage mailing list companies to determine the number of people in your vicinity. That way, you’ll know how much to spend on postcard campaigns and other publicity materials when announcing that you’re open for business.
Use Google My Business
Google My Business is a free digital tool that can help potential patients discover your dental clinic quickly. When people search for dental clinics on Google, yours can appear on the list. This boosts credibility in your business and increases the likelihood of searchers visiting your clinic. It also increases your website traffic, allows you to interact with clients who leave reviews, and gives you an edge over competitors.
To start, create a Google My Business profile and manage your account. It is vital to provide your address, website link (directing searchers to your appointment page), phone number, and operation hours. Also, upload pictures of your business premises and include other details to get searchers interested in your clinic. In addition, check your profile regularly, update business details, and promptly respond to customer reviews.
Don’t Forget Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising can keep dental clinics in the minds of potential clients. You can engage users on social media platforms (like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram) by creating and sharing content. As a dental clinic, the type of content you publish on social media is critical. Apart from educational content, you can include posts that encourage conversation and prompt people to like or share with their contacts.
Dental clinics can also optimize social media by posting live videos and encouraging patients to share testimonials on their pages, tag the business page, and leave reviews. That way, they gain the trust of people who know their patients directly. Also, reposting social media adverts makes promotional campaigns more effective.
Consider Working With Influencers
Dental influencer marketing involves promoting dental practices through influential people because of their large followership base. Dental clinics can gain new patients when influencers promote them. This marketing strategy is effective because it leverages the influencers’ established credibility with their audience. You can reach an extensive network easily and create brand loyalty with potential patients faster.
When choosing an influencer, ensure they influence the type of audience you want to attract and retain as patients. You can research influencers in your community like local athletes, bloggers, business leaders, or entertainers. After making a list of potential influencers, reach out with an offer. Sometimes, influencers promote businesses free of charge. In other cases, they require monetary compensation. It’s best to check professional codes and local laws before soliciting such services.
Create an SEO-Optimized Blog
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps websites rank higher when people search for services or products related to a business on search engines like Google and Bing. When dental clinics create SEO-optimized blogs with relevant posts, it increases their visibility, website traffic, authority, and credibility. Ultimately, they can attract potential patients.
To optimize your blog, always add relevant phrases and keywords describing your location (city and state) and the services you offer. Using only generic keywords like dental services or dentist on your website may not optimize your website for local searches. Local optimization is vital because most people prefer local services for health-related matters.