8 dental practice marketing ideas you can start today

dental practice marketing

Opening a new dental practice can be stressful and fraught with uncertainties, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Thanks to a growing number of resources, dentists across the United States are learning essential dental practice marketing skills that are critical to increasing phone calls, new clients and overall helping their business succeed.

To help dentists get started, I decided to share some of the most successful dental marketing ideas from my new book DentalEase – The Essential Guide to Building the Stress-free and Profitable Dental Practice of Your Dreams.

Business Plan

One of the most important things you will need to do before you can get going is putting together a detailed business plan and long term marketing strategy.

If you take the time to do this right, it will help guide your decision-making and help your business succeed.

The first thing you need to do is brainstorm a business name, theme, and logo. The key is to keep them consistent for all your marketing strategies — from your ads to your website, letterhead, stationery, envelopes, videos, and the office appearance itself.

Try and keep everything consistent, including the colors you use, the messages you share, and even the feel of the office.

If you’re unsure how to do this properly, I highly recommend hiring someone who has experience in working with health care clinics to create a consistent brand for your business.

The most tried and true dental marketing strategy

The most effective and well-received dental office marketing strategy in the current marketplace is focused on integrity and honesty .

While this is a good idea, be careful if you market your dental practice based on these principles. Deliver what you promise, or it could be devastating to your long-term business plan. Under-promise and over-deliver!

Unique Selling Proposition

As part of your long term marketing plan, it’s also important to figure out your unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is a precise statement that quickly tells prospective clients how your practice differs from the competition.

Here are a few examples.

  • We’re the only Miami dentist that makes crowns on site.
  • We accept more insurance than any other dentist in Dallas.
  • We’re ranked the #1 children’s dentist in Des Moines by The Des Moines Register.
  • We’re the only dentist in Spokane that offers 24/7 emergency care.

Once you nail down your USP, you need to put it on all of your marketing. Now it’s time to get to the external marketing part of your overall dental practice marketing plan.

Putting your plan into action

One of the easiest ways to put your plan into action is to simply get involved in your community by participating on a board, school council, or coaching a sports team.

By getting involved in community organizations and events, people will get to know who you are and likely consider becoming a client or referring you to a friend.

Word of mouth is still widely considered the most effective and successful dental marketing strategy.

Give back to the community

Another great way to get your message out there is by giving back to the community by donating your time or services to less fortunate families, such as families who can’t afford to get their children’s teeth cleaned.

Consider offering to donate mouthguards to a local football team or give lectures at community events or schools.

Giving back not only feels good, but people remember, helping to boost the image and profile of your dental clinic.

Once you have opened your doors and settled in, another effective dental practice marketing strategy is to host an open house.

This is a great way to let the community know you are open for businesses and ready to accept new patients. It’s also an excellent opportunity to get people’s contact information and offer them promotions if they become a client.

Make sure you invite local businesses and prominent people in your community. Inviting local media is never a bad idea either.

How useful is digital marketing in dentistry?

Digital marketing is a very effective strategy to attract more clients to your dental clinic and has proven to be extremely useful at turning potential patients into loyal clients.

Be creative in designing your business website, but make sure it is consistent with your brand and accurately represents you.

Optimize your website by using keywords and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices to be listed first when conducting web searches.

Use other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads to help drive traffic to your website.

Make sure your website is always up to date and that you are regularly publishing blogs, photos, and other relevant news.

As part of your digital marketing strategy and long-term business plan, you should also be sending monthly newsletters to your clients and subscribers. Provide them with educational information on oral health, news about your dental practice, and special offers.

This is an excellent opportunity to let them know about your community involvement and shows them you are an active member of the community.

It’s also a good idea to subscribe and sign up to your competitors’ emails and newsletters, so you know what they are saying and how they market to their clients – you may be surprised at what you learn.

Here are a few digital marketing strategies to consider:

– Local SEO

Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website from search engines, such as Google and Bing. The key to doing this well is using keywords and phrases on your website so your website will be the first to show up on a relevant search.

Paid Search Ads

Paid search ads, also known as pay-per-click ads, are an internet advertising method used to drive traffic to websites, in which an advertiser pays only when the ad is clicked. The most popular of these is Google Ads (formerly called Google Adwords).

Social Ads

Social ads are advertisements published on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram (they are both owned by Facebook) that are set for your target audiences and demographics to generate web traffic. You can also set up a remarketing campaign to show ads to users who have already visited your site before.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a digital marketing strategy based on sending scheduled emails to educate and further develop a business relationship with a company’s clients and prospects.

Sign up for competitor emails and newsletters

This is the best way to find out what your competitors are saying and how they market to their prospective patients. You may be surprised at what you learn.

How do I attract more patients to my dental clinic?

There are plenty of ways to attract more clients to your dental clinic, including the suggestions I made earlier in this article, but the key is to try several different marketing efforts rather than just focusing on one.

By trying different dental marketing ideas, you will increase your chances of finding new clients.

At the end of the day, there are plenty of different ways to effectively market your dental practice, but the key is to be clear and consistent in everything you do.

To get started with these marketing ideas, make sure you download the first chapter of my book DentalEase – The Essential Guide to Building the Stress-free and Profitable Dental Practice of Your Dreams.

The first chapter is free and will give you even more insight into becoming a successful dental clinic owner.

Share this post with your network

Get started building the Dental Practice of your Dreams today.

Play Video

Download the first chapter of Steve’s new book today

Scroll to Top