Your business is the vehicle carrying you to your life goals and dreams. And if one of your tires goes flat – or worse yet – is missing all together, you’re going to have a bumpy and unsatisfactory ride!

Did you know that your dental practice has four main functional units?

Operations
Finance
HR
MARKETING

These are the four wheels that need traction in order to drive your business to your desired destination. It is vital that you give adequate attention, care, and investment to each of these four facets of your practice if you want to reach your objectives.

Unfortunately, most dentists’ marketing strategy consists of “I tried an SEO company for a couple years with no big impact.” Or, “Everything is on social media now and that’s just not me.”

Don’t let this be you. You can do better… and it doesn’t have to be expensive! We’re not selling you anything here. This is the TRUTH that you need to embrace. A consistent, strategic marketing effort (with any reputable firm) is like a balanced tire at the perfect PSI. You need it to roll smoothly along instead of grinding the street, swerving, and showering everyone with molten sparks of unobtained aspirations.

Most experts agree that a dentist should allocate 3–8% of annual collections to marketing. But guess how much a practice actually invests? It’s not uncommon for a practice to only invest 0–1% into one of their primary business functional units!

Think about that for a minute. The very thing that fuels a practice’s revenue (attracting and closing cases) is often the most neglected of the four functional units! Is this YOU? If it is, make a commitment to allocate 3–8% of your practice’s annual collections to marketing. Then approach it intelligently.

Here are some questions to guide the development of your dental marketing efforts-

Am I saying the right thing to my target market?
The #1 rule of entrepreneurship is to find a need and fill it. Sometimes dentists get really excited about a new protocol or treatment they offer and think everyone else will be just as excited. This is often not the case. If you’re in a rural blue collar community, the locals might not be all that excited about your new, top-of-the-line veneer offering. So, you can’t blame marketing for not driving the revenue you dreamed about when the message doesn’t land. In summary, identify the needs of your market, provide a great solution, and then promote it.
Am I saying my message in the right way to my target market?
Assuming you have found the right message to share with your market, now you must make sure you are saying it in the right way. If your practice is located near a retirement community and there is a demand for implant-supported dentures, you are in an enviable position. Focus your message on the tremendous benefits that implant-supported dentures offer AND how you are the most trusted provider to deliver those benefits.
Am I using the right mediums to reach my target market?
Continuing on our previous example, if you are trying to push your implant-supported denture offering through TikTok, you’re probably missing your market. Yes, many boomers have adopted social media. But you’ll probably have better luck on Facebook. Also, you may be even more successful if you leverage print media. Promote your message through the medium that your target market uses.

SUMMARY

Marketing is one of the core components of your business. If you neglect it or give it half-hearted effort, you will most likely miss out on the returns that you are wishing to capture from your business.

Commit to investing consistently in your business with both financial and mental resources. Make sure you are saying the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, to the right people, and do it through the right mediums.