Regardless of the type of business you have, you need customers, clients, or — in the case of dentists — patients to grow your office and be profitable.
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1. Headline — The headline is usually in the largest font on the advertisement. Consider this your title. It should be emotion-based for the patient and can be posed as a question to begin patient interaction. Are you embarrassed by your smile? or Are you frustrated by loose-fitting dentures? This headline question does the heavy lifting for the advertisement and can stand alone. It should not be the name of the practice or the doctor’s name.
2. Benefits — Don’t list features or names of dental procedures. Give prospects potential outcomes, in terms they can understand. Let them know what they could experience (for instance: smile with confidence, chew again with the similar force of your natural teeth, or the beauty of no one knowing you had dental work
3. Testimonials — The best marketing is an endorsement from a satisfied person who had a similar dental situation openly sharing his or her personal story. Word-of-mouth referrals are not the only place where this concept applies, and it’s relevant to all of your external marketing as well.
4. Offers — Offers are something of value to the prospect. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a discount on your services; it can be information about the patient’s dental situation and options to resolve it in nontechnical, patient-friendly terms. Offers can also be added-value services — bundles that are not normally included or even nondental items that appeal to prospects.
5. Call to action — Tell your prospects what to do! Don’t leave it up to them to assume they need to call the office for an appointment or visit your website. They need clues to direct them along the path of becoming a patient. Please call now to schedule an appointment is a good, simple sentence to start the process.
6. Deadline — Without deadlines, nothing will happen. You want prospects to take action now, so by giving them a deadline to receive your special offer, you are gently directing them to take the first steps in the process.
By using this checklist and tweaking your current marketing materials, you will increase your outcome and attract more prospective patients to your practice.
Author bio
Ginger Bratzel, DDS, is a dentist, coach, and award-winning copywriter and marketer. She received her dental degree from the University of Colorado Health Science Center and practiced in New Mexico where she developed systems and strategies to increase patient attraction. She created her proprietary system, New Patient Attraction AutomationÔ, a proven step-by-step program that shows dentists exactly how to attract more of the right kind of patients, as well as the Mobile Marketing For Dentists Program. Ginger is known for her no-holds-barred and shooting-straight-from-the-hip approach to practice growth and patient attraction. You may contact her by email at [email protected].
