Category: Dental Marketing

Meet the MDPM Team: Gery Laboy, Account Manager and Training Coordinator

One of our goals in 2015 is to help our clients put a face with their contact here at MDPM Consulting. We’re always here to answer your questions, give you an update on your SEO and web marketing progress, brainstorm about your next move, or chat about what’s going on with you and your team at your practice, but there’s a buzzword floating around regarding the trend in online marketing: transparency. So, we’re making it a priority to introduce the faces behind MDPM and give an inside look at just what it is we do every day to serve our clients.

Today, we’re proud to introduce Gery Laboy, who is the training coordinator and account manager here at MDPM.

Full-Service SEO, content marketing, website support, and website design for dentists

Armed with a strong work ethic, an appreciation for communication, and an eagerness to learn, mentor, and provide top-notch service to our valued clients, Gery fills an important and two-fold role at MDPM Consulting.

Gery trains our team of talented SEO copywriters to create optimized, professional, and accurate website and blog content that reflects our clients’ practice philosophies and provides them with the tools they need to reach their target patient audiences. Gery also serves as a resource for our clients by answering questions, solving problems, explaining the web presence creation and management process, and serving as a sounding board for what’s next in the growth of their dental practices/businesses. Read More

U.S. News ranks dentist as #1 job of 2015

Dentistry might be the #1 profession in 2015, but that doesn’t mean all dentists have time to spend marketing their practices online. That’s where we come in.

On January 13, U.S. News released its list of the 25 best jobs of 2015. What was the job at the top of the list? Dentist!

According to U.S. News, “picking a job is personal, and there isn’t one ‘best job’ that would suit everyone. Still, our list of 100 outstanding occupations exemplifies what makes working worthwhile: good pay, manageable work-life balance and good job prospects.”

Of course, all of us here at MDPM Consulting were thrilled to see dentist — the chosen profession of the vast majority of our valued clients — top the charts. The articles (there’s a list of the 25 best jobs and a list of the 100 best jobs) make a few great points about being a dentist, including the following:

  • The best dentists effortlessly balance patient care with turning a profit.
  • The best dentists endure rigorous technical and practical training in a competitive dental program.
  • The best dentists are concerned with their patients’ overall health (including diabetes, oral cancer, and heart disease), not just their teeth.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects 23,300 new dentist jobs through the year 2022.

That’s all well and good, but you might be wondering why we’re taking the time to feature this news here on MDPM Consulting’s blog.

Read More

We’ll see you at the Star of the South Dental Meeting!

The Star of the South Dental Meeting will take place at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, on January 22-24.

Here at MDPM Consulting, we love conferences. We think they’re a great way to stay on the cutting edge of what’s new in dentistry while building relationships within the dental community. In fact, the mission of the Star of the South Dental Meeting is to “provide the opportunity for all dental professionals to gather for continuing education, to experience the latest innovations in dental equipment and delivery systems, and for camaraderie and social events.” That’s definitely a mission we support!

Why? Because MDPM Consulting strives to do the same thing for our valued clients, but in a slightly different way.

By offering complete SEO and content marketing strategies designed exclusively with dentists and dental practices in mind, we provide the opportunity for dental professionals to reach their target audiences (aka new patients) by increasing their visibility and accessibility online. To do this, we utilize the latest industry standards in SEO, content marketing, web development and design, and IT support. Ultimately, it’s our goal to increase the traffic to a dental practice’s website to draw in new patients and — as a result — help our clients become staples in their communities.

Read More

10 Tips for Promoting Your Dental Office

Since the big bang of cosmetic dentistry has begun to falter, many dentists are left in a marketing void. How can a cosmetic dentist transfer back into doing a lot of bread-and-butter, general dentistry? Perhaps you’ve invested a lot of time and money into marketing cosmetics, only to find that the trend became commonplace. While you may have extensive training and a great before-and-after gallery, most consumers believe that all dentistry should be cosmetic these days. The upper middle class public is well versed in the top cosmetic dental procedures, like teeth whitening, veneers, and invisible orthodontics. Now, your cosmetic practice has to compete with other cosmetic dentists, as well as all general dentists. Don’t worry. I have 10 tips that, if you follow them, will keep the calls coming, the chairs filled, and the bills paid.

  1. Branding & Signage: If your sign says “cosmetic dentist,” that’s exactly what people think you are. Add “and general” to your description, and consider including “family dentist,” if the term applies. See more about dental logos here. 
  2. Website: Your website should reflect your image and appeal to your target market. A template site without a strategy won’t do much good. You need a website that sets you apart from other dentists, and that site should be well optimized for search and mobile compatible. Learn more about dental websites here. 
  3. Blog: Google’s experts say that there’s no excuse for a business not blogging. Today, blogs are an essential component of competitive online marketing and search engine optimization. Read about dental blogs here.
  4. Social Media: All businesses need a presence on Facebook. Not only will it help with SEO, but a Facebook profile makes a dentist seem more technically up to date. Image is important! Find out more about social media marketing here. 
  5. Articles & PR: Articles and press releases about your practice, services, events, and new employees can become a strategic part of an online marketing campaign. Gone are the days when press releases had to be peddled to newspapers and radio stations. Today, articles and press releases help with SEO. Read about content marketing here. 
  6. Eblasts/Newsletters: Keeping a patient costs a lot less than replacing one. In addition, word-of-mouth (or word-of-mouse) marketing is the most economical and rewarding type of advertising. A monthly e-blast or newsletter will allow your brand to remain in your patients’ minds between their visits. Electronic reminders also provide a digital tool for quick and easy word-of-mouse marketing. Eblasts can be emailed or posted to Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn with the click of a button. We create newsletters and eblasts – learn more here.
  7. Ask for Referrals: Don’t forget to ask your patients for referrals. Find the phrasing that you feel comfortable using, and start telling your returning patients that you want to take care of their friends, family, and coworkers.
  8. Testimonials: In the past, a written note card of thanks from a patient made staff and dentist feel like they did a good job. Today, online testimonials, like those posted on Yelp and Google+ Local, can significantly help SEO and rankings. If you don’t have a plan in place to acquire patient testimonials, it’s worth your time to create one. A few good reviews could score you page-one rankings.
  9. Videos: Videos are a great way to show off your office, staff, technology, and personality. Video patient testimonials are also impressive. But if you take the time to create videos, don’t forget to optimize them so that they show up in Google search results. Videos need a keyword-rich script behind them so that they can become an active part of your SEO strategy.
  10. Photos: A picture’s worth a thousand words, they say. With dentistry, it’s true. Before-and-after photos, smiling patients, happy staff, and a clean, welcoming office can all be conveyed in photos. Make sure that your website, blog, and Facebook page are well peppered with your original photographs – not just stock images. Technology is great, but the heart of dentistry is personal – it’s about people. Photos can convey that you still believe, people come first.

To learn more about building a thriving practice in a waning market, call MDPM Consulting today for a free marketing analysis. Jill, our CEO and  seasoned dental marketing consultant, will be happy to answer all of your questions. Our team will analyze your online presence, interview you about your current and past marketing, as well as your target market, then create a practical success plan with measurable goals. Call today: 972-781-8861, or email info@moderndentalmarketing.com.

Grade Your Front Office Team, Dentists!

Do you wonder how your front office team handles calls? At MDPM Consulting, we’re problem solvers. In some cases, we build a dental website that draws excellent traffic, but something mysterious keeps the dentist’s appointment book from filling up with new patients. We analyze user experience, look at how long visitors remain on various pages of the website, where they enter and where they leave. In most cases, everything seems perfectly aligned for transition – that is, the potential patient has every reason to book an appointment. What’s the stumbling block?

Returning Emails Correctly

Do all of the email forms on your website work? Do the emails funnel to one person? What’s your office’s procedure for returning emails? Digital communication is not going away. In fact, texting is replacing email, in many cases. A dentist should have full confidence that: 1) email forms on the website work; 2) a team member returns emails and texts within 24 hours; 3) all emails and texts that do not transition into new patients are kept on a list for weekly follow up calls until the potential patient responds. Also, email signatures should be consistent throughout the practice. Every team member who might communicate via email needs to include the dental practice logo, website, and phone number in his or her email signature. Read More

How to Choose a Dental Practice Name

You don’t need any name for your dental office, you need the perfect name. Regardless of whether you’re a new graduate opening a private practice or an experienced dentist prepping to sell your practice in the next few years, serious consideration should go into selecting a dental practice name. Not only will your name influence your persona in your community and the minds of your patients, the wrong practice name could get you into legal trouble. You certainly don’t need that! In this blog, I’ll give you tips for selecting a practice name, making it legal, and developing your brand for optimal success.

Brainstorming Dental Office Names

Not sure where to start? I recommend you call on some of your most trusted professional associates, regardless of dental industry expertise, and have a brainstorming session. You’ll need a large whiteboard and dry erase markers or an online whiteboard if your contributors are remote. Set a timer for 20 minutes and select a secretary. Everyone can begin suggesting names, and the secretary should record them all on the whiteboard. After 20 minutes are up, thank everyone, then sit down by yourself or with your business partner to review the suggestions. Consider that if you use your personal name, selling the practice’s brand may be difficult in the future. Also, if you use your location in the practice name, make certain that it would work if you opened multiple offices in your region. Read More

What We Do Differently for Dentists

Today, in response to my first post about our SEO service, The Success, I was asked the following question by a periodontist on LinkedIn. I thought I’d share my answer, in case you have the same question!

Q: What separates your product/service from your competition that promises the same response but never seems to deliver??

A: Well, a few things!

1. ALL of our content is original. Instead of starting with techies, we started with copy — because that’s what Google says is most important. In my DFW office, I have a team of copywriters who understand clinical dentistry and SEO. Each of my client dentists has a copywriter on our team. All website content and blogs are completely original, optimized, and clinically accurate.
2. We answer our phones. I’m the COO. My business partner is the CEO. All of our clients have our direct cell phone numbers, and we answer our phones after our clients are finished with their workday — even on weekends.
3. We are a small business, and we understand small business. Read my bio on our blog-site for more information about my philosophy for helping small businesses thrive! Read More

Dental Marketing: Is ZocDoc a Wise Investment?

Today I received an email from one of our client dentists in Pennsylvania. He wanted to know whether ZocDoc is a good investment. Since www.zocdoc.com is a type of dental marketing service, I thought I’d do some research and present my analysis and recommendation here on the MDPM blog. If you’ve had experience with ZocDoc and would like to share it with MDPM readers, please comment on our Facebook page.

What is ZocDoc?

ZocDoc is an online appointment-setting service for healthcare professionals. It primarily helps doctors fill empty appointments in their schedule. Physicians, dentists, and specialists can list their practices and profile on the ZocDoc website. Patients can find a doctor, make an appointment online, and leave a review. To sign up, you fill out a form online, and a ZocDoc representative calls you. On ThisWeekIn.com, in an interview with Cyrus Massoumi (see below), the inventor of ZocDoc, I learned that ZocDoc started by serving dentists.

A listing includes information about a practice and the dentist’s education, as well as available appointments, and patients can simply book online. In addition, dentists can have an appointment button on their website that sends potential patients to ZocDoc to book. ZocDoc does not replace other dental marketing, so a website and SEO is still extremely important. ZocDoc is simply an addition to a good marketing strategy.

What Does ZocDoc Cost?

At the time of the video, the cost was a flat fee of $250 per month, but it’s now $300 per month. The cost covers unlimited patient numbers.

Does ZocDoc Have Good Reviews from Dentists?

The online reviews I found for ZocDoc are from patients reviewing doctors, not doctors reviewing ZocDoc. Those patients who posted previews gave it a thumbs up, for the most part. However, ZocDoc kicked off with a huge marketing campaign, and there’s no way to tell if the reviews were paid or real. These days, we have to take that into consideration, though I have no reason to believe the reviews to be fake. So, consumers give ZocDoc a nod. According to the company’s website, nearly two million patients use the service to book appointments 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Read More

Transitioning Dental Patient Phone Calls into Scheduled Appointments

As dental marketing consultants, we know the acute importance of answering the phones in a dental office. You can invest thousands of dollars in marketing, and your efforts may lead many potential patients to call your office. Though you, the dentist, don’t answer your phones, the successful transition of potential patients to scheduled patients relies on how well you train your front office team. Unfortunately, many dentists do not know how to educate their administrative staff in this vital skill.

We’ve identified three common scenarios that turn new patients away, before they book an appointment. Steer clear of these traps, and you’ll see your new patient numbers grow. Read More

10 Steps to Create a Dentist’s Newsletter

This post is part two of “Is Your Dental Office Ready for a Patient Newsletter?”

Whether you build your own dental practice newsletter, have your office manager tackle the task, or use a service, these are 10 primary elements you need to consider.

  1. Email list: You can’t send an e-newsletter campaign without email addresses! If you subscribe to Demandforce, Smile Reminder, or another patient communication tool, you probably have a list of patient email addresses. Dental offices without a patient email list should start asking for email addresses today. Some patients may not want to provide you with their email address, and that’s fine. Don’t let those few discourage you. Most of your patients will be happy to give you an email address, especially if you explain the purpose: to deliver your dental health newsletter.
  2. Distribution Service: You can send e-newsletters through your patient communication tool, or you can sign up with a service like MyEmma.com. Many e-newsletter services exist, so do a little research and find one that’s convenient and user-friendly. You might put the task on your office manager, but if you do, be sure to assign a deadline. She should find a tool, write a synopsis, and send you her findings within a week. If you don’t have time for any of this, MDPM can handle all aspects of your newsletter creation and distribution.
  3. Column Designation: Feature 3-5 regular columns in your newsletter. The more personal, the better. Don’t be that dentist who sends out generic newsletters. With Google, people can find information about dental health when they need it. Instead, feature articles about your patients’ successes in the community. Which of your young patients made the A-honor roll? Which of your adult patients volunteers at the food bank? You might include a recipe from a staff member, photos of your team retreat, and testimonials from happy patients. End your newsletter with an article about a special offer, contest, or new service. Read More