Dental Marketing Companies

It may sound crazy, that a lame man can just judge the way you do your job from a clinical standpoint. But that’s exactly what’s going on. Dentists can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on continuing education, everything to do with clinical training and yet your competence is judged by simply how well you do a few key things.

It turns out that there are a few things that dental patients are looking for, in general there was a 2013 report by a certain dental marketing company which surveyed over 500 patients and prospective patients of dental care in which they discovered that the majority of these patients who are looking for a dentist, in fact judge you based on your consumer reviews. This is crazy for any dentist who wants to think about how much time goes into being a dentist. Just think of all of the courses you’ve taken, from biology to anatomy to perhaps some business courses. But what those business Corp. horses may have not taught you was until marketing specifically.

It turns out, that when it comes to dental marketing, and by that I mean anything that has to do with compelling patients to visit the dentist on a regular basis and accept Comprehensive Care, online reviews are ranked as one of the most important things a dentist can have.

That’s right. Not continuing education. Not your excellent grades in school. Not whether you are able to perform a perfect symmetrical bridge. Not any kind of clinical measurement whatsoever. This is because patients can’t judge you based on your clinical ability. So what else do they have to go off of. It’s simple.

As social creatures people trust other people. And if other people are talking well about you, they’re going to trust that advice over anything that you say on your website.

One of the reasons why a few of the dental marketing companies are so hot on video marketing, is because of the power of words that comes with positive video testimonial reviews. They’re not as easily dismissed as say a yelp review. However, even these yelp and Google and Facebook reviews do hold some weight in the eyes of the prospective patient. It’s very important to realize this.

Here are five things that have to do with online reviews and dental marketing which you have to keep in mind when trying to understand consumer psychology of the prospective dental patient.

First, convenience. Patient

According to this study which we mentioned earlier by another dental marketing company, 74% of patients say they expected to be seen quote right away” and this tells us that, based on reasonable inference this is probably to do with about one week wait time, or less.

When the patient finally picks up the phone to call your dental office and make an appointment keep this in mind. They really want to be taken in right away, because they were either procrastinating for a very long time to see the dentist, or they just outright want to avoid it. In either case, it’s important to realize that this person needs to be seen before the internal urgency is removed. Basically the perception by the patient is that if you run a proficient schedule you must be a proficient dentist. Because when it comes down to it a dental practice that is opening its doors for them and doing so at a time when it is convenient for the patient, rather than just convenient for the dentist, this is creating a perception that the dentist actually cares.

The second thing to consider of these five things has to do with how first impressions are so important in a dental practice. You’ve heard the saying that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The friendly sickness of your staff is of paramount importance it’s important to realize that patients are going to make a judgment call about how good a dentist you are within moments of meeting your front office staff. If you have a great team then you must be a great dentist. That’s the perception that patients have of your clinical abilities.

The third thing I’d like you to consider is the more modern technology that is available and how new your facility looks. If your staff is friendly, that’s a great start. But what about if you’re waiting room is worn and torn? Patients will assume that you must be behind the times, or perhaps you’re about to retire, or perhaps you just don’t care enough to keep the place tidy. Adversely a nice highly updated dental facility communicates a certain care and compassion. It shows that you actually want to present yourself in a good light. And the percent perception by patients is that if you have a nice clean modern facility with all of the latest Advanced Technology. You must be an advanced dentist. This is dental marketing.

Going back to the reviews. Many dental marketing companies are obsessed with video marketing. The crux of your video marketing is patient testimonials. Why is this? Because there is no other more authentic way to communicate a testimonial online. You just can’t get any closer to word-of-mouth marketing done online then to have a video recording of one of your current patients talking about a specific experience with your dental office. The rapport and genuineness, indeed the authenticity of these video testimonials is something that cannot be shown up on online reviews and the sites who house them. However, it is very important to make sure you have plenty of reviews on Facebook. Even more important than Facebook reviews I would say yelp is of higher importance. However my personal opinion as a dental marketing expert is that Google reviews are the most important. This depends on the type of perspective dental patient you’re talking about. If they are a yelp her they will go to yelp. If they are a Google or, they are going to go to Google. Everyone is on Facebook, however it is the opinion of this dental marketing expert that

Facebook reviews are not viewed as quite authentic and this probably has to do with the lack of a filter in the Facebook review system. Just because someone has a verified account on Facebook does not make every review they make authentic. Once again, the best form of review outside of word-of-mouth in the real world, would be video testimonials.

Having clear communication that is honest and upfront about pricing, is of paramount importance. Patients want an honest upfront discussion about costs. The public perception of dentists, and other dental marketing companies can corroborate this if they are truly being honest with themselves, is that dentists are in the game for the money. Nothing could be further from the truth for the vast majority of dentist, however this is dental marketing were talking about here. Dental marketing is all about perception. If the public perceives things this way, we need to react. In fact I would suggest, as a dental marketing expert, that we not only react to the public perception that dentists are in the game for money, that we are actually proactive in diffusing that falsehood.

One of the best ways to diffuse this threat to case acceptance is to engage in pre-authorizations with insurance companies. Be sure to be upfront and honest with the patient as they are going to believe that dentistry is expensive. So, remember this perception and be sure to honestly and openly engage with your patients on the subject of cost. This is highly important when it comes to dental case acceptance.