Starting Off Right: MDA’s 4-Step Onboarding Process for New Clients
After ten years working exclusively with independently owned dental practices, MDA has developed a process for new clients that ensures the smoothest possible transition, whether they’re changing marketing agencies or hiring one for the first time. Our goal is to minimize hiccups, maximize satisfaction, and set our client and our team up for a successful, long-lasting relationship.
First Things First
Our first interaction is a call to get to know the doctor or doctors and the practice in general. We want to know about their goals as practitioners and their vision for the practice. It’s also important that we learn about the current reality: how many new patients are coming in each month, what revenue growth the practice has seen over the last few years, where they have found success in marketing or other areas, what’s not working, and what frustrates them. All of this information helps us determine whether the practice is a good fit for MDA, and if so, we’ll offer to create a Master Plan.
The Master Plan
Before we do any marketing for a new client, we create a full marketing strategy called the Master Plan. We analyze the practice’s current online marketing efforts and use that data to create a guideline for accomplishing the client’s goals. The plan outlines what, how, and why so that expectations are clear from the start. We want everyone involved to be fully aware and well informed. There should never be any surprises when it comes to our growth strategy for a client.
Kickoff
Once the doctors and all decision-makers agree that MDA and the practice would make great partners, we sign an agreement and schedule a kickoff call. Our team usually onboards approximately three new clients a month. That may sound small, but it’s quite intentional. We want to ensure that our team can dedicate sufficient time to new clients, especially at this critical moment. Working with a new agency is exciting and can also be intimidating. The client is trusting us with their practice’s reputation, and we want to make sure the transition goes smoothly. That’s why we take ample time to gather information before taking any action. We’re planning for success right from the start.
Ready, Set, Go!
For the first two months of a new relationship, our team works to build a solid foundation for the client. We set up all their digital marketing campaigns and work closely with them to enhance their digital presence. That may include:
- Refreshing/building out the practice website
- Completing a Google Business Profile for the practice
- Adding/refreshing the practice’s social media
- Starting/restarting a monthly blog
- Establishing a monthly email send to current patients
- Creating a review solicitation campaign
- Starting Google and Meta Ad campaigns
- And more
It takes approximately eight weeks to coordinate and implement this stage of the onboarding process. As long as everything goes according to plan, all of your campaigns will be launched at the end of it.
Our key to success with new clients is communication, planning, and transparency. We encourage openness, even and especially if questions arise. We’re not here to force a client to do everything our way, and we don’t hide behind strict policies or complicated plans. In our experience working with hundreds of dental practices over more than a decade, we have found that collaboration is the best recipe for sustainable success. We’ve heard it many times from many different clients: They appreciate having a partner who feels like part of their team, not simply a vendor that’s providing a service, but a true ally who genuinely cares about their business, their people, and their patients.
