Successful business owners know that a marketing plan is of utmost importance—in good times and in bad. Without a marketing plan, you may find your dental practice is lost, adrift, waiting for a stiff wind to take it somewhere. While many dental specialists work hard to build their clinical skills, they often fail to develop effective marketing skills. As a result, many practitioners have no marketing plan in place. Isn’t it time that you formulated an approach to market your practice to new dental patients? Here are some integral parts of an effective plan:

In the dental marketing world, a referrals-based practice is the “gold standard” most practices hope to attain, but which only a select few will reach. Why? Because a practice that is able to grow and thrive based only on referrals takes years of hard work and dedication, and a willingness to first develop—and then maintain—a series of marketing practices that encourages other people to bring in all of your new patients for you. Sound like hard work? It is. But the rewards are well worth the effort.

Establishing a profitable practice is the goal of most dental specialists. But for busy practitioners the question quickly becomes: How can you effectively build the profitability of your business while meeting the clinical demands of your practice? Here are seven key drivers to consider that will help you accomplish that goal and keep your practice profitable even in this down economy.

Want to expand your dental patient base and spread the word about your practice? Don’t have thousands of dollars to spend? Here are five high-impact, inexpensive marketing tools you can use.

Not only can public relations measurably impact business at your dental practice, it can help you build a powerful, recognizable brand. Public relations provides a reliable mechanism for communicating your brand value and positively shaping how your practice is perceived. If influencing patients and prospective patients with a strong brand identity and driving revenue are important to you, public relations will help.

How often are you watching the local nightly news and see a story that could easily pertain to your dental practice area? With a little bit of work and persistence you can be the expert your local news turns to for commentary on dental stories. These tips will help you interact with local reporters so that you can position yourself as the local dental expert.

Public Relations savvy practitioners can get an edge on the competition

Building relationships with the media in your region can turn you into a local “media darling.” As a public relations savvy dental practitioner, there are certain techniques to get you the media attention you desire. By effectively working with journalists and the media you can bolster the profile and success of your dental practice.

Is marketing your dental practice important to you, but you just can’t ever seem to find the time to make it happen? With the new year quickly approaching now is a great time to incorporate a dental marketing strategy into your practice. It’s easy to get overwhelmed but by trying something new once every two weeks your dental practice marketing strategy will be in place in no time. Below is a list of “little” things you can try to improve your dental practice’s marketing efforts

Advertising is an essential element of any comprehensive marketing strategy. Most dental practices rely heavily on paid advertising to disseminate information about their business or services. But while many ad campaigns are highly effective, in most cases there’s no comparison to the type of effect a well-crafted news article can have on establishing a professional practice’s local reputation.

One of the best ways to spread the word about your dental practice is to get your name in the news. These simple tips will help you get your foot in the door with local media and position you as the leading expert in your field, so when reporters are looking for an expert in your field they will look to you first.