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Dental Marketing

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The Secret to Attracting More Baby Boomers to Your Dental Practice

by Naomi Cooper September 21, 2015

What's your online marketing strategy?Did you know that the fastest growing demographic on social media is adults ages 55-64? While you might believe that online marketing is just for the younger population, it turns out that online tactics can be an effective method for attracting patients at or near retirement.

The first step to using social media for reaching the baby boomer population is to determine what site(s) you wish to use. Facebook is an obvious place to start, with more than half of all online adults 65 and older using the social networking site, representing almost 1/3 of all seniors.

Next, keep your profile updated with interesting content and informative posts that cater to the baby boomer population. You could write a blog with tips on preserving their smile, or post an article from an industry expert on the oral-systemic link. And it doesn’t have to be all about dentistry. Including non-industry content will help keep patients engaged while providing a well-rounded social media profile.

For more additional tips on how to use social media to reach patients of all ages, check out my recent Dental Products Report article.

Even if traditional tactics like telephone book ads are still apart of your Baby Boomer marketing plan, don’t be short sighted. After all, as the population ages, your strategy will eventually need to shift online. Getting started now will keep you ahead of the game in the coming years.

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Top 25 Women in Dentistry 2015

by Naomi Cooper July 23, 2015

Top 25 Women in Dentistry 2015

When I first started working in the dental industry in December 2000, cellphones were more a luxury than a necessity and social media was barely on the horizon. Back then, I couldn’t have dreamed where my career would take me. Yet after working with dentists and dental companies for the past 15 years, I can’t imagine working in any other industry. The relationships I have formed have left indelible marks on my life, and I can truly say that I enjoy the opportunity I have each day to get up and work with my friends, mentors and colleagues in this unique field.

For these reasons I feel incredibly honored to have been included as one of Dental Products Report‘s Top 25 Women in Dentistry for 2015. The women nominated in this year’s field are all making a positive impact across the industry as a whole, and I feel humbled and fortunate to be a part of it. Check out the complete list  and stay tuned for Dental Products Report‘s October issue featuring a profile of each winner. The future for women in this industry is crystal clear and I’m so grateful to be a part of it.

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The Secret to Finding Your Ideal Patients

by Naomi Cooper June 10, 2015

The Secret to Finding Your Ideal PatientsThere’s a pervasive myth permeating dentistry today – the myth of the ideal patient. Every doctor is looking for what I like to call “unicorn patients”: patients with money burning holes in their pockets, ready to spend it on dentistry, but for some reason who just haven’t found the right doctor yet. The problem with this concept is patients with large budgets who value dentistry most likely already have a trusted dentist. Not only is the ideal patient myth unrealistic, it’s not doing you any favors to wait around for these unicorns. It’s an unrealistic ideal and it causes you to overlook an untapped resource – your current patients!

In fact, your ideal patients actually do exist – and they’re already in your practice. All you have to do is take the time to mold them into becoming model patients. Here are a few tips:

  • Improve communication: Asking one simple question can help open the doctor-patient lines of communication: “If there was one thing you could change about your smile, what would it be?” It’s a great conversation starter that helps reveal your patients’ motivations which then allows you to better tailor your treatment recommendations to their ultimate goals.
  • Establish trust: As Dr. Paul Homoly explains, patients will accept treatment when they’re ready. Understand that a “no” often means “not right now”.  It’s the job of the dentist and staff to explain to patients what treatment they need and why, and to continually reinforce that message every time they are in the practice so that when patients are ready to proceed, they’ll know who to turn to.
  • Make dentistry affordable: Offer various payment options in order to make care as affordable as possible to as many patients as possible. Financing solutions like Comprehensive Finance help more patients say yes to treatment they need but may not necessarily have the means to pay out of pocket for. In-house savings plan companies like Quality Dental Plan help make patients feel like they are welcome in the practice even if they don’t have insurance.

Your patients demonstrate their trust in you by keeping their routine appointments. They exhibit their loyalty every time they refer others to the practice. The concept of the perfect patient may not be realistic, but making the most of existing opportunities will help turn your existing base into your own collection of ideal patients.

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6 Steps to Dental Marketing Success

by Naomi Cooper May 15, 2015

dental marketing strategyAs the old adage goes, “Failing to plan is planning to fail,” and no truer words have ever been spoken…at least when it comes to dental marketing. Marketing can be fun (patient appreciation activities). It’s trendy (social media engagement). And it’s certainly enticing (“Don’t miss out!”). But it can also be frustrating, time consuming and costly, especially if you don’t have a plan in place. 

Instead of having a scattershot approach to dental marketing, it can pay off big time to take the time to put a plan in place. Here are 5 steps to get you headed towards marketing success:

  1. Plan for the long term: When developing a strategy, keep in mind that it should be regularly monitored and needs to have the ability to change depending on factors like time of year, the economy, and your budget.
  2. Brand yourself: Work with a professional logo designer to develop a branding strategy that will be used throughout out all marketing materials, online and in print. 
  3. Build/update your website: A great website serves as the foundation for the marketing plan, so it’s an incredibly important component. Hire a skilled web designer with experience in the dental field to create a site that attracts new patients and meets the needs of your existing base. 
  4. Train the front desk: The team answering the phones plays a crucial role in the marketing plan. They need to have the communication skills to not only convert new patient calls into appointments, but to also extract the important information from every caller in order to track the results of the marketing efforts.
  5. Create buzz online and off: Social media is a hot buzzword today, and it’s not just for fun. The reason it’s so popular is because it’s grounded in something we all know – good old-fashioned word of mouth marketing. Word of mouth remains a powerful driver of new patient flow. Encourage your existing patients to become brand ambassadors for your practice and ask them to share their positive experiences online at social networking sites like Facebook and consumer review sites such as Yelp, Google My Business and Healthgrades.
  6. Just say no!: It’s easy to overspend on marketing when there isn’t a plan in place. Believe it or not, it’s not uncommon for a dental practice to receive 20-30 sales calls a week from people selling various marketing packages. Stop the kneejerk reactions and wasteful spending. With a proper marketing plan in place, you can regain control of your practice promotions and feel confident that your hard-earned marketing dollars are being well spent.
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Dental Marketing: The Era of Social Proof and Social Search

by Naomi Cooper April 1, 2015

Dental Marketing: The Era of Social Proof and Social SearchDid you know that 61% of patients turn to online review sites before they select a doctor? This stunning statistic reinforces the need for dentists to stay on top of the practice’s online reputation today.

Accumulating positive information about the practice not only on the practice website but also on a variety of third-party websites across the Internet helps create an encouraging first impression when patients look to vet the practice online. This can include favorable online reviews and positive comments on social media profiles.

Social Proof

While having patient testimonials directly on the dental practice website is a good first step, collecting positive reviews on external sites such as Yelp, Healthgrades and AngiesList that come up in a Google search of the practice’s name can offer another layer of credibility and authenticity in the minds of prospective patients. This is why positive online reviews and commendts on third-party websites are sometimes referred to as “social proof”.

Social Search

In 2014 we saw a rise in the influence of social search. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest refined the search functionality within their sites, making it easy for users to search these sites as they would Google or Bing. The big difference between these social searches and the general online searches is that a patient can now see (for example) which dentist each of their friends go to or if there are any dentists their circle of friends specifically recommend – making social searches all the more valuable.

So how can dentists use social proof and social search to their marketing advantage? Encourage patients to share their positive experiences on consumer review sites. Remind patients to check in to the practice on Facebook whenever they come in for an appointment.

To learn more about online marketing strategies, click here to read my recent Inside Dentistry article – Social Media Strategies: What Dentists Need to Know

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Facebook for Dentists – What’s the Point? 

by Naomi Cooper March 18, 2015

Facebook for Dentists – What’s the Point? Likes. Shares. Blogs. Have these terms become more familiar around your dental practice? Social media is a great tool for patient outreach, but it’s even better for ongoing communication with your existing patient base.

To really see the full benefits of social media, we need to go beyond just posting content to our own pages. The true purpose of social media is engagement. Sites like Facebook allow us to create our own online communities and help us to stay connected more easily with patients and colleagues.

Here are some tips for increasing your Facebook engagement:

  • Encourage patients to check in to your practice on Facebook and/or share your posts
  • Post videos and photos to your practice’s business page on Facebook
  • Hold contests asking for input from your audience
  • Last but certainly not least – reciprocate! Like patients’ posts, share their content, and reply to their comments.

The point is to talk with your community, not at them. Social media should be a two-way conversation. With a focus on engagement, you can feel confident that social media can help you strengthen your patient relationships – both online and offline.