The last three and half years in dentistry have been very turbulent, starting with the arrival of the pandemic, closed practices and huge uncertainty. We then moved into the period immediately post the pandemic with the no shortage of patient demand, price increases and generally renewed confidence.<\/p>\n
However, that confidence bubble now appears to be bursting with lots of dentists starting to experience gappy appointment books and patients shopping around for the more lucrative treatments such as Invisalign and dental implants.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t just anecdotal, we also see it in the data we collect from client\u2019s marketing reports, and whilst this isn\u2019t affecting everyone, there is a picture developing of a general slowing down. \u00a0So even where a dentist\u2019s website is top of Google and traffic is still buoyant, the number of enquiries from that traffic is, in quite a few cases, reduced.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve seen the cyclical nature of the dental business before of course and with significant peaks and troughs. However the current downturn arrives on the back of very bleak economic data, with real growth in the UK economy not predicted to happen until some way into 2025. So do we batten down the hatches or go on the front foot to keep ahead?<\/p>\n
With that in mind, let\u2019s take a look at our recommendations for progressive practices when it comes to their dental marketing strategies<\/a> for the year ahead.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve discussed in detail why your practice website should be your priority marketing asset, with better quality enquiries and return-on-investment than from any other channel over time. However we often see dentists resting on their laurels and failing to update their websites, even when it\u2019s long overdue.<\/p>\n With increasing competition and switched on dentists updating their websites regularly, it\u2019s very important to avoid being left behind. Whilst spending \u00a34 – \u00a35k on a dental website upgrade might seem like a huge expenditure, when compared to other practice spend, the investment potential is huge. Please speak to our team for an illustration of typical return-on-investment and how updating your website is something you certainly won\u2019t regret.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Surprisingly a lot of dental practices still neglect their social media channels, even though it\u2019s relatively common knowledge that new patients don\u2019t just look at your website, they\u2019ll typically cross-reference your socials too. If they find tumble-weed, then the impression they\u2019ll gain is clear and it\u2019s not a good one.<\/p>\n Another mistake often made in the dental community, is the belief that if they post on their Facebook page and drop an odd image on Instagram, then that will bring in lots of new patient enquiries. Unfortunately it won\u2019t, simply because most folk won\u2019t even see those posts, even if they\u2019ve followed you or liked your page. As we\u2019ve discussed in earlier blogs, Facebook massively restricts what we refer to as the \u201corganic reach\u201d of your posts, forcing you to advertise. To illustrate this, an organic (free) post on your Facebook business page might be seen by 10 or 15 people, whereas a professionally structured ad campaign can easily reach hundreds of thousands of people.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean that you can neglect your organic social posting for the reasons mentioned above, but if you want to reach thousands of potential new patients, unfortunately you will need to advertise too. Web savvy dentists understand this and they\u2019re already advertising \u2013 and almost certainly in your area!<\/p>\nStand out from the crowd with an excellent website<\/h3>\n
Get your social channels in order and consider paid ads<\/h3>\n