Chances are if you have been utilizing online patient reviews as part of your marketing strategy, you might get a not so flattering one every now and then. Everyone does. The question however, is how will this affect your practice and what can you do about them.
When you think of marketing your practice, you probably think about using your website, social media posts, emails, and online ads to attract new patients. In any solid marketing strategy, however, you shouldn’t overlook your existing patients-they are key to the success of your practice. In fact, once you acquire a patient, think of it as just the beginning of your marketing relationship with them, as well. Here are reasons why you should:
The countdown to the New Year has begun, and we can’t wait to help market our clients in 2020 so they can reach even more new patients and grow their practice. This is also a time to reflect on what we can do different, or improve upon so that marketing processes and plans run more effectively. One common occurrence we notice is that dental practices start to plan in late November to do something special for the holidays. Most likely, they are not aware that as a marketing agency we work months in advance on projects and they should too. Here’s how your practice can plan properly for effective marketing next year.
Steve Jobs said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Asking patients for a review puts you in a vulnerable position. You hope they will leave positive feedback, but what if they don’t and their not so flattering review is online for everyone to read. In the past, this hesitancy to ask any and all customers to leave a review led businesses to filter candidates, a process known as “review-gating”. It was a common practice and in fact, we did this for our clients years ago, too. Not long ago, however, Google and other credible review sites put a stop to it and for good reason. Like Google, we noticed it wasn’t helping our clients, but actually hurting them in the long run.
On today’s episode we’re going to discuss the reasons you need to be more authentic in your practice and how to incorporate this concept in your marketing.
As a newly minted dental school graduate, you’re probably eager to get your practice up and running. While you are trained in providing dental care, you may find that getting new patients requires another set of skills. Growing your dental practice isn’t necessarily an “if you build it, they will come” endeavor. Taking marketing shortcuts in the beginning may cost even more money in a few years if you need to fix components like your website or online ads. Marketing can be overwhelming, but there are foundational elements that will help set you on the right track.
