2022 Academy of General Dentistry Conference
We recently had the privilege to make a live presentation at the Academy of General Dentistry Conference, and it was truly a rewarding experience. The 2022 AGD Conference took place from July 27-30, in Orlando, FL, right in our very own backyard! My Dental Agency’s presentation was the 28th, in front of about 60 dental professionals who each earned 1 CE credit for attending.
Of course, our goal was to make sure that everyone in attendance got something valuable out of our presentation to take back with them and implement at their practice, so we talked about the top 3 marketing mistakes dental practices should avoid. In our book, we outline 5 dental marketing mistakes to avoid. But, for the sake of our presentation, we wanted to highlight the 3 mistakes that have the greatest impact on marketing.
Mistake number one is using a generic approach to marketing. Generic marketing, with stock photos, generalized taglines, and unoriginal content will absolutely NOT help a practice rise above the competition. In order to attract patients, a practice needs to show why it is different by highlighting its strengths and specialties. That means creating unique content for the website, social media, and all other marketing channels, like blogs, emails, and ads. It is also important to keep content fresh and relevant, taking care to update digital marketing channels regularly to encourage engagement.
The second mistake to avoid is piecemeal marketing. Piecemeal can mean a few different things. For instance, a practice may assign staff members to take care of different marketing aspects on top of their other office duties. Other times it means using multiple vendors — one for the website, one to manage social media, one to run online ads, etc. It can also mean trying to get the job done by relying on only one or two marketing channels. All three of these approaches are costly, and not just financially. When a practice takes a disjointed approach to marketing, it can easily end up spending more than if it were to adopt a comprehensive marketing strategy with a single professional agency that takes care of everything, PLUS it can be missing out on a tremendous number of opportunities to attract quality patients.
The third mistake we talked about is the “let’s see what sticks” approach to marketing. Some practices try to make their marketing strategy too broad, or their marketing is somewhat scattered, meaning that there is not a clear, focused message. While it is important to attract a wide range of patients who need a variety of treatments, when it comes to marketing, the message needs to be clear. A practice cannot be everything to everyone. It should make an effort to establish a specific brand and reputation. That means that all marketing should be connected by a common thread, whether that be a certain specialty treatment that it is well known for or its unique approach to patient care.
The conference was a great experience, and we were very happy to be back, participating in person again. It was certainly our pleasure to speak in front of so many respected dental professionals and help them learn something new about marketing their practices. We can’t wait for AGD 2023 in Las Vegas!