You’ve heard all about it by now – exciting stories about innovative promotion schemes, case studies of overnight success, instant celebrity brought about by the social networking revolution… and most of what you’ve heard is true. 

1. The Best Dental Marketing
Ideas are Actually Quite
Simple

2. There is so much buzz surrounding the
online marketing industry these days, but
basic principles of this business discipline
are not so hard to understand.
You’ve heard all about it by now –
exciting stories about innovative
promotion schemes, case studies of
overnight success, instant celebrity
brought about by the social networking
revolution… and most of what you’ve
heard is true.

3. But it is also true that dentists can
benefit from online marketing in a big
way without having to become computer
geniuses overnight. In fact, crucial
advantage can be gained simply by
sticking to “bread and butter” strategies
that have been already tested in practice,
only with an original twist.
Here is a quick overview of the most
important steps every dental professional
must consider in order to remain
competitive in the modern market:

8. Your Website is a Virtual Extension
of Your Office
Gone are the days when simply having a
website was considered a serious online
marketing move, as modern web
programming offers many great
possibilities that were not so
commonplace a decade ago, from
multimedia contents to interactive
features such as online booking and
payments.

9. The best dental marketing campaigns
start with a realistic assessment of the
existing web presentation and possible
upgrades that can be made with the
available funds. Most patients are
accustomed to visiting websites to learn
more about the dentists before trusting
them with their health and their money,
so it makes no sense to dissuade the
customer with an outdated or poorly
constructed website.

10. Each dental practice has its unique
advantages and the website needs to
reflect that from the first moment. Each
visitor must immediately be directed to
the content of his interest, which can be
done with a good navigation system and
clear, unambiguous design features.

11. Most importantly, the website needs to
be constantly updated with different
types of fresh content, from the latest
offers to testimonials of real-life patients.
Much like a dental ordination is
maintained every day to meet the
acceptable standard of service, the
website requires constant attention to
remain an effective tool for promotion of
your business.

12. As the promotion of your business
increases, you will find that your
business will be ranked at the top of
search results – simple keywords will
place pages and homepages at #1, local
search results will bring customers to
your doorstep, and generated AdWords
will attract new customers.
It is only beneficial for your business to
continue to bring positive online
attention.

14. Contacts, Contacts, Contacts – Grow
Your Network Systematically
Even the best dental marketing
campaigns can fall short of their
objectives if they are unable to reach
large enough audience, so building a
database of contacts is paramount for
success. In addition to traditional ways of
acquiring new leads, different online
platforms can be used to boost your
visibility and initiate contact with new
customers.

15. There are many different ways to do this
and most of them require modest
investments to get started, allowing even
start-up dental companies to compete in
the marketplace.
A combination of social media presence,
SEO efforts to boost Google ranking,
active participation in the blogging
community and industry circles, and
purchased online media space is sure to
have a positive long-term impact on
business fortunes.

16.  Once the contact network grows to
sufficient size, it will tend to expand
further spontaneously due to positive
reviews and personal references posted by
happy customers. Of course, it doesn’t
hurt to animate the network from time to
time with a small gift, loyalty program or
any other type of interaction with
customers. It is unbelievable how effective
a display of genuine care about your
patients and online marketing tools give
dentists a new way of outreach that
completely changes the game.

17. Think Outside the Box and
Experiment with New Media
In the online marketing world, it is fairly
easy to track your results. Precise control
of the effectiveness of each marketing
idea allows business owners to take a
much more relaxed stance when it comes
to unusual promotional concepts. There
are countless new platforms that allow
dentists to take the initiative and actively
search for new leads, providing a variety
of options for creative business minds.

18. The best marketing ideas don’t have to
be gimmicky at all, quite often they are
just simple things that nobody dared to
try before, either because the means
were not available or because the
financial risks involved were too great.
Online marketing statistics can be used
to direct the campaign and ensure it can
be stopped at any point if the key
parameters start pointing down,
removing key obstacles to carrying out
tests.

19.  There are plenty of places where it is possible
to get an early tip about new possibilities, so
it doesn’t take much to find inspiration for a
controlled probe. With mobile technologies
booming at an unprecedented pace and
software industry reaching new heights, it is
beyond doubt that opportunities will present
themselves for the most diligent innovators.
 Keep in mind – a great idea doesn’t have to
rely on the latest technology just to find a
smart new application for any technology that
can be realistically employed by a dental
business.

20. Monitor the Competition and Stay a
Step Ahead at All Times
It goes without saying that others are
attempting to take advantage of the web
marketing channels as well, so staying
informed about the latest efforts by the
closest competitors is even more
important than before.

21. A lot can be learned by following what
leading dental practitioners are doing to
prop up their business, which is helpful
even if some of the acquired knowledge
can’t be immediately acted upon. Staying
in touch with the latest global marketing
trends unrelated to dental practice can
also be very informative and lead to new
insights.

22. Of course, local competition should be
even more under the microscope.
Immediate survival comes first, so it’s
important to keep pace and closely
monitor the situation in your
neighborhood. For all the fantastic global
perspectives that online communication
opens, its most powerful impact could
still be its transformation of the local
markets.

23. The patients are aware they can easily
find the best dental practitioners in their
area and will require nothing short of
perfection when it comes to level of
service, which benefits the industry as a
whole.
Find the best sources for Internet Traffic:
http://crawfordandobrien.com/