In today’s world, the field of dentistry has become fiercely competitive. It feels like there’s a dental practice on every street corner, each one vying for the same goal: attracting more patients. The key to thriving in this saturated market is not just about being a skilled dentist, but about employing cutting-edge dental practice marketing strategies that set you apart from others in the area. In this blog, we will delve into the six best dental practice marketing strategies for 2024, designed to help you double your patient flow and stay ahead of the competition. #1 - Google Reviews Have you ever bought something on Amazon? Chances are you have. Maybe it was a pair of headphones, or perhaps you were just restocking on toilet paper. Amazon makes the process easy: you visit their website, type in what you want, and you’re presented with hundreds of options to choose from. But how do you decide what to buy? Every pair of headphones claims to offer exceptional sound quality, even the budget options. Without the ability to test them out, how do you know which ones to trust? Most people turn to the reviews. Reading what other customers have to say helps you make an informed decision without the hassle of ordering multiple products and dealing with returns. The same principle applies to dentistry. When potential patients search for “dentist near me” on Google, they’re met with dozens of dental practices, each claiming to provide exceptional care and to treat patients like family. So, which one do they choose? Most patients will look at the reviews which is why getting more Google reviews is one of the best dental practice marketing strategies you can invest in. Which dental practice would you choose? Two pairs of headphones may both claim exceptional sound quality, but if one has 500 reviews with a 4.9 out of 5.0 rating and the other has 25 reviews with a 4.5 out of 5.0 rating, you’re probably going to choose the first option. The vast majority of potential patients use the same logic when selecting a dental practice. High ratings and numerous positive reviews can make all the difference in attracting new patients to your practice.
How do you get more reviews than your competitors? Most dentists understand the power of Google reviews, but the question often is “how do I get more and beat my competition?” Should you print out a QR code to place at the front desk? Should you sign up for a review management tool like Swell , Trustpilot , Birdeye or any of the hundreds of other review management systems out there? We’ve helped hundreds of dental practices across the country become the highest-reviewed practices on Google, and we can tell you that you don’t need any fancy tools or QR codes to achieve this. Think about it: when was the last time you saw a random poster with a QR code in the reception area of a hotel or business, and decided to whip out your phone to scan it and leave a review? Probably never. Do you enjoy receiving automated text messages from businesses? Most people don’t. The vast majority of people don’t respond well to these strategies. Review management tools exist not because they create a better experience for the patient, but because many businesses want a quick fix solution for reviews—something where they just need to provide a credit card number and it takes care of everything. While these systems do work (send enough automated review requests and someone is bound to leave a review eventually), they are being used by many dental practices. As a result, all you might achieve is growing your review count at the same rate as dozens of other dental practices in the area using the same tools. The best way to grow your review count and become the highest reviewed practice in your area is: - Have your staff personally ask for the review. - Build an accountability system to ensure your staff is actually asking. - Create a reward system to incentivize them to ask. - Let’s break this down in more detail and explain why this process works so well. Have your staff personally ask patients to leave a review Have you ever received an event invite on Facebook or via email, something that looks like it’s being blasted out to hundreds or thousands of people? You probably have, and you’ve probably ignored it the vast majority of them. It’s not personal and often just looks and feels like spam. However, when someone you know, like, and trust personally invites you to an event—perhaps saying, “I’m hosting X this Saturday and it would be great if you could come!”—it becomes much harder to decline. If you agree to come, you feel a sense of obligation because you gave your word. This is why having your staff personally ask patients for a review is so powerful, instead of just blasting out review requests using a tool. When a patient is checking out at the front desk, if your staff asks, “How was your visit today? How did everything go with Dr. John?” most patients will respond positively, saying something like, “It was fantastic. Thank you so much!” Your staff can then follow up with: “That’s wonderful to hear. Dr. John really wants to go above and beyond for everyone, so I’m happy you had a great visit. Say, if you have a minute, would you be willing to share your feedback about our office in a Google review? It will only take a minute. I can text you a link right now that will take you to our review page. We’d love to get more wonderful patients like you, and your feedback would help us tremendously!” Most patients will agree and are 10-20x more likely to follow through compared to receiving an automated email or SMS from a review management tool hours or days after their appointment. Create a system to ensure staff accountability This strategy only works if your staff agrees to it and follows through. In practice, it’s easy for receptionists to nod their heads in agreement but then revert to their usual routines, never asking patients for reviews. Sometimes they’re overwhelmed and forget, sometimes they’re resistant to change, and sometimes they feel awkward about asking and end up not doing it at all. Accountability, or the lack thereof, is a significant issue in many dental offices, leading to missed opportunities because no one is paying attention to the day-to-day operations. Staff know it’s easy to let things slip without the dentist noticing. So, how do you make your staff accountable for reviews? How do you ensure they follow through, have the conversation with the patient, and ask for the review? The best method we’ve found is to use a scoreboard. Introduce a competitive element, and people will rise to the challenge. Head to your local office supply store and pick up a cheap whiteboard. Place it somewhere easily visible to your receptionists, such as the staff lunchroom, behind the front desk, or in the room where you hold team meetings. Write down the name of your dental practice, the number of Google reviews you have, and your score out of 5. Do the same for the top 5 or 10 competing dental offices in your area with the highest review counts. Update these numbers every Monday morning and make sure your staff can see them. For example, maybe on Monday you have 67 reviews. Competitor 1 has 251, Competitor 2 has 209, and so on. At the end of the week, repeat the process and calculate how many reviews each practice has gained. Perhaps Competitor 1 gained 5 new reviews, Competitor 2 gained 7, etc. If your staff gained more reviews than the competing offices, celebrate the victory. If not, discuss how your team can improve next week. Emphasize the importance of reviews by saying: “This shows potential patients that these other offices are better than us. I don’t think that’s true. We do a wonderful job and have many patients who love us, but I think these other offices are better at convincing their patients to leave reviews. Let’s make this a priority and show our community that we’re a great dental practice worth visiting!” Many clients have followed this strategy and, within weeks or months, dominated the Google review rankings to become the highest-reviewed practice in their area, without spending hundreds of dollars per month on review management tools. Becoming the highest reviewed practice in your area is one of the best dental practice marketing strategies you can employ and it’s all about educating your staff on why this is important, motivating them to stay engaged, and using a scoreboard to tap into everyone’s competitive spirit. Create rewards and incentives to motivate your staff Having the highest-reviewed practice in your area can do wonders for your patient flow, but when it comes to your staff, you have to ask yourself, “what’s in it for them?” Asking patients to leave a review and sending them a link takes extra time and effort. Many receptionists already feel overwhelmed, juggling multiple tasks. How do you prevent them from feeling like this is just another item on their already overflowing to-do list? The key is to create an incentive system so they can also share in the reward. While many clients who followed the first two strategies saw a significant increase in their review counts, we encountered offices where the staff resisted the extra effort. They claimed they were asking patients, despite evidence to the contrary. They insisted patients didn’t like the approach, even though they hadn’t tried it. They constantly sought alternatives like QR codes or review management tools to avoid putting in extra effort. The excuses were endless. Then one day, one of our dentists brought in a stack of $5-10 gift cards for places like Starbucks and Subway. He told his staff, “I know asking patients for a review and sending them a link takes extra work, and you’re already busy. But if you manage to get us a review, I want to show my appreciation because reviews are so important for attracting more patients.” The stack of 75 gift cards was gone in a week! Their staff gained more reviews that week than they had in the previous year. This was not an isolated case. In an extreme example, one of our clients became the highest-reviewed practice in a large city with nearly 1,000 competing dental offices. He proposed a challenge to his staff: “If we become the highest-reviewed practice this year, I will close the practice and take everyone on a four-day all-inclusive vacation to the Dominican Republic.” They hit the goal in less than two months, gaining more reviews in that time than in the previous three years combined. Before you think the dentist was crazy for offering such an extravagant reward, know that in the following 12 months, his practice’s production increased by over $1.3 million—the highest growth in the ten years he had owned the practice.Incentivizing your staff not only motivates them but can also lead to substantial growth for your practice. By sharing in the rewards, your team becomes more invested in the success of the practice, leading to a win-win situation for everyone. #2 - Patient Testimonial Videos While reviews are a very powerful dental practice marketing strategy which can influence people to choose one product over another, especially for smaller purchases, more expensive purchases often require more in-depth reviews. Have you ever watched an unboxing video or a very in-depth review on a particular product? Many people have. When buying a car, for example, you wouldn’t just Google “best car in 2024” and choose the one with the most reviews. You’d likely do a lot more research, including watching car review videos on YouTube, to narrow down your choices and pick the best one for you. The same goes for patients considering expensive cosmetic procedures like Invisalign or dental implants. They look for other elements of social proof beyond just Google reviews, and one of the most powerful ways you can set yourself apart is through authentic and genuine patient testimonial videos. Consider this: you’re searching for a dentist specializing in dental implants, either for yourself or a family member. You come across dozens of practices claiming to be experts. Their websites feature dentists with numerous designations you’ve never heard of, all claiming to offer exceptional dental care and the latest implant technology. Every website seems the same. Then, you come across a practice that lets their patients do the talking . You find a video like this: VIDEO It’s not the only one either; there are dozens of videos of happy patients willing to go on camera and share their positive experiences. With one video, you might be skeptical, thinking it could be a paid actor or a family friend. But it’s hard to deny a wall filled with faces of genuinely happy patients singing the praises of the dentist. Patient testimonial videos work wonders for more than just cosmetic procedures. Imagine you’re a parent looking for a new dentist for your child. Many practices claim to be great with kids, but what if one of the practices you’re checking out has videos like this? VIDEO Patient testimonial videos provide compelling, authentic social proof that can greatly influence potential patients’ decisions. By showcasing real patients sharing their positive experiences, you build trust and credibility that sets your practice apart. How do you get patient testimonial videos? Just like with Google reviews, many practices over complicate the process of gathering patient testimonials. The simplest and most effective method is to have your staff ask patients directly. 1. Have your staff ask the patient directly The process begins with your staff asking patients at the end of their appointment while they are being checked out at the front desk. Your staff should ask about their experience, and if it’s positive (which it usually is), then ask if they would be willing to participate in a quick testimonial video about their experience. Not everyone will feel comfortable doing a video, and that’s okay. For those who decline, ask if they would be willing to leave a Google review instead. Many people feel less pressure with leaving a written review. Starting by asking for a video testimonial and then switching to a written review if they feel uncomfortable is a great way to boost your chances of getting more Google reviews.For every 10 patients you ask, you’ll find that 2-3 will be happy to do a video review. Even if it’s only 1 in 10, that’s fine because you don’t need hundreds of videos. A small handful, around 5-10, is enough to set you apart from virtually any practice in your area. If a patient is on the fence, show them examples of other video testimonials on your website and offer to send their testimonial for approval before posting it online. This reassurance often alleviates any concerns they might have. 2. Record the video using your phone If the patient agrees, simply use your phone to record. Ask them, “How was your experience today at ABC Dental?” and let them speak. While not all testimonials will be perfect, the goal is to show authenticity and genuine patient satisfaction. If the patient is particularly chatty and comfortable, ask more questions like: - “What made you decide to get dental implants?” - “How do you feel after completing your Invisalign treatment?” - “Would you recommend this treatment to other potential patients facing similar issues?” Shoot the video in a quiet, well-lit area of your office, such as the operatory or consult room. Avoid backlighting; don’t shoot the video with the patient in front of a bright window. Ensure the lighting is good so the patient’s face is clear. Ultimately the goal is to make the video look natural and authentic, not overly professional or staged, so just use common sense. You don’t need fancy editing. If you want to clean up the video a bit by trimming the beginning or end of the recording, you can use free video editing software available on most Windows and Mac computers. If your office isn’t tech-savvy, consider hiring a video editor on Fiverr for $5-10. A little clean-up can make the video look nice, but in general, you want it to look raw and natural. Here are some great examples of testimonial videos our clients have created that you can use for inspiration: - Guelph Family Dentistry - Misch Implant Dentistry - Royal Crest Dentistry Discover more by reading the full article on our website .