What is Marketing and How Can it Help your Dental Practice?

When most dentists graduate from dental school, they have the technical skills necessary to practice dentistry but not the know-how to build a thriving dental practice. To do so, they need to understand marketing and how to market their practice.

When most people think of marketing their business, they think of placing advertising in newspapers, or commercials on TV or radio. While advertising can certainly play an important role in building a business, it is not synonymous with marketing. Advertising is a part of marketing. Simply put, marketing is a series of activities executed to generate business growth and revenue. In essence, marketing is a blue print developed to continually take a business to higher levels of profitability.

Of course, there are books and educational programs devoted to marketing. But let’s summarize basic concepts of marketing.

Establish business goals

In any business venture, setting goals is the most basic step. The goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, and timed. Establishing goals allows you to move forward because it creates a benchmark to measure your progress. A marketing strategy bridges that gap between your goals and the realization of your goals.

Dentistry is not only a medical profession but also a business. Your practice cannot thrive without a strong focus on both the clinical and business aspects. With an effective marketing strategy you can establish a dental practice that returns maximum profit without sacrificing quality dental care. A successful practice cannot stand still. In order to compete and survive it needs to grow.

Business growth is measured by profit; you need to analyze if the profits provided a reasonable return on investment (ROI). The profit returned, should not be less than, or equal to, the amount you invested. ROI analysis is critical to the effectiveness of any marketing strategy.

Develop a marketing strategy

Marketing guru, Mark Stevens, formulated an equation that applies to every business: (Capture) + (Amplify) + (Maintain) = (Perpetual Growth).

Capture. A successful dental practice relies on a steady stream of new patients. Attract potential dental patients by utilizing marketing tools, such as referrals, newsletters, brochures, and dental blogs.

Amplify.  Once a prospect becomes a patient, you need to foster that dentist-patient relationship. Quality patient care is a vital part of marketing your practice. Satisfied patients are valuable resources for new referrals. Do not devaluate the loyalty of established patients. It is important you provide loyal patients the same level of attention, courtesy, and care that you provided in the beginning.

Maintain. Relationships are maintained through consistent communication. Contact your dental patients periodically to keep them apprise of any staff changes, certifications, new dental procedures, or any other relevant information. Effective communication tools include email, newsletters, etc. Maintaining relationships not only increase patient loyalty, it also indicates quality care.

Perpetual Growth. These three principles – capture, amplify, and maintain – are not exclusive, they work together. It is not enough to simply place an ad in the yellow pages and wait for patients to schedule an appointment. If you develop your marketing strategy around these three principles, your dental practice will enjoy perpetual growth.

Track your results and modify strategies

Monitor the results of your dental marketing campaign so you do not squander time and money. There are several software applications designed to track the efficacy of specific marketing tools (websites, email, yellow pages ads, direct mailing, etc.). You can also survey your dental patients and solicit their feedback regarding your marketing efforts. Evaluate the data, and if necessary, modify your strategy.

Although consistency is important in promoting brand recognition, you need to make adjustments if your dental marketing plan is not attracting a steady stream of patients. In order to attain an effective strategy, use a benchmark and keep testing against it. For example, you could change your marketing tool and if that doesn’t return a positive result, you could change your target audience. It is not an exact science. Remember, marketing deals with human behavior so likes and dislikes will shift over time.

Assess your progress at regular intervals and have the flexibility to make necessary changes.

Marketing is a daily endeavor

You are the best advertisement for your dental practice. The level of commitment you expend promoting your practice can determine success or failure. Many healthcare professionals have an idealistic belief that their medical skills will drive business growth. However, the reason most practices fail is because they did not place enough emphasis on marketing – they fail to maintain a level of awareness. The growth of your practice correlates directly with how consistently you execute your marketing campaign. It cannot be a one-day occurrence or a weekly occurrence. You need to market yourself every single day.

It is not enough to be a brilliant clinical dentist – you also need to think of yourself as a marketer.

Marketing during an economic downturn

It might seem counterintuitive to increase your marketing efforts during an economic downturn. However, this is exactly the course of action to take when the future is so uncertain.

You need to think forward and safeguard yourself from economic difficulty. By ensuring your patient base remains strong, your dental practice will remain viable. Marketing will allow you to maintain visibility and keep you at the forefront of patients’ consciousness.

While your colleagues tighten their budget and scale back on their marketing campaign, you can take advantage of this opportunity to increase your profit margin.

Conclusion

In any business, marketing is the catalyst for growth and revenue. Setting goals establishes an outcome – a benchmark to measure your progress and success. Your marketing strategy is developed with the purpose of attaining your goals. It is necessary to frequently track the results of your campaign and make changes if necessary. Consistency is the key to a successful marketing campaign – the goal is to remain foremost in the public’s consciousness. You must remain focus at all times, especially during an economic downturn.