There are lots of dentist that think they will be able to run their business with referrals only. Unfortunately in today’s market it’s becoming more and more competitive and harder and harder to survive without a solid marketing strategy that leverages both search and social.
Sydney Dentist Clinic
In this article we are going to go through some of the common mistakes that we see with people starting their dentist business and how you can avoid those issues and run a successful practice. Like anything, it is absolutely crucial that your business start and grow with the right foundations in place to ensure that you have a way to sustain cash flow and grow consistently.
1. Using and maintaining every single social media account out there will help your business grow.
There is nothing that could be further from the truth when considering dental marketing and how to efficiently use your time. Social media and dentist marketing definitely have a place but knowing which ones are going to reach your audience and being able to leverage the networks where you will get the best return is absolutely crucial to ensuring that your dental business is successful.
When considering dentist marketing and social media we like to fall back on the 80/20 rule. Focus your energy on the 20% that will generate 80% of the return, investing your time in the 80% for the 20% return will not only suck your most valuable resources (time) but it will leave you with a sour taste in your mouth.
2. Don’t use search because it’s a thing of the past.
This is a common misconception in many industries and one that should not be taken lightly. Search is the number one way that your potential customers are finding your business and you need a solid strategy in order to maximise that return on investment. This does not mean go an start spending thousands of dollars on a Google Ads account. This means that you need to determine, measure and test a number of strategies until you find something that works for your business.
In the dental market like most the key to remember is multi-touch attribution coupled with a good content strategy. Learn about your target markets customer journey and start to work towards delivering value that makes you an authority in the market. Couple you short and long term lead generation strategies to drive results. Things like regular and high quality content are absolutely essential to your business.
Print media has been around for years… because it works! Don’t ignore print media marketing for your dentist business, it is one of the most effective ways to market your business to the local area. Not only can you geographically target your audience but it is becoming less and less occupied and therefore more and more effective.
Understand your target market and invest in both copywriters and graphics designers to ensure you are getting the best return possible.
4. Automation is scary
Maybe, but it is effective. Learn about the technology and start to take advantage of it. With automation you are able to drive better results for your business. You are able to use automation to do thousands of activities such as schedule appointments automatically which ensure that you are maximising the CLV (customer lifetime value).
Using automation frees you up to do things that are called HPA’s (high payoff activities) instead of having your time sucked away with LPA’s (low payoff activities). Once you manage this you are positioning yourself to be in the best position to work on your business rather than in your business.
Automation can enable your business to run like a machine with task, leads, and processes all operating without the human error component. It enables your business to not only scale but it removes all the boring stuff that nobody really wants to do.
5. Ignoring content marketing
We already touched on this point but we really need to stress it as content marketing is one of the most crucial aspects of marketing in today’s society. Did you know that content marketing cost 60% less than other forms of marketing? Can you really afford to waste 60% of your budget on inefficient marketing strategies?
Content marketing bridges the gap in the buying cycle between the awareness, consideration, and purchase. When done correctly and coupled with other strategies content marketing can be a powerhouse for both lead generation and brand loyalty.
Learn about the content your target market wants to read about and leverage using a solid content strategy. Content marketing will not only generate leads but it will drive up those buying keywords in the search engines which can provide a sustainable and long term viable pipeline of leads for your business to run with for years to come.
6. Not having enough fun
Marketing your dentist practice may seem really serious but the thing is everyone is being serious and doing the same things. NEWS FLASH you’re not everyone and nor should you want to be! Have some fun with your marketing. Use catchy slogans and funny pictures, give you brand a personality and people will remember it. There is some science to running a business and marketing a dental clinic but there is also tonnes of way that you can shake it up and stand out from the crowd.
Don’t try to copy your competitors because they are all more than likely copying each other. Use original and different strategies to stand out in an ever crowded market place.
If you found this information helpful and want to have a chat about your dentist marketing be sure to check out this page!