3 THINGS DENTISTS/CMOS CAN DO TO UPGRADE THEIR MARKETING
We see a pattern in the dental marketing industry. For one reason or another, the fundamentals of marketing get lost. Here are a few that come to mind that aren't necessarily easy, but can pay big returns.
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- Maximize Your Digital Marketing with a Dashboard - Digital media is the fundamental building block for all marketing. The advantage of digital media is it's easily measured. However, getting your arms around this data and making smart decisions is sometimes not easy. A single office or a small group will have dozens of various analytics for SEO, website traffic, reviews and social media. Multiply this if you're a DSO trying to manage several offices in several states. The best solution is to build a Digital Dashboard that has all your relevant analytics in one place. There are several platforms to utilize including Google Studio. A Digital Marketing Dashboard is a perfect solution for DSOs and small practices alike. There's accountability, and data in real time that's relevant and actionable. And that's the whole point of the exercise.
- Consolidate Your Digital Marketing - Some independent dentists and small group practices usually have a doctor who has some skills in digital marketing, and oversee these efforts. However, be forewarned - they probably know just enough to be dangerous. (They're dentists, not professional marketers). For DSOs, the scenario is to have one outside group managing the website, one group handling SEO, one group managing social media, and so on. This model is a mess because you have competing agencies battling for budget and client attention. Regardless of organization size, it may make sense to consolidate all digital marketing with professionals, either with a qualified in-house person or a dental marketing agency. Regardless of your approach, it's critical that your digital assets work in tandem without subjectivity. Small group practices and DSOs alike are realizing that consolidating digital marketing can be a better ROI delivering a higher level of expertise, and lower agency fees if services are bundled together.
- Press Palms - The single most effective marketing is person-to-person sales, yet this lesson is lost in the dental industry. There are a hundred ways to do this, for example passing out fliers to the businesses near the office, soccer league sponsorships and community events are all good. However, I won't lie. Pressing palms is a lot of work. There's a lot of moving parts to coordinate and it's a real time investment. For independent dentists looking for a marketing edge, pressing palms is one way to out-hustle the competition. For DSOs, it might involve hiring staff to work extra hours or seeking out talent agencies who can supply the personnel. If you're willing to go the extra mile with your marketing, personal sales is a near surefire way to build awareness of your brand directly with the people that matter most.
A 20-year dental marketing executive, Rob Medina is a principal at Medina Communications. Established in 1996, the agency is full-service, and specializes in dental and retail marketing. Rob’s previous career experience was with CBS, NBC and IHeart. He has an MBA from Regis University.
