10 Steps to Improve Your Dental Practice’s Patient Acquisition Strategies

Word of Mouth Marketing is alive and well; it is the cornerstone of several successful dental marketing strategies. As a dentist and business owner, you should consider including word of mouth marketing in your dental practice’s growth plan, as it could be the difference between a high or low patient acquisition rate. 

This article will discuss ten steps to executing dental patient acquisition strategies. You can implement these steps right away to leverage word-of-mouth marketing and attract more patients to your dental practice. 

1. Talk To Your Patients

We get it: this isn’t always an easy conversation to have. But the truth is it’s worth having. If you want your patients to spread the word about your dental practice, you should give them the benefit of the doubt and simply ask them. You can even take it a step further and prepare a template that they can use to share information about your practice with their online network.  

2. Talk to Your Team

Now’s the time to get your house in order. Get your team together and have a proper conversation about your patient acquisition. Discuss ways that each team member can ensure your dental practice leaves a lasting first impression on prospective patients. Also, ask them for their feedback on how you can position your dental practice for growth now and in the future. 

3. Create a Plan

Next, draw up a strategic plan that includes all the different ways you and your team intend to approach patient acquisition over the next month, quarter, or year. In your plan, you should include your current patient acquisition rate and cost and detail how you intend to increase your rate and reduce your cost. 

4. Leverage Email Communication

Email communication continues to be the best way to engage with customers or patients. You should consider starting a newsletter if you don’t already have one. If you have one, you should include a line or two in your newsletter that encourages patients on your mailing lists to share their reviews of your practice online or refer friends and family to you. 

5. Schedule Automated Messages

It is vital that you find new and creative ways to engage and communicate with your patients. You should consider investing in messaging and automation tools that allow you to schedule and send appointment confirmations, reminders, and birthday wishes to your patients. 

Use these scheduled messages as an opportunity to show patients that you appreciate their business. These automated messages could develop your dentist-patient relationship, boost patients’ experience, earn their loyalty and motivate them to spread the word about your dental practice. 

6. Brush Up Your Dental Website

Firstly, if you don’t have a dental website, you should contact us, and we can ensure your practice gets the online visibility it deserves. If you have a website, now’s a good time to make sure it’s updated. You should include new and relevant information about your dental practice, check your website’s accessibility, and consider integrating a Live Chatbot so patients who visit your website can get all the assistance they need right then and there. 

7. Update Your Google My Business Profile

As you brush up on your dental website, you should take a look at your Google My Business Profile (GMB) and update your contact information, images, or any other outdated information. If you have responded to reviews on your GMB profile, now’s a good time to do so. 

8. Run Paid Ads Campaigns

If you want to reach and acquire more patients, you should consider running PPC campaigns that target your ideal prospective patients. Unless you’re an experienced marketing expert, don’t this all by yourself. If you, you might end up losing money. Instead, you should talk to a dental marketing expert to help you get the most out of your PPC campaigns. 

9. Create an Online Reputation Management Strategy

Online reputation management is the process of controlling the information patients find online about your dental practice. Now and then, regardless of how excellent your dental services may be, you might find negative reviews online about your practice. So, make a plan to respond to those reviews and manage mentions of your practice online. 

10. Work with a Dental Marketing Specialist

Implementing patient acquisition strategies can be tasking and challenging to manage. If you find yourself in such a situation, you should contact a dental marketing specialist who can support your growth and work with you to identify gaps in your strategy and help you maximize your marketing investment.