An MDA Success Story
I often talk about the keys to success and what dental practices can do to drive new business and create sustainable growth, but what does that really look like? What actually happens when a dental practice decides to work with us? To give a true-to-life picture of how our services can profoundly impact a practice’s business, this month, I’m doing what a lot of my clients do: showing the “Before and After”.
The Client:
Ackley Dental Group signed up to begin using our services in early 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic. They are a Fee-for-Service practice located in a suburban area of Central Florida. The nearest large metropolitan area is about 50 miles away. The group has 5 practitioners and was already established for nearly 40 years prior to contracting our services.
The Problem:
When we first met with Ackley Dental Group, their fear was that the idea of dentistry was changing, and not for the better. Bargain practices that were setting a lower standard of care were unable to continue to deliver quality dentistry at the same “reasonable” prices when patients found themselves with real, complex needs. This type of business practice leaves a bad impression on patients who feel they may have been treated unfairly and can lead them to think that all dentists operate the same way.
The Objective:
Ackley Dental Group was looking to promote the practice more prominently within the community and attract more quality patients.
The Before:
The practice’s website was about 8 years old when we first consulted with them, and the last time it had been updated was about 4 years prior. Some of the information on the website was being used in more than one place and could also be found on other dental websites. The site did not feature a clear call to action, and there were no real benefit statements to set them apart from the competition. The website also did not have custom images or feature any videos.
The practice did not have a blog and was not using email as a way to communicate with existing patients. It did have some Google and Facebook reviews, but its online and social media presence was inconsistent and not being curated according to any type of strategy.
The Before:
The practice’s website was about 8 years old when we first consulted with them, and the last time it had been updated was about 4 years prior. Some of the information on the website was being used in more than one place and could also be found on other dental websites. The site did not feature a clear call to action, and there were no real benefit statements to set them apart from the competition. The website also did not have custom images or feature any videos.
The practice did not have a blog and was not using email as a way to communicate with existing patients. It did have some Google and Facebook reviews, but its online and social media presence was inconsistent and not being curated according to any type of strategy.
The Before:
The practice’s website was about 8 years old when we first consulted with them, and the last time it had been updated was about 4 years prior. Some of the information on the website was being used in more than one place and could also be found on other dental websites. The site did not feature a clear call to action, and there were no real benefit statements to set them apart from the competition. The website also did not have custom images or feature any videos.
The practice did not have a blog and was not using email as a way to communicate with existing patients. It did have some Google and Facebook reviews, but its online and social media presence was inconsistent and not being curated according to any type of strategy.
The Strategy:
When we signed Ackley Dental Group, one of the first things we did was revamp and refresh the practice’s website. It is now full of dynamic custom content, photos, and videos of the doctors and patients giving testimonials. The website’s written content was fully edited and updated to be unique and capture the practice’s essence of being a high-quality, family-oriented, community dentist. The site now features dynamic, interactive pages that draw the visitor in by highlighting what makes the group unique, prompting patients to call or request an appointment right from the site.
Some of the more notable strategies we implemented for the practice include a monthly blog featuring relevant dental topics and monthly emails addressed to all existing patients. We also took on the responsibility of updating and managing the practice’s Facebook page, posting custom content weekly. We ramped up the practice’s presence using Google Ads and continued to place heavy emphasis on driving patient reviews online and in the office.
The After:
Since partnering with MDA, Ackley Dental Group has seen quite a bit of success. Most notably, they’ve had 1,500 appointment requests from new patients on Google and Facebook alone. That is an average of 62.5 new patient appointments per month in the last two and a half years.
In that same short time, the practice went from:
- 26 reviews with an average rating of 4 stars on Google
- to 883 reviews with an average rating of 4.9 stars.
- Facebook reviews went from 49 with an average rating of 4.8
- to 681 with an average 5-star rating!
- The practice’s Facebook page has also added nearly 1,140 likes since we began managing it, close to double the number of likes in only 2.5 years.
- The monthly emails we send out for the practice have an open rate of 30%, which means that a large number of existing patients are engaging with their dentist outside of the practice.
The Analysis:
Ackley Dental Group continues to successfully leverage its online presence to attract new patients, creating rapport even before anyone from the practice makes actual contact. The combination of engaging social media, blog, email, and web-based content is reaching the target audience, with quantifiable results. New patient leads have increased dramatically, resulting in real revenue. The overall quality of patients contacting the practice has also improved. Patients do not expect or even want “bargain” dentistry when they contact Ackley Dental Group because the practice’s overall image online and on social media conveys the high-quality services they offer.
