N-o-t-h-i-n-g!

Surprised? The fact is your dental practice is a business like any other business. You have customers (patients), services (cosmetic, advanced restorative, general dentistry), products (whitening kits, professional oral health care). You also have overhead and employees.

So why aren’t you marketing the dental practice like other businesses?

No, you don’t have to do what Home Depot does.  But you need a dental practice marketing strategy that works for your business. One that builds an image that separates you from your competition and generates new patients.

Make no mistake, you are competing with a savvy bunch for the Consumer Mind. That Mind is overwhelmed each day with over 3,000 ad impressions for every kind of business or service or product you can think of. What can you take advantage of in your little corner of the world?

Your treatment rooms and reception area are two great places to start.

Yup. market to the patient sitting in the chair and in your reception area. The perfect “captive audience”. What’s more, that captive audience is more susceptible to your marketing because they have nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of that attention and  reinforce why you are the best dentist in the world while scoring some sales.  What makes you think the person in that chair doesn’t want that kind of reinforcement?  It only makes them feel better about choosing you in the first place!

What can you do?

1. Use treatment room monitors as salespeople.  Run a short but interesting marketing  presentation on different cosmetic services you provide or the latest products you sell. But make sure they are consumer oriented, not technical doctor-ese designed for the practitioner. Remember, you’re competing for the Consumer Mind’s attention, which is short and focused on “What’s in it for me?”

2. Market in your reception area. Another captive audience area. Today’s consumer is more likely to watch a tv monitor than pick up a magazine.  Mount one on the wall where it will be easily seen. Display photos featuring alluring, beautiful results from whitening, veneers, or products that you want to sell. Again, you are reinforcing the patient’s decision to see you in the first place and will make them more comfortable, right from the start.

3. Display attractive educational material with your logo. Anywhere a patient stops and waits – the waiting room, in the chair, paying at the counter for the visit – is a chance to give them something that reinforces your image, your services, YOU. If you don’t have professional brochures, business cards and marketing materials WITH YOUR LOGO available, you lose precious opportunities to market your practice in a meaningful way. And if you have a website or Facebook page, make sure to include them. Providing literature on dental products from your vendors is also important. Give your patients something to take with them, think about, share with others. You will see a return on your investment.

4. On hold messaging. An often overlooked area, being lost in the On Hold Void is tragic from the practice’s view. Here’s the perfect place to suggest services, talk about special promotions, play some commercials you might be running on the radio, refer the listener to your ad in their local paper, whatever information you can give them while waiting on hold. Believe me, they’d rather listen to the latest practice news than empty space. Encourage them to ask about your services when they speak to your staff.

Start marketing yourself the moment the patient walks in the door and never stop throughout their entire visit. If it’s done tastefully, it will not be intrusive and once again, will only reinforce your image and the patient’s reason for being there.

Last, be not afraid to hire a professional consultant to help you determine your needs and to guide you the right way from the start. Marketing the dental practice takes expertise. A good professional dental technology or marketing consultant is worth their weight in gold for what they can save you and what you get for results. And great results, like your patient’s smile, is the bottom line.