Obtaining a qualification in dentistry takes dedication, perseverance and a lot of knowledge. However, many dentists struggle when it comes to marketing, as it’s not something that is generally covered within their education. Having a website is a must when you are opening a practice, but dental websites often lack what they really need to give themselves that extra boost that makes them stand out from all of the other mundane practices. There are a number of things that you can do to increase your website’s traffic and encourage new patients to become loyal ones, however marketing can be incredibly time consuming. After spending all day attending to your patients’ needs you may not feel like dedicating your evenings and nights to trying to improve your Google ranking, especially if you are not sure about what you are doing. If you find that you are struggling with getting your website up and running then it may be a good idea to hire a company to carry out your marketing for you, so you have not one but several less things to worry about.
Have you thought about marketing strategies?
Unfortunately there is no one thing that you can do that will ensure new patients come flocking through your doors, but if you combine a variety of different marketing techniques you will find that they work together efficiently to ensure you not only get new patients, but that they stay with you too. To attract the attention of new patients it is important that you are on the first page of Google’s results when someone searches for something in relation to dentists, preferably in the first few results as not many people often look past these. Linking your practice to Google Maps is essential if you want a higher chance of appearing at the top of Google, and this gives you the ability to attach a phone number and address, meaning potential patients can find you quickly and contact you or get directions to your practice with little to no hassle at all. Having a professional blog that you post to frequently will help to keep your website near the top of Google’s results, especially when using SEO techniques.
Word of mouth versus online marketing
Word of mouth advertising used to be the sole advertising technique that businesses and practices relied on. These days life has a much faster pace, and potential patients may not have the time to stop for a lengthy chat about the treatments and services that you provide. However, they do have time to google what they want to find out, and if your website consistently appears at the top of their results they are more likely to become a loyal patient. Using different social media platforms will enable you to reach an increased amount of potential patients rather than just sticking to the one, and once you are established on multiple platforms it is easy to share your posts between them and keep your patients up to date with anything that is going on in your practice. Communicating with your patients regularly will improve the relationship you have with them, making them feel valued and important.