Tips & FAQs

The right marketing budget for a practice varies based on the age of the practice, demographic, type of dentistry, and many other factors. A startup should have a much higher marketing budget than an established office. In general, an effective marketing budget should range anywhere between 3% to 6% of collections. That should include both external and internal marketing. This range is also supported by the ADCPA (Academy Of Dental CPAs). Check out our Dental Marketing Budget Calculator to get a better estimate based on the type of practice you have.

Think of this as an analogy: most people can buy/sell their own house without help; yet, most people use a realtor. A realtor knows the market, knows what other houses are buying/selling for, knows details about the areas and know what mistakes to look out for and pitfalls to avoid. Hiring a dental marketing agency does the same thing. An agency that specializes in dental will be able to provide you better guidance and more insights about what is happening in the industry and other practices. They also just have more experience around what works since they get to see results of certain efforts multiple times. That will ensure you get the most ROI possible for your marketing investment.

The most effective strategy for a dental practice will vary heavily based on the type of dentistry they want to sell and the type of patients they are looking for.

Marketing a PPO office will be different than a Fee-for-service or a Medicaid office. If you want to learn more on that, we have a blog post on this topic.

But no matter which type of practice you have, there are certain things that they all should do to bring more patients to their practice.

Starting with:
1. Having a good website that is mobile-friendly.
2. Having a high number of great Google Reviews. Think 50+.
3. Having good photography that highlights the practice, the staff and the personality of the team. This is the most important one.

Those three things are fundamentals that every dental practice needs to have in order for any marketing campaign to be as effective as it can be. If you don’t have a lot of time, we have some quick marketing tips you can do. And if you are not looking to spend money right now, here are some Low Cost Dental Marketing Ideas.

They key to finding the best dental marketing company for your practice is to look for a company that understands your practice and your area. Finding PPO patients is different than finding Fee For Service or Medicaid patients. They also need to understand the socio-economic dynamics of your area. Lastly, you should look for someone who focuses on the bottom line numbers such as production/collections, not on marketing metrics such as website visitors, leads, Facebook likes, etc.

Pay-per-click or PPC Ads can be an effective way to drive new patients to a practice if done properly. The reason for it is that you don’t need to have a high SEO ranking, or been in business for a certain amount of time or anything like that in order to play. If you are willing to pay for the clicks, you are in the game. For new practices without a lot of history or brand recognition, this can be an effective way to create some awareness and get some new patients. Check out our blog if you want more details on PPC ads and how to use them properly.

A Google My Business listing is that little panel that shows up on the right hand side of a Google Search when Google thinks they know what you are looking for. It contains your contact info, hours, link to your website, reviews and more. That little panel, nowadays, gets almost as many (if not more) visibility than your website. It has all the information a prospective patient needs and it is super powerful. One of the easiest and most important dental marketing tips we have is…

Claim your Google Listing with this step-by-step guide!

It is super easy and costs nothing but a few minutes. Google has very clear instructions. All it takes is having a Google/Gmail account.

Google Reviews are the most trusted on the internet right now. Facebook reviews, Yelp Reviews or even the Revenuewell reviews you have are just not very relevant. To that point, we recommend every dentist signs up for some form of an automated review tool. This helps a lot with local SEO. There are many out there such as Swell, Birdeye, Podium or BestLocalReviews. Some of them have different features you may or may not need and prices vary accordingly. Having a tool that just sends your patients a link automatically is critical. Every Pain-Free client gets one. If you get a negative review, make sure you know how to respond to them.

One of the keys to success for any small business is knowing your customer. What they like, where they spend their time online but also, what part of town they come from. Most people know that patients prefer dental offices close to where they live or work. Most dentists have a “gut feel” for areas they see often on charts. But knowing where exactly your patients come from, can be a tremendous tool in improving your marketing strategy efficacy. Take some time to plot your patients on a map so you can know where you should be targeting your efforts.

These questions come up for us very often and are points that everyone looking into doing marketing for a dental office should know. If you have any follow up questions, feel free to reach out!