In these challenging economic times, dental practitioners have to work smarter, not harder, to weather the storm. But the good news is that with a number of simple strategies, you can market your business and bolster the success of your practice in the face of the current downturn. According to Jeff Francis, marketing director at Practice Café, dental practitioners can follow a few essential practices that will serve you well.

When it comes to designing an effective advertising and marketing campaign that attracts new patients and keeps existing patients coming back, getting the marketing message across is an essential step toward ensuring success. When Richard Chwalek designed Connective Communication, a unique marketing approach offered by Niche Dental, that type of clear communication strategy was his end goal.

According to an old proverb, “Experience is the best teacher,” and when dental marketing expert Jerry Jones began his dental marketing career, he took that advice to heart. Jones, who runs the dental marketing agency Jerry Jones Direct from its headquarters in Salem, Oregon, decided he wanted to make sure his company’s marketing efforts would be designed to meet the needs of real-life dentists. And what better way to understand those needs than to open and manage a dental practice, to see and experience firsthand the tools a practice needs to keep it ahead of the pack?

To build a flourishing dental practice, it’s necessary to develop a consistent, forward looking, and well-defined communication strategy. These seven tips will help you market your dental practice:

Nancy Lashley is founder and president of Athena Marketing, Inc., a firm that specializes in marketing and branding for dental practices nationwide. She is also an author and lecturer on dental marketing and has created several dental marketing products to help practitioners realize their vision of a successful practice. Nancy served as advisor to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry’s public relations committee from 2004-2007 and continues to help the academy promote itself to the dental community and consumers alike.

Mark Curtis learned to love marketing at an early age. When he was 13, the precocious teenager began designing marketing materials for his father’s store, discovering a passion that, as an adult, he parlayed into a thriving and successful business called, aptly, the Curtis Group.

After spending several years as a medical marketing specialist at another company, Curtis founded his own company in 1992 in response to evolving challenges in the marketplace. Since that date, the Curtis Group has helped hundreds of dental professionals build practices that incorporate the latest, most innovative technologies.

When Roger Levin graduated from the University of Maryland College of Dentistry in 1982, he had no idea what career changes lay in store for him. Like any new DDS, Levin imagined his life as a full-time practicing dentist. But once he was firmly established in his family’s practice, he soon developed a new passion, and one that would change the professional lives of hundreds of dentists: practice management and marketing.

As the founder of the Lanmark Group, the first full-service advertising agency dedicated to the needs of dental professionals, Joe Lancelotti has watched the evolution of dental marketing from its nascent stages in the 1970s to the advent of the worldwide web. Today as the owner of Camelot Marketing Services and DoctorsMarketing.com, Lancelotti uses techniques he and his team have developed over decades of experience to fulfill the marketing needs of dental professionals across the country.

What are the most important things to consider when implementing an on-hold message? We asked leading experts for their take on why an on-hold message is important, and for a few best practices that can make the most of your message.

As everyone knows, recent economic conditions have made it more difficult for small businesses to remain profitable. Dental specialists have not been immune from the challenge. What can practitioners do to remain successful in the face of these financial tough times?