UK Dentistry – Who Wins The Marketing Wars?

Why you need to plan carefully and budget for success

Over the last few weeks the team at Dental Media has collated data from numerous accounts to investigate which dentists are actually winning the marketing wars – so who is doing what and at what cost, to secure new patient enquiries.

The analysis is ongoing and the results will be the subject of future blogs; however there are three general conclusions which are already apparent – 1) In general UK dentists don’t spend enough on marketing, many nothing at all, 2) those who start early and budget appropriately win the marketing wars and 3) those who do it right, quickly extend their lead over their competitors. That probably seems quite predictable, but given the general reluctance to budget and plan marketing appropriately within the UK dental sector, it’s well worth reiterating.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these elements and how the information can be used to inform the business strategy for your own dental practice.

UK dentists are generally significantly under-budgeted when it comes to marketing

This is particularly the case when you compare to other countries such as the US or indeed general businesses in the UK. Very often we see that dentists have a website and then do little else, perhaps some ad hoc social media marketing or some DIY Google Ads. There may also be some website SEO happening, but even this is far from the norm.

This is somewhat peculiar given that it’s very easy to show that websites which are prominent on Google are excellent for attracting new dental patients and payback on SEO is fast. It’s also easy to demonstrate that social media, done well and consistently, can deliver excellent return on investment.

Despite the data and evidence to show just how well professional marketing contributes to a dental business, there still seems to be a disconnect for many dentists in the UK. There is often a focus on the sum of money needed to introduce and maintain marketing, rather than the payback which it can deliver. This failure to invest leads to business growth stagnating unnecessarily.

Start marketing early to build momentum

We know from our work with a number of long-standing marketing “savvy” dentists that those who start their initiatives early and remain consistent, win out. Typically there are 2 or 3 dentists in every area who “get it” and know what they need to do ensure that the web and other promotional channels deliver a consistent flow of new patients.

The teams that are successful typically run holistic marketing/advertising campaigns and understand that they need to exploit most or all of the available channels including:

• Advertising in local magazines and publications (yes, it still works!)
• Periodic leaflet drops – less popular but can still be used to good effect in certain circumstances
• A high-quality, well-maintained website designed to engage and encourage contact
• Search engine optimisation to achieve prominence in Google
• Active Facebook and Instagram accounts
• A consistent focus on acquiring excellent reviews on Google and Facebook
• Team trained and focused on all aspects of internal marketing
• Use of paid ads (Facebook and Google) to complement enquiries coming via the practice website – this is getting harder but can still be very effective when done well and given time to work

Those practices that understand the need for holistic marketing will budget for it appropriately, assess the return on investment and be prepared to adjust and innovate depending on results.

It’s also abundantly clear that momentum grows over time and that you need to promote your brand and services consistently to achieve this. Practices which do nothing and then launch a quick Invisalign campaign on Facebook are much less likely to achieve success than those which have experience and a track-record.

Remember that many patients will do their research and look to validate your experience as well as your value proposition. For example if you are an Invisalign provider with lots of cases under your belt and preferential lab fees, then you are better placed than the dentist who has been on a two-day course and just starting out. It takes time and effort to build this sort of momentum; there are very few “quick fixes” unfortunately and you need to remain resilient and be prepared to build progressively.

Those who start early extend their lead in the marketing stakes

Having worked in the dental marketing space for over 23 years, it’s easy for us to see just how far ahead the well-established dentists actually are. Where they’ve invested consistently in the types initiatives we’ve discussed above, they will already be well-placed in Google and exploiting other channels like Facebook and Instagram. Their teams will also be fully-focused on what they need to do internally to help encourage great reviews and word-of-mouth referrals from existing patients.

The bottom line is that you can’t simply catch-up in just a few months, it will take time to start building momentum to compete. But the longer you leave it, the further behind you’ll fall.

If you are lucky enough to have established a practice in an area where there is only limited competition (there are fewer and fewer examples of this), then you are very fortunate and you can get traction very quickly. For those starting out in more competitive environments, patience, resilience, creativity and a suitable budget will be required. Remember that everyone had to make a start at some point and you can start to make inroads if you approach the challenges in the right way. But don’t leave it too long to get moving!

For further information and help with starting up your own practice marketing initiatives, please get in touch with the team at Dental Media on 01332 672548 for a no-obligation discussion, indicative costs and examples of the return on investment.