Last updated on September 23rd, 2020 at 10:34 am
Marketing for dentists can be expensive. The better it is, the higher the return on investment. What about the other side of the coin? You know, marketing mistakes leading to financial loss. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of what we’ve found to be the seven biggest or more costly mistakes dentists make when marketing. Have you been guilty of one or more of these?
1. NO MARKET RESEARCH OR SURVEYS:
Spending money without a survey of your target market can result in a dental marketing campaign that is a big waste of time and funds. It’s an expensive way to “learn a lesson” that you could have learned for free just by surveying.
2. IGNORING DEMOGRAPHICS:
Not using demographics (things like income level, family size, location, etc.) means you might not be reaching prospective new patients who are actually candidates for your services. For example: marketing crown and bridge work to college-age kids.
3. FRONT DESK ISSUES:
The best dental marketing campaign in the world can’t overcome poor phone skills. First impressions last forever. A good marketing campaign will get you phone calls, but an inability to convert those calls into new patients will make the best marketing plan look like it isn’t working.
4. NON-EXISTENT INTERNAL MARKETING:
We all love patient referrals, yet few doctors are proactive when it comes to getting them. In most cases they don’t know how.
(Related: The Latest Trends in Dental Marketing)
5. SIMPLE INTERNET MARKETING MISTAKES:
These can be as simple as not having a basic Google page for your office, inaccurate/incomplete information about your practice on various sites, and lack of positive reviews on Google, Yelp, Dr-oogle, and so on.
6. MAJOR LACK OF WEB PRESENCE:
No website, poor or non-existent Search Engine Optimization, or a website that isn’t geared towards converting interested prospective patients into NEW PATIENTS.
7. IGNORING YOUR EXISTING PATIENT BASE:
Marketing only to prospective new patients with no marketing to your existing patient base can cost you dearly. Patients of record are where your referrals come from, and, chances are, many of these patients still have outstanding treatment. Marketing to them is also much easier than marketing to prospective new patients. Do this right and you’ll not only see more referrals, but a more active patient base and busy hygiene schedule.
There’s Hope!
On the bright side, it’s not hard to fix one or more marketing mistakes. And generally speaking, if you straighten things out, you can see a positive change anywhere from overnight (if you’re problem was a front desk issue) or in just a few weeks depending with other issues depending on how quickly you act.
To avoid these mistakes (and others) and maximize your marketing dollar. Do the MGE New Patient Workshop and turn your dental practice into a NEW PATIENT MACHINE!
