Patient success is the mark of a successful dental practice. There is no better way to prove to the public that you’re as good as you claim to be than by showing real results with real patients.
With more than a decade of experience in corporate dental laboratory marketing and brand development, Jackie Ulasewich Cullen decided to take her passion for the dental business and marketing to the next level by founding My Dental Agency with co-founder Shawn Berg. Since starting her company, she and her team have helped a wide variety of practices all over the nation focus their message, reach their target audience, and increase their sales through effective marketing campaigns.
In a perfect world, a marketing agency isn’t just another vendor that your practice hires to perform a service. A marketing agency is a partner that understands the unique characteristics of your practice and knows how to leverage them to create effective strategies that produce measurable results. But why only in a perfect world? Why not in the real world? Any marketing agency you choose should be able to work with your practice in complete synergy. Unfortunately, that is not always how it goes, as MDA CAB member and highly respected owner practitioner Dr. Lee Brown explains in this informative video that you won’t want to skip.
Finding the Right Marketing Company
A lot of dentists feel that marketing isn’t all that important in dentistry. Perhaps they’re used to the traditional word-of-mouth way of doing things. Most of the dentists who do see the benefit in marketing their practices don’t tend to care that much about the quality of the marketing they’re putting out.
Do you believe marketing matters?
Of all the available digital marketing options, which one is the most effective, the most pervasive and the most important? It’s a trick question. Here’s the real question: Is it possible to achieve all of your dental practice’s marketing goals with a single digital marketing channel?
Which Digital Marketing Channel Should You Use?
Dental practices continue to rely heavily on referrals, and each practice needs a strong referral network in place as part of their new-patient pipeline. It may seem odd that a digital marketing company is advocating for an analogue approach like a referral network, but it makes sense if you consider referrals as one piece of a practice’s overall marketing strategy. Having a robust referral network will contribute to a practice’s success and enhance its digital marketing efforts.
Build a Solid Referral Network for Your Dental Practice
A good marketing company will help your practice attract quality patients and prospects more consistently than you can on your own, giving you the opportunity to shine each time one comes through the doors. If you understand the marketing company’s role and you’re prepared to take over where your marketing partner leaves off, you’ll have a recipe for success.
Important Video: What Makes a Good Marketing Company
Being in-network with various dental insurance providers consumes the major portion of a dental practice’s marketing budget. If your practice relies heavily on insurance networks to attract new patients, you are essentially paying for marketing by accepting lower fees for services. Many dentists see this as a fair trade-off. Others, however, wish there was a better way, and that is when they begin to consider transitioning away from dental insurance to a fee-for-service model.
Fee for Service Is Not a Bad Thing
If the types of patients you really want to see are not finding your practice, if you’ve spent hours upon hours perfecting your skills but rarely get the chance to use your specialized knowledge, then marketing is likely the remedy. Take Dr. Brown’s advice and prioritize marketing your practice to get the business you want and deserve.
Learn What You Missed in Dental School
Every dentist and dental practice defines success differently. For many dental practices, success can mean more brand/practice awareness within the community, fewer patients but higher revenue, or an influx of new patients — or some combination of these things. That’s the beauty of success — it can’t be defined in a singular way, and anyone can have it on their own terms as long as they have a clear goal in mind and a plan to achieve it.
How Do Dentists Define Success?
Part of marketing your practice is telling your story to the people you are trying to reach so they feel like they know you before they ever come through the doors. One of the best and most powerful ways to do that is through video, and these days, there is a wide variety of video styles to choose from. It is easier than ever for a dental practice to take advantage of the video + social media combination to boost the effectiveness of its marketing.