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Crafting Your Dental Practice Marketing Budget

by Naomi Cooper December 20, 2012

Crafting Your Dental Practice Marketing BudgetThe beginning of a new year is the optimal time to take stock of your dental practice marketing plan. Finding the time to give your marketing some serious thought and consideration can pay off hugely n the long run. It helps in staying on top of deadlines. Carving out a schedule ahead of time ensures you are promoting your dental practice consistently and efficiently, and does not leave you vulnerable to knee-jerk marketing tactics every time a sales person calls.

However, it is difficult to finish a marketing plan without determining a budget. Setting a marketing budget may seem like a daunting task. Several factors should be weighed when considering how much money should be allocated, and where your money will be best spent.

  • Consider how well known your practice is within your local community. If you have not done much marketing in the past, you should probably expect to spend more, particularly in a building year (when you are creating your infrastructure).
  • In the building year, best practices indicate approximately 5-8% of production should be put towards your marketing. It’s imperative to track your return on investment, and plan to dedicate 3-5% for the second year and going forward.
  • Always keep your target patient profile in mind. For example, if your target customers are Moms, engaging in social media marketing will be more effective than paying for phone book advertising.
  • Business is cyclical, and dental practices are no different. Think about what times of the year your practice gets busier – these are generally the times when your patients are looking for dental services. Marketing during these times can help to reach new patients when they are searching for you.
  • Do not forget that your marketing budget should be fluid. Set a time frame within which you will dedicate time and money towards a series of marketing activities, and take the time to track and review the results. Make changes where you see there is room for improvement.

Creating a marketing budget does not have to be a difficult process. Simply taking the time to sit down and giving careful consideration to the money allocated to promoting your process is a smart step in reaching new patients and keeping your dental practice running most efficiently.

What questions have you encountered in creating your practice’s marketing budget? Do you have any advice for beginners?

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Is Phone Book Advertising Still Relevant for Dentists?

by Naomi Cooper November 19, 2012

Is Phone Book Advertising Still Relevant for Dentists?Determining whether advertising in the phone book is a smart way to reach new patients is not as simple as yes or no.  Several factors should go into whether or not you continue to advertise. Here are 4 important ideas to consider:

  1. Consumers are becoming increasingly reliant on search engines (i.e., Google) and online review sites (i.e., Yelp) when looking for information about healthcare providers. Younger patients (those in their 20s, 30, and 40s) are more likely to find a dentist online. Senior citizens, on the other hand, may still prefer to use the phone book. 
  2. Generally speaking, residents in more urban areas are younger, more technologically savvy and are less likely to have a word of mouth referral to rely on, making them more likely to search for a dentist online. Those in more rural locations are more likely to turn word of mouth or to the yellow pages. However, in today’s world, regardless of where you live, the internet has absolutely become a ubiquitous resource for search and research.
  3. If your target customers are young families, the dollars allocated to yellow pages advertising should not exceed 15% of your marketing budget. If your practice focuses more on senior citizens, it might still be appropriate to spend 25% or more of your total marketing budget on yellow pages. But don’t forget that Baby Boomers are spending an increasing amount of time online, and that women over the age of 60 are still the fastest growing demographic on Facebook.
  4. Return on Investment: How much in production or many new patients do you have to receive to make yellow pages a cost-effective marketing tool? Have you achieved this threshold this year? Last year? How are you measuring success?

A recent study by The Wealthy Dentist found that only 25% of respondents still report getting new patients through phone book advertising. Do you advertise in the phone book? Why or why not? Please share your opinions below.