When many people think of dental marketing, they think of two things.
First, they think of where they will advertise their practice. Traditionally, this includes things such as direct mail, television ads, and phone-book advertising. Now, many dentists also think of Facebook marketing, dental marketing funnels, or strategic alliances. This is especially true if you’re a member of Delivering WOW U or my free Dental Marketing and Profits Facebook group and have witnessed the power of these strategies.
Second, people think of what they will offer to entice people to make an appointment. This traditionally included things such as discounted or free services. Members of WOW U or my free Facebook group are more likely to market their VIP services and WOW experiences. They’re also more likely to market their practice vision, story, and culture. These help you differentiate yourself from other practices. They can also help you attract a high-end clientele and avoid competing with big corporate dental practices.
One part of marketing your vision, story, and culture that many practices overlook, however, is dental technology. When you invest in dental technology, using it to perform procedures is only one way to earn a return on your investment. Another way to earn a return on your investment is to use it to attract new patients to your practice.
Marketing Dental Technology to Dispel Patient Concerns
Patients delay or avoid dental procedures for many reasons. Some fear high costs of procedures. Others think their dental care will take a lot of time out of their busy schedules. Still others think the procedures will be painful or uncomfortable.
While some procedures cost more than others, technology has helped control costs, speed up procedures, and limit patient discomfort. If you’ve invested in technology to make a procedure more cost-effective than ever, highlight that fact. If your technology reduces the number of visits a patient needs to complete treatment, emphasize that. If your technology helps ease discomfort, let them know.
Marketing emphasizing how affordable, fast, and comfortable you can make procedures can go a long way to getting patients in the chair.
Marketing Dental Technology to Help Patients Visualize Their Future
Another reason patients delay or avoid procedures is they are not sure how a procedure would work for them. If you’ve invested in technology that can give insights about that, let them know.
For example, we have an iTero scanner in my office. One feature of iTero scanners is to simulate patient outcomes, so we use that in our marketing. Together with what we know about prequalifying patients for Invisalign, we’ve created a very effective, low-cost Invisalign marketing campaign on Facebook.
Specifically, we use a pre-qualification quiz with our Facebook ads to let patients know if they qualify. If they do, we invite them in for a free consultation and let them know we can show them what their smile will look like after their treatment if they come in. With our iTero scanner, this is simple to do. When people come in and see their simulated smile, they get emotional and excited about their future. That makes it much more likely for them to move forward with Invisalign. We do a lot of Invisalign treatments in my office. Investing in an iTero scanner and using it in our marketing has been a big factor in building such a high-profit part of our practice.
Are you marketing your dental technology?
Does your dental technology make procedures easier to afford, quicker to perform, or more comfortable for patients? Are you able to help patients visualize outcomes?
Many practices invest in new technology. Not many practices use technology effectively when marketing their practice. Because we do, we’re able to quickly earn a return on our investment.
If you want more help growing, running, and marketing your practice, sign up for your 14-day trial to Delivering WOW U. There, you will find my best training, systems, strategies, and dental software suggestions. You’ll also find exclusive deals and discounts from the best dental product and service providers.
You can also join my free Dental Marketing and Profits Facebook group, where thousands of dentists and I help each other build better practices.
Finally, if you want even more personalized help, sign up for my next business bootcamp session, where I work directly with you and a small group of other dentists to improve your dental practice.
This article originally appeared on DeliveringWow.com.