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In today's episode, Linda talks about the difference between traditional and digital marketing, and how having the right mix of marketing methods will help your dental practice grow. The right mix will save you money and reach more customers. Linda also discusses the different between promoting your practice and advertising your practice.
Linda provides dental professionals actionable marketing knowledge they can use to grow their dental practice.
Linda Mettler: Personally, I believe it's best to use a combination of marketing strategies. I call it a marketing. But that doesn't mean it has to be community marketing, traditional marketing and
digital marketing.
Welcome to the matalin Marketing Podcast where we will talk about marketing strategies and tactics to grow your practice. I am your host, Lynda Mettler and I have worked with dental practices for
several years now. And I want to share my knowledge and experience with you so that you can gain valuable and actionable steps on how to grow your practice. We will talk about the latest and greatest
and marketing features some guest speakers so that you can hear firsthand what is and is not working and help you unravel the complexities of the digital marketing world. I work really closely with my
clients. So we will also delve into some other issues that affect your practice from time to time, such as staffing problems, COVID protocols and similar issues. Today, we're going to talk a little
bit about the types of marketing for your dental office and give an overview of each one and how they can be useful to you. I'm sure you are constantly bombarded these days with information and ads
promoting the latest and greatest marketing tactics. There are so many different advertising channels to choose from these days, it's hard to know where to start. So let's chat about the types of
marketing first, and then we will discuss how to decide which one is best for your practice. First, there is the traditional form of marketing. This encompasses mostly direct mail and print
advertising. These forms of marketing are not widely used with dental and medical offices today. However, they can be effective if they're used in the right way. If your practice is located in a small
niche neighborhood, then it's a good idea to have an ad in a local newspaper or magazine. And it's usually not too expensive to do this direct mail. But supplements digital advertising can be
effective as well, but it's generally more expensive. And with direct mail, you need to send it out at least four to seven times to have even a 1% return. But again, if you're in a niche neighborhood,
this makes sense. You can also piggyback your direct mail or your print advertising with an email marketing or other digital marketing campaign. Another form of marketing is community marketing. And
it's also highly effective in niche neighborhoods. This takes the form of sponsoring local events, or a local school athletic team, or organizing events at your office that might benefit the
surrounding community. Something like a blood donation drive or food drive or other event. And even today in the COVID area I have seen virtual online blood donation drives that are sponsored by
medical and dental offices. So it's definitely possible to do in this COVID era. Community marketing can be effective even if your practice is located in a large urban area. Pick a charity or local
program that you're passionate about and get involved. But don't do this for the advertising benefit. Do it because you truly care about that charity, then people will react positively to you and
spread the word about you and the good things that your office is doing. A lot of offices participate in their local dental mission of mercy each year by providing free dental care, and other similar
events that are normally hosted by the state Dental Association. In Colorado. This is called Cole mom. So the Colorado mission of mercy, Arizona, it's called as mom. I'm sure your state Dental
Association has these types of events. You can and should let your prospective new patients know what type of charitable and community work you're involved with. Of course, what everyone is most
concerned with these days is digital marketing, websites, social media videos, podcasts, there's absolutely no doubt that digital marketing is the number one way to advertise your practice. I will
tell you in a couple minutes the best way to promote your practice. For me, there's definitely a difference. But let's dig into digital marketing a little more for the next few minutes. It's crucial
to understand your practice and who your ideal patient is when you dive into digital marketing. We talked about this on a previous episode. As far as identifying your ideal new patient. You don't want
to spend time and money on Snapchat if the patient Do you want to attract are over 45 years old. And conversely, you do want to be on YouTube and Instagram in a big way. If you're an orthodontist with
young patients, the one piece of digital marketing that is crucial for everyone is a good website. So we're going to discuss websites in much more detail in an upcoming episode. In fact, podcast
number five. In fact, in our next episode, I'm going to talk about the digital marketing basics that every practice needs to have. So for now, I want you to take stock of where your practice stands
from a marketing standpoint, do you practice in a niche neighborhood? Or are you located in more of an urban setting? What is your marketing savvy, if you're going to dive deeper into digital
marketing, you should learn a little more about digital marketing yourself. Even if you decide to outsource your marketing. That way, you'll know if your agency is doing a good job for you. And
personally, I believe it's best to use a combination of marketing strategies. I call it a marketing mosaic. But that doesn't mean it has to be community marketing, traditional marketing and digital
marketing. It could be only two of those or mosaic of different channels within one area. So what I mean is, if you want to be mostly in traditional marketing, you can use direct mail and print ads.
Or you can get involved in events and community newspaper ads. Or if you're more on the digital end of things. There are several channels in the digital realm. Basically, my bottom line is don't put
all your marketing eggs in one basket. So I mentioned a few minutes ago, I was going to tell you the number one way to promote your practice, which I really feel is different from advertising your
practice. And that is to treat each and every patient you have with the utmost attention and care. Because as you know, referrals are gold. In this business. Your patients are going to leave online
reviews and they're going to tell other people about their experience in your office. So make sure that that experience is five star, make sure your office is trained to give every single person that
comes through your door. That five star experience. I call it the Nordstrom experience. Of course, I'm a female I love to go shopping. And a few years ago, my son bought me a necklace at Nordstrom for
my 50th birthday. I loved it, of course and wore it all the time. But one day I caught it on something and broke it was about a year after he gave it to me. I took it to my jeweler but he couldn't fix
it. So I went to Nordstrom to see if I could buy another one. And I looked around and I didn't see the necklace, so I thought they no longer carried it. But the saleswoman knew that they had one in
the back. So she went and found it for me, took her a long time. And she replaced it for me at no charge. It brought tears to my eyes, I would have paid 10 times more for it because it was a gift from
my son. She made absolutely no commission helping me out that day, and spent about 30 minutes getting me a new necklace. But she made me a customer for life. I look for her every time I go shopping at
Nordstrom, which is pretty often because even though I already love the store, I love them even more after that experience. They cared about my purchase, even though it was only a $50 necklace. So if
you treat every single patient, as though they are the most important patient, you will have no problem promoting your practice, because they're going to do it for you. The last point I want to make
to you today is this, identify what it is that makes your practice unique. What makes you the best at what you do. What type of dentistry Do you perform best? And what do you love to do and make that
the focus of your marketing. I see a huge increase in websites these days that are so cookie cutter, and digital ads that all promise the same thing. Same Day implants. You know, just you're gonna
walk out in an hour with a perfect smile for the rest of your life. And every office has all these cookie cutter very similar ads, they all promise the same thing. Some of this no doubt is a result of
corporate dental offices that are on the rise. But your patients are all unique and so are you and so is your practice. So let them know why they should come to you. And then the right patients will
identify with you and trust their dental needs to your office. In our next episode, I'm going to talk about some basics in dental marketing that your office needs to have. So for now, I hope you have
a fabulous day and I will chat with you
Ed Bejarana: are you committed to the growth of Your practice that learned marketing can help at medtner marketing. We help dental practices gain new patients, increase referrals and maximize patient
retention with customized Marketing Solutions tailored to fit your needs. Visit www dot medtner marketing.com to schedule a free consultation and learn how we can help grow your practice. Thank you
for tuning in to the Mettler Marketing Podcast. Please share this episode with your friends and colleagues. If you would like to be a guest on our show, visit Mettler marketing.com and drop us a note.
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