5 Effective Dental Practice Marketing Tips

Being a successful dentist involves much more than simply knowing how to treat patients' teeth and gums. Successful dental practices have to properly market themselves in order to initially attract a substantive patient base and gain patients for both the short and long term. One strategy dentists can utilize to increase their revenues is to hire the services of a professional dental marketing company. There are five proven, effective tips or methods regarding how a dental practice can market itself with the assistance of a dental marketing company.1. Yellow Pages/Telephone Book AdSuccessful dental practice marketing involves at its core attracting as many patients as possible and to have them keep coming back. One of the most recommended ways a dental marketing company suggests doing this is to take out a large telephone book display ad. While expensive, a display ad that lists all the services the dentist performs and his/her educational credentials, contact information and methods of payment accepted will attract more patients than those dental practices that only have a one or two line classified ad in the same phone book section.2. Smaller Local Display AdsIf budgeting is a factor, local weekly magazines and newspapers are an effective tool  for marketing a dental practice. This will work well with a smiling head shot of the dentist and text that reads, "Now Welcoming New Patients," as well as information describing business hours, address and a telephone number. Moreover, utilizing a promotion such as offering new patients something free like an initial exam or set of x-rays is often very appealing and helpful to attract new patients.3. Professional Website Your dental marketing company can also take charge of designing a professional dental website with and effective content marketing strategy in mind. It often helps to personalize certain aspects about the dentist including links to appealing color photographs of him and his wife and children and even their pets. This family aspect and connection makes the dentist seem more human and individualized rather than him being viewed as a mere objective, distant dental clinician. 4. Direct MailAnother effective dental marketing technique is to acquire a targeted mailing list of local denizens and print up rectangular flyers, double sided and in color, and send them via snail mail to each. These direct mail pieces should contain all pertinent information that can fit on them including a special incentive to draw new patients in, such as a 50 percent off the initial visit coupon. Combine this old school marketing technique with a new one by including a QR code.5. Referrals From Other Medical ProfessionalsAnother highly effective tip is to have the dentist or a member of the dental practice visit other medical professionals in their geographical area and introduce themselves. You should ask if they'd be interested in a mutual professional referral process where you would refer patients to them (physicians, optometrists, podiatrists, chiropractors, et al.) and they'd refer some of their patents seeking a quality dentist. These are just some of the best professional dental marketing techniques and tips to consider. There are many more that all work together in separating your practice from the competition.