When marketing your dental practice, you’re caught in a complex scenario. Your clinical skill has little to no bearing on the end user’s decision (if you’re a better dentist than the doctor down the street). Statistically, the average person has some fear or apprehension associated with visiting the dentist. Your marketing has to carry the tandem tasks of attracting new patients and retaining your current ones.
Face it, you’re not just in the dental business—you’re in the relationship business. Once you really learn that, business will boom!
Why your digital presence matters
Relationships are built on commonality. Think about it; your favorite patients are likely the people you have something in common with. You love to see them in your chair and they, in turn, feel safe, understood, and valued. Those kinds of feelings lead to more case acceptance, higher recall rates, and a strong pool of brand advocates in your local community.
Also by Sean Hamel:
4 effective ways to grow your Instagram presence
Why your traditional dental marketing approach isn't working
Many practices put too much focus on new tech or services, but that can't replace the loyalty and trust that comes from building connections. Fancy tech, expensive decor, renovations upon renovations—none of that is what people are buying. They’re buying you. You are the market differentiator—your approach to dentistry. The experience you and you alone provide…that’s what people are really buying. That’s your strongest marketing message, and it’s a message that I see many offices completely ignore.
Your website and digital presence are more than just a “brochure.” I’ve seen older dentists tell younger docs that their website isn’t important. FALSE! Your website is your practice’s strong sales tool. It represents you 24/7, 365. Many times, it’s the first impression for patients—the connection point. It’s the place prospective patients can poke around without needing to actually call you. If anyone tells you any different, don’t listen! I can almost guarantee that mindset has no idea of the potential opportunity cost they’re suffering at the hands of a poor website.
Many dentists feel busy, so they assume that their marketing is working. But if you’re not realizing your full potential and profitability, is that really success?
Your patient experience IS your brand story
Put simply, your brand is what people say about you when you’re not around—the little conversations people have with their friends and loved ones. It is in everything you do. It is how your front desk answers the phone. It is how you remember your patient’s mom was sick, the name of the family dog, and what Spotify station or Netflix show they enjoy. As a dentist, your brand is the relationship. The relationship is built on connection. The connection built on you and your team. The journey starts the second a prospective patient lands on your homepage or calls the office.
Your team has to understand your vision, the patient experience you want, and the emotions and feelings you want people experiencing. Being your patient is so much more than what happens inside your four walls. It’s the lead-up time and the time after the patient leaves your office. It’s the time in between appointments. It’s how you treat a patient’s family members or friends (if applicable).
Maximize your impact
If your practice growth has stalled or if you feel like something is “missing” in your marketing, consider simplifying versus complicating. If you have a template website filled with stock photography and content about clinical dentistry, you are not standing out. There is disconnect between the emotions and feelings your potential patient is feeling and what your website is and isn’t conveying. If you aren’t speaking to their needs, your marketing is going to fall flat and your performance will be mundane.
Stop trying to outspend and start to outthink your competitors. What blind spots do they have? Where are their websites weak and vulnerable? How is your patient experience and treatment approach better than theirs? This doesn’t mean talking about academic accolades or CE; it’s talking about why you became a dentist, why you should be the dentist of choice in a given area, and all the benefits your patients experience over any other practice.
Simplify and identify with the emotional state of your potential patients. Use your website to connect and humanize yourself. Show pieces of your patient experience. This simple, effective approach will work wonders for your practice growth and helping you find quality patients, change lives, and support your community.
