So, you own a dental practice and want to get more patients on board for dental cosmetics, implants, and clear aligners. You’ve entered a competitive market where many practices are offering the same services. You know your services are top-notch, but you need to get everyone else on board. So, how are you going to do this? More importantly, why would patients choose your services over those of a competitor?
As hard as it can be to find the ‘how’s and the ‘why’s, we’ve isolated business success to five surefire tricks. Check your hand—do you have these five cards in play? If not, it may be time to rethink your strategy. Let’s run through them right now.
1. Your point of difference
Do you know how successful businesses beat the odds? By finding their point of difference. Sure, there are many practices offering dental cosmetics, implants, and clear aligners, but how do they stand out against the competition? By offering something that no other practice can.
We’re sorry to break it to you, but dental cosmetics, implants, and clear aligners are not your point of difference. Many practices offer these services, so you’ll have to dig deeper. Perhaps you offer a premium service. Perhaps you’re running an exclusive promotional discount. Perhaps your services are less expensive on average.
The key to a successful business is going where no business has gone before. It’s a larger-scale example, but think of how Netflix defeated Blockbuster. They found a gap in the market and essentially killed their entire competing industry. Would you rather rent a single movie for $4.50 or have a whole Blockbuster’s worth of movies available at your fingertips for only twice the price?
Obviously, we’re not at an industry-killing level here, but the same principle applies. Study your competition and see what you can do better. Take note of how you’re different from the others and leverage this. Pay attention to what your audience wants and use this to guide your decisions. Find ways to be exceptional, unlike the others.
2. Premium positioning
You don’t want to be just any old dental practice. Rather than portraying yourself as Dental Practice #583 on 123 Normal Street, Boringville, strive for a premium image. What do we mean by ‘premium’? We mean cream-of-the-crop—high-end. To choose your practice is to invest in quality. Your cosmetics, implants, or clear aligners will last—unlike other clinics’ treatments, which may fall apart more quickly because they wanted to save on running costs. More to the point, your treatments will be long-lasting and your cosmetics will look amazing.
Premium positioning also shows on your website. If you really want to dazzle your patients, present a website with fewer words and more original visuals. Sure, patients could take your word for it that your veneers are top-notch—or they could see some compelling Before & After shots and decide for themselves. At 360 Dental Marketing, we believe words are wonderful! However, a picture ultimately does tell a thousand words.
3. Google Reviews that work for you
Ultimately, you have no control over your Google Reviews. However, you can take every possible measure to ensure that you have good word of mouth. When patients are paying at the front desk post-appointment, your receptionist can ask them to post a review. You can even keep a QR code at the front desk that opens the Google Review page on patients’ phones. This streamlined process not only prompts patients to take action but also shows that you value patient feedback.
Once you receive a Google Review, respond! If the review is positive, thank your patient for the positive feedback. If the review is negative, respond with solutions where possible and, if appropriate, provide contact details so you can resolve the situation. Consumers are most likely to trust brands with a high volume of positive reviews, each of which features a response from the owner. This not only reflects a positive public perception but also demonstrates business accountability.
4. Strong SEO
Many hear ‘SEO’ thrown around a lot, but only some could tell you what it means. ‘SEO’ stands for ‘search engine optimisation’, which is a catch-all term for the methods taken to push a website to Google’s top results page. Why is SEO important? Because people don’t tend to look beyond Google’s top results page. If they type ‘dental practice near me’ into Google, they’ll typically click on the first one, two, or maybe three results. The idea behind SEO is that you want to rank among that first handful of top results—and the higher, the better.
You can offer the best dental service on this side of the globe, but if patients can’t find you online, how will they know you exist? And if your forte is practice management or dentistry rather than digital strategy, you can always hire a third party to take care of that side of things. Want to take that step right now? Call 360 Dental Marketing on 1300 777 847 or book your free consultation with us online.
5. A patient-first approach
It goes without saying that quality service and premium patient experiences encourage repeat business. Why stop there, though? When interviewing prospective hires, finding a good cultural fit can be just as—if not more—important than finding someone with the right skills or experience. You could use this same approach to truly create a community around your dental practice!
What do we mean by this? We mean you should understand your audience: know what makes them tick. What are their values? What matters to them? If your values align with those of your patients, everyone who attends your practice will feel included. Obviously, you’re running a dental clinic rather than a humanitarian project, but you can embed your values in subtle ways.
For example, you could partner with stockists that minimise their environmental impact or you could pay that extra dollar for the highest-quality materials. You could even create a community feel on your social media profiles by posting photos of the team or sharing what matters to your practice. The more you humanise your brand, the less clinical your practice will feel. It’s one thing to exchange a transaction but it’s quite another to connect to patients on a personal level.
To summarise, humans are complex beings who respond to emotional appeals. When searching for a service, their principal concern is what you can do for them. To win their trust, you need to engage them on an emotional level by identifying their needs and providing solutions that speak to those needs. It especially helps if you share their values and are easy to find on Google.
Is your practice living to its full potential? If you need help, we can emphasise your point of difference, humanise your brand, and nudge your website up a few places on Google. Call 360 Dental Marketing on 1300 777 847 or book your free consultation with us online.
