At Marketing for Dental Specialists, we offer hundreds of tips to grow your practice. To make the most of your marketing plan, ask yourself these three questions before you get started:

Relationship-based marketing is more than just a way of generating new patients. As the name implies, this technique is based on serving the needs of existing patients through excellent service and attention to detail. Sound like work? It is, but the payoff can be significant over time.

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.

Your dental marketing game plan is your four-point strategy for growing your practice over the next year. Use these guidelines to make a winning strategy for your dental practice.

How do prospective patients, current patients and members of the general public perceive your dental practice? You may think that you know the answers, but in reality, the truth may startle you. Building and maintaining a successful practice requires that you take a good, honest look at the image your practice is projecting to the marketplace, and that you make periodic adjustments to enhance that image.

According to WPI Communications’ Dental Marketing Barometer Survey 91% of dental specialists report that having a marketing plan or program is “very important” or “somewhat important.” That’s not surprising. A solid and actionable marketing plan is an essential blueprint for successful execution.

The plan contains all of your marketing activities, usually for a 12-month period. By doing some research and understanding what marketing methods will work best for your target audience, you’ll confidently and accurately make decisions to grow your practice. And you’ll be spending your marketing dollars most efficiently.

Today’s websites make blogging easier than ever. But before you venture into the blogosphere to promote your dental practice, here are a few tips you can use to ensure your blog becomes a true practice-building tool.

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?

Your dental practice’s name serves as the foundation for your personal brand. But all too often, dental specialists devote minimal effort to ensuring that they’ve selected the right name for attracting and retaining patients. It’s important to invest the proper time and resources to getting this aspect of your business right.

A satisfied dental patient is likely to speak highly of you, follow-through on treatment plans, be less litigious and, most importantly, refer others to your dental practice. With that in mind, here are seven steps to ensure that your patients are satisfied.