Category: Dental Marketing

The Secret to Patient/Customer Loyalty & Excellent Word-of-Mouth Referrals

We have three main grocery stores in my town. One is super cheap, and I have to admit, I shop there. It’s the American Way. Another is staffed by teenagers who are more interested in texting than bagging. As a shopper in this store, I’m a guinea pig for workers in training. And I’m paying for this privilege? No thank you.

The third grocery store is amazing…so it’s the store I prefer and recommend. Prices are higher, sure. But being greeted with a smile and, “Can I help you?” is priceless. If I can’t find what I’m looking for, an employee reads the confusion on my face and rushes over to help. He actually walks me to the product I need—never points or gives me directions. I love Tom Thumb in Trophy Club, Texas. Those fine folks could write a book on excellent customer service.

One of my favorite quotes is from Einstein. He said something like Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Logic tells us that the reverse is true. Good sense is doing the same thing over and over if you want the same results.

I decided to analyze why I like Tom Thumb. My main appreciation is for the employees. As a somewhat intelligent businesswoman, I should apply these points to my own business. I’m no Einstein, but I figure that mimicking the customer service that I appreciate will foster the same loyalty in my clients that I feel for my favorite grocery store.

Fact: Word of mouth advertising has the best return on investment of any marketing.

Fact: Seventy percent of Internet users believe the testimonials
they read online. It’s modern word of mouth.

Fact: If you get good reviews on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp!, Google, etc.,
you’ll benefit not only from readers of those reviews, but also from search engines loving the backlinks to your website.

So what’s the secret to rave reviews, loyal customers, and excellent customer service? Read More

Common Questions about Modern Dental Practice Marketing

We’re often asked if we’ll do projects for businesses outside of dentistry. The answer is: Heck Yes! Take a peek at our portfolio, and you’ll see that half of MDPM’s clients aren’t dentists at all.

While we specialize in dental content because of our experience in the industry, our clients’ businesses range from home improvement to medical consulting to property management to religious instruction. Yeah, that’s a pretty wide range of clients. Few companies offer what MDPM does, and even fewer offer similar services for such a great price.

We’ve been asked if we host websites. The answer is no. We use the trusted resources available on the internet. WordPress, which we use for our blog websites, is free source software. Anyone can use it at no cost. WordPress offers 100 design templates, great add-ons (widgets), multiple pages, and customizable features. In addition, with WordPress, we can provide our clients with visitation statistics, as well as a free smart phone version of their blog. MDPM blogs are hosted with WordPress, as well.

Some folks want to know the difference between a blog and a custom website. This article explains the answer in detail. Check it out.

Why we recommend new blogs. To keep your costs low, and to take advantage of WordPress’ search engine optimization benefits, we prefer to create new blog websites for our clients, rather than just provide content for an existing blog. This allows us the freedom to do what we believe is best for your practice’s Internet marketing strategy. We’re in control of the blog’s success. We’ll purchase a good domain name, set up the blog website with a blog on the main page, and add other pages to describe your practice, team, and services. We always recommend that our clients keep their main website if they have one. A blog is great for SEO, but it is not a showcase site. It’s a workhorse. We’ll recommend that your blog’s visitors go to your main website for more detailed information about your office.

Will MDPM write blog content for my existing blog? Yes! We can’t promise that you’ll receive the same SEO benefits if we provide content for an existing blog. If your current blog is not on WordPress, and we provide content to your web company, they have to do some backend work to ensure the blog is indexed properly on search engines. In addition, if we only provide you with blog content, you’ll miss out on the extra promotional efforts we provide with the Extreme Internet Presence Package.

What else do we offer besides blogs? A lot. Visit our services page for more info. In short, we offer full-service Internet marketing, as well as community marketing. Branding, logo design, event planning and management, press releases, social networking, team training, and more…  You might also want to complete our free assessment while you’re here. It will help you, us, or a consultant analyze your current and past marketing program.

The Dentist’s Weekend Warrior Marketing Tip

Here is a marketing idea you can implement by 10:00 Monday morning.  It is virtually free, and would only take about an hour of your time to set up.

The only catch is you have to act NOW!

As every new school year begins, local communities hold school supply drives.   A great way to get exposure for your practice, while serving your community, is to take part in the collection of these supplies.

Here are the 5 simple steps:

1) Call your local family services office or other charity and ask if they are doing a school supply drive.  Let them know you want to collect items for them at your office.  Regardless of how many collection spots they have or how close the first day of school is, they will gladly accept your help.  Ask them to email blast their donors that you are a designated collection spot.

2) Make a flyer to hang up in your office and email it to your patients. The local organization may already have a template.

3) Email your database of patients, post on FB, Twitter and on your Blog. Be sure to encourage others to pass the word along to their friends. If you are in a multi-tenant building, hang your flyers in the hallways and restrooms if possible.

4) Get a cardboard box to collect the donations. You can have your kids or your staff  decorate it for you. Somewhere near the box, have some of your business cards/marketing material available so donors are encouraged to learn more about your practice.

5) At the end of the drive, deliver the supplies. Make it a fun outing for your office, and take a camera along. When the drive is over, send out a big THANK YOU to everyone via email, FB, Twitter and your Blog.  You can also include a photo of yourself and your staff delivering the supplies.

Be sure to share any success stories with us at info@moderndentalmarketing.com. We would love to share your results with our readers.  Pictures are welcome as well!

5 Excellent Dental Office Promotions for Dallas – Fort Worth Dentists… and a Bonus Marketing Tip for Cosmetic Dentists

Want to grow your dental practice?

Online advertising—a dental website, blog, listings, optimization, and all that stuff—is essential in any modern marketing plan. You must remember, though, the Web is world-wide (thus the www). Let’s take a step back for a minute and thing about who your patients are. They’re the folks who live in your neighborhood, go to the schools in your town, and shop at the same grocery stores you do. Not all of them are plugged into the Internet 24/7. There is life outside of the computer for some.

At Modern Dental Practice Marketing, we plan, promote, and manage events for dentists. Getting people to have fun in (or very near) your office is a great way to show the community that you care. If you have great events, even once or twice a year (if not quarterly), your name will be the buzz of the town! Here are 5 ideas for fun dental practice events that will grow your patient base:

  • Easter Bunny Photos – Offer free photos of the kiddos with a tooth-brush toting bunny who, of course, has sparkling choppers. Pass out brushing charts and set the kids up on a cavity-free program while they’re there.
  • Arbor Day Festival – Any number of cool presentations about gardening, composting, rainwater storage, etc., and a potting bench for the kiddos to plant seeds. If your office is “green,” let everyone know!
  • Costume Contest – Everyone loves a costume contest! Host a parade around a community park, and give the winner a big treat.
  • Halloween Candy Buyback – See www.halloweencandybuyback.com for details.
  • Christmas Wrapping – Provide custom gift wrapping for a set time and for a set number of gifts (ex. 4). Make sure the tag says “Wrapped with care by Dr. You” and that the folks you’re wrapping for have snacks, drinks, and fun Christmas stuff to do while they wait.

BONUS: Want more cosmetic cases? Realtors are very image-conscious people, and they network like crazy. Plan a realtor appreciation happy hour at your practice after hours. Invite about 25 local realtors, and offer a deep discount on take-home whitening kits. At the event, well stocked with bubbly and hors d’oeuvres, announce an awesome referral program, and provide attendees with welcome packages for their clients.

The goal is new patients for you. Let MDPM make it happen. Call us today at 972-781-8861, or email moderndentalmarketing@gmail.com.

Hey, Dentist… Which is More Important: Web or Community Marketing?

Why do you have to choose? Truth is, both types of marketing could really boost your patient base—and retention—in the Dallas – Fort Worth area. And never forget, the whole point is to leave an impression! Tried and true, good ol’ boy advertising does not appeal to the younger generation…the technical gurus who invest money in their health and appearance.

So let’s look at the balancing act between Internet and community marketing for dentists:

Internet Marketing for Dentists

  • Web marketing should start with a website that ranks well on Google for the keywords your potential patients most often use.
  • Beyond that, social networking, like Facebook and Twitter can be beneficial. However, you and your team have to use these resources correctly. Just posting random thoughts on a Facebook Fan Page and Tweeting about an article you read won’t effectively promote your dental practice. At MDPM, we offer one-on-one coaching for you and your team, so you can learn how to fit social networking into your schedule and get the most pop for your posts. There’s a simple formula that’s easy to manage, and you’ll find it highly effective.
  • You’ll also need a blog that feeds onto your Facebook page. The blog should be updated with keyword-rich, relevant posts at least once a week. The MDPM dental copywriters can make posts on your behalf, or I can teach you and your team how to write solid blog posts that appeal to dental patients and search engine spiders.

That’s a synopsis of web marketing for dentists. But when you consider that the Internet is international and your practice is local, you can see that community promotions are a necessary component to an effective dental practice marketing strategy—particularly in North Texas towns, like Keller, Colleyville, Southlake, Grapevine, Murphy, and Frisco. We’re in Texas, and what rules Friday nights? Football. That’s right. Read More