Marketing Tips to Attract More Patients to Your Dental Practice

Attracting and retaining patients requires more than your exceptional clinical skills. It needs a strategic marketing approach. Strategies such as building a website to programmatic direct mail campaigns can help attract and keep patients. Whether you're an existing or a new clinic, Darwill can help dental practices thrive.

Build a Website

In today’s digital age, you must have a website for your practice. When looking for dental care, an online search is the first place a potential patient turns to. The website should include a list of your services and hours of operation. Be sure to showcase patient testimonials to show how good your services are. This is important content to have as it builds upon your online presence. Plus, potential new patients lean on testimonials to help make a decision. Around 72% of patients read online reviews as the first step to finding a new dentist.

Your website needs to be easy to navigate. A new patient coming to your website should be able to navigate the content without issue. A good interface allows prospects and patients to interact with your content. They will get the information they need in a few simple clicks. It is also essential to ensure your website is mobile-responsive. This means ensuring it works well on smartphones and tablets. Many users browse on these devices to find what they are searching for. A website helps you create a solid online presence. This helps your practice attract more patients and build your brand. 

Optimize for Local SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) will improve your website's ranking in local search results. 75% of people never scroll past the first page of Google. This is why you need SEO to help your website rank on the first page. Darwill can optimize your website to increase the visibility to local prospects. To do so, we update the front- and back-end of your site. We include location-specific keywords in the content, meta descriptions, and titles.

Another critical step is to claim and optimize your Google Business Profile. Doing this will enhance your visibility in local search and on Google Maps. Prospects and patients often look at the Google listing to find information. They can find your website, practice hours, phone number, address, and reviews here. Ensuring this information is accurate and up-to-date is vital. It increases visibility, search engine rank, and brings in new patients.

Offer Online Scheduling

Online booking is crucial for capturing new leads and improving the patient experience. Today’s consumers want convenience and to avoid phone call anxiety. Research shows that 75% of millennials avoid phone calls because they're time-consuming. And 81% experience apprehension anxiety if they have to make a call. Providing an easy-to-use booking system makes it makes it easy for leads to become a patient.

This streamlined process increases the likelihood of converting website visitors into actual appointments. They can make an appointment without waiting to call during regular practice hours. When selecting an online scheduler, keep simplicity in mind. This will improve the user’s interaction and prevent roadblocks in completing the form. If there are too many questions, they may lose interest or become frustrated. When this happens, they may be more likely to go to your competitor. Incorporating this functionality enhances accessibility, improves efficiency, and drives growth for dental practices.

Use Paid Social and Meta Ads

Paid social and Meta ads offer an excellent opportunity to reach potential patients. As of January 2024, roughly 70% of the U.S. population are social media users. These users often spend almost 2½ hours each day using social media. Paid social media ads allow you to leverage user data on Facebook and Instagram. This data can help with targeting potential patients. This is all based on demographics, interests, and behavior. You can increase brand visibility, drive website traffic, and generate low-cost leads. This can drive traffic to your business by placing ads in users' feeds or timelines. 

Include Email Marketing Campaigns

Implementing email campaigns is essential for dental practices. They can help you reach and engage current patients. Email marketing offers several benefits, including cost-efficiency and targeted communication. Based on past interactions, the email can include content important to the recipient. Personalized messages help the dental practice to nurture relationships with existing patients. This helps to foster unwavering loyalty.  Through consistent communication via email, dental practices establish their credibility. You build relationships and convert the email recipient into a loyal, returning patient. This helps you maintain cost efficiency and get the most out of your marketing efforts.

Programmatic Direct Mail

Programmatic direct mail (PDM) helps you attract potential patients when it matters. PDM uses both online data and offline data. This includes a person’s online browsing and buying behaviors. This information helps to select the best candidates to automatically send tailored mail to. 

We pair PDM with our automated trigger marketing approach. This works to deploy relevant mail to the consumer. Based on their genuine interest and online behaviors, personalized mail is triggered to automatically send while they still have active purchase intent. Darwill offers several trigger campaigns. These include appointment reminders, reactivation, insurance benefit campaigns, and new mover campaigns. 

For example, a new mover trigger targets people who recently moved to your market. Darwill uses national consumer data. This can find people who have recently moved into your market and need dental services. Once identified, Darwill helps you deploy PDM campaigns tailored to new movers. We take this a step further by pairing it with digital marketing for an omnichannel approach.

Attract New Patients with Darwill

Darwill’s marketing tips can help your dental practice attract more patients. You can increase brand awareness and achieve long-term success in the competitive market. Need some help? We can help you attract new prospects and past patients, and retain current patients. Ask us how!