Excellent clinical care does not automatically lead to a full patient schedule. Busy, overwhelmed patients rarely take the time to learn all the differences between various practices. Without solid promotion, they’re unlikely to find yours or understand why they should make an appointment.
An effective dental marketing agency will make sure your practice shows up when patients are looking for you, clearly explains your value, and turns that interest into booked appointments.
But it’s not enough for your marketing company to simply place ads or post on social media for you. The best dental marketing company understands healthcare marketing regulations, the patient journey, and what it takes operationally to grow your patient base.
Define the Practice Problem Before Choosing Tactics
“Get me more patients” is not a clear goal. Before looking for a dental marketing agency, get specific about the results you need. Do you want to:
- Increase new patient hygiene appointments
- Book more high-value treatment
- Get more comprehensive exams
- Reduce empty chair time
- Improve current patient retention
These goals can guide the dental marketing strategies your agency recommends.
Also, consider whether there are internal obstacles that might prevent growth. Marketing can’t solve these problems, and pouring money into ads won’t help you if:
- Your front desk isn’t adequately prepared to handle increased phone calls and online messages
- Appointments are canceled or patients frequently no-show
- You aren’t able to offer appointments soon enough
- You are not effectively converting existing website visitors and phone calls
Other questions to consider when developing your patient growth goals:
- What types of patients are most valuable to your practice long term?
- For which services do you want to grow demand?
- Are you looking for brand awareness, patient leads, better conversion, or some combination?
Look for a Cohesive Strategy Before Deliverables
You might find a marketing agency that promises to deliver a certain number of social media posts, ads, emails, and website updates each month. But these tactics don’t necessarily make up a cohesive dental marketing strategy.
Ideally, your dental marketing agency will recommend marketing activities with an eye toward achieving specific business goals. They should be able to explain:
- Why they recommend each marketing channel or tactic
- How each marketing activity supports your business goals
A great agency such as Yooniversal Media will work with you to define your goals and develop a long-term dental marketing strategy. Expect to discuss:
- Your target patients’ needs and how to reach them
- Your competition in your area
- Which services you want to promote
- Your marketing budget and how to best allocate it
- How to track conversions
- When you can expect to see results (some marketing efforts, such as SEO, reputation management, and website improvements, will take consistent work over time before you see reliable, measurable results)
Your marketing agency should be able to explain how they decided which services your practice needs most. For example, if you need leads asap, they might recommend paid ads. If you already have website traffic but few calls, they might suggest website improvements. Your agency’s recommendations should be based on your starting point, not off-the-shelf services.
Evaluate Dental-Specific Experience Carefully
- Landing pages for individual services
- Patient testimonials and before-and-after photos
- Generating and responding to online reviews
- Privacy and consent for marketing
- Tracking conversions, like phone calls, forms, and booked appointments
- Coordinating marketing efforts with your front office staff
Dental practice marketing analytics
Skip this if you only need help with a one-off marketing project, like website fixes or implementing conversion tracking. In this case, you might benefit from the help of a marketing specialist rather than partnering with a full-service dental marketing agency.
Verify Reporting, Ownership, and Communication
- Where your leads come from
- Which marketing efforts drive valuable leads
- What happens after patients contact you
- How your costs change over time
- Your website
- Your ad accounts
- Your marketing analytics
- Your ad and website graphics
- Patient data
- Your call tracking number(s)
Compare Communication Styles, Not Just Prices
- Who will manage your account
- How often they meet with clients
- How they’ll communicate about time-sensitive situations
- Your roles and theirs, and how you can best support each other (you’ll need to make quick decisions, provide accurate service information, and give feedback about your patients’ comments on your ads, for example)
- Their process for getting your approval on ads and website content
Make the First 90 Days Measurable
Rather than transformation, expect to lay groundwork and test the waters in the first few months you partner with a dental marketing agency. Identify a small number of goals you can measure during your first 90 days together. These might include:
- Calls from qualified leads
- Website form submissions
- Consultation requests
- New patient appointments booked
Be sure to check in regularly with your front office about lead quality; https://semrush.com/blog/lead-generation provides broader context on lead generation. If they’re hearing from a lot of leads who aren’t a good fit, you might need to rework your dental marketing strategy and narrow your focus. On the other hand, if you’re generating plenty of interest but not booking as many appointments as you’d like, follow-up could be the problem rather than your marketing efforts.
Before you sign a contract, ask each agency for a written 90-day plan including:
- Their and your responsibilities
- The first goal you’ll work toward together
- How they’ll implement conversion tracking
- When you’ll receive marketing reports
Choosing the right dental marketing agency is an investment in your practice’s long-term growth, not just a short-term marketing expense. By partnering with a team that understands your goals, your patients, and the unique challenges of dental marketing, you can build a sustainable strategy that attracts the right patients, increases appointments, and supports lasting success for your practice.