Brand identity
Firstly, a strong brand identity is very important when marketing your dental practice. However, before you can create your brand, it helps to consider your company or product as a person. Ask yourself: How would they look? How would they speak? What would they say?
Marketing
When it comes to marketing, always bear in mind that you have a product and service to sell, and there are people who want to buy it. The hard part is connecting the two. When I meet clients I always try to answer: why, who and what.
Why are you doing what you are doing? This will reveal what my client is trying to accomplish and hoping to achieve.
Who is going to get this message? Who is your audience? Who is listening?
What is your message? What is the best way of getting it across? A marketing message is only effective if it gets to the intended recipient. Marketing shouldn’t be random; it should have a purpose and the results must be measured.
Website
Have you taken the time to consider what your online personality is like? Remember your home page is your shop window, so ensure your website is a direct representation of your brand. New patients will judge how you look online.
Advertising
Take a look at your current advertising and ask yourself, what is the message?
Is it unique and powerful, or is it just providing the practice address and telephone number? An amazing practice has a very focused message that is different from the rest. This message should get delivered to the right people and consequently turn prospective patients into fully-fledged, new patients.
It helps to drip-feed your advertisements over 12-24 months. This keeps reminding people of your brand, your message and your services, and ensures a consistent presence.
Internal marketing
Internal marketing is focused on delivering your message to existing patients using your database. As well as a successful educational tool, internal marketing can be used to send regular newsletters, promote special offers, birthday cards, and so on. If executed correctly, internal marketing can encourage patients to visit the practice more often.
Competition amongst dental practices is fierce so now is the perfect time to get involved in practice marketing. Not only can marketing your practice ensure a consistent practice presence but it can also help your practice stand out from the competition.