While many aggressive dental marketers have a single minded goal to gain new patients for a dental practice, only a few realize that retaining patients and winning loyalty matters more in the long run. Marketers should focus the better part of their efforts on consolidating the existing patient base and building loyalty. A loyal patient will act as a brand ambassador for the practice and will be to bring in many more patients over time with a positive word of mouth.
In the field of dental marketing, nothing matters more than a strong word of mouth. Prospective patients will typically pay careful attention to the opinions and experiences of current or past patients. Their choices and decisions will be significantly influenced by what an existing patient has to say about the dental practice. Conversion rates for new patients are usually much higher for practices that invest in improving patient satisfaction and patient loyalty.
In a highly connected environment where social and mobile communications play a major role, comments and opinions are quickly shared online within local communities. Especially in the dental industry, patients are likely to pay a lot of attention to such online feedback, testimonials, reviews and ratings. Over a period of time, as the build-up of patient opinions and ratings grows, it can help to create a strong online reputation for the dentist.
The marketing focus should be segmented between two areas: acquiring new patients and retaining the older ones. Both areas are important, and one should not be ignored at the cost of the other. The second segment, in fact, helps to boost the first segment. A committed approach of care and concern for existing patients will go a long way to achieve your goal of growing your practice and building a strong competitive advantage in your local area.
About the Author:
Naren Arulrajah is President and CEO of Ekwa Marketing, a complete Internet marketing company which focuses on SEO, social media, marketing education and the online reputations of dentists. With a team of 140+ full time marketers, www.ekwa.com helps dentists who know where they want to go get there by dominating their market and growing their business significantly year after year. If you have questions about marketing your practice online, call 855-598-3320 to speak one-on-one with Naren.
