14Feb, 2022

What is Patient Attrition and How Do I Avoid It?

February 14, 2022

Dental marketing, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization

Happy,African,American,Dentist,In,Office According to a study by the dental care company Henry Schein®, dental practices lose 17 percent of their active patients each year. As a leader of your practice, how are you supposed to ensure that your patients continue to pick you for their dental needs?

In marketing, this potential loss of patients is referred to as patient attrition, and it is a problem all businesses have to deal with. But when it comes to an area like dentistry, which can be subject to sudden insurance policy changes that are outside your control, dentists must rely on online marketing tools in order to keep patients returning.

How To Mitigate Patient Attrition

Let’s start with the cold, hard truth. In an environment where external changes are common, some patient attrition is unavoidable. However, by using some of these handy tips, you can mitigate the problem and ensure that your dental practice has a constant influx of satisfied patients.

Online Marketing: As obvious as it sounds, practices that have little or no online presence are less likely to retain patients. If a person is looking to follow-up on dental care and finds it difficult to access their records online, receive updates about closures on social media, or request appointments on their dental practice’s website, they will likely search for a more tech-friendly replacement. In this day and age, social media has become customer service, and it starts before your patients even call! Make sure to keep your website and social media accurately updated with your current policies and services.
SEO: We harp on it a lot, but Search Engine Optimization is absolutely key for any practice trying to retain patients. In an ocean of Google search results, using an app like Google SEO can help your listings rank higher on searches. According to a recent study on appointment reminders, text messages and e-mail are increasingly ineffective ways to keep patients updated. The reality is that most people leave their texts and e-mails unopened, especially when they contain obviously standardized messages. A good SEO strategy not only attracts new patients, but helps old patients find your site again if, like many people, they don’t respond to standard reminders.
Online Reviews: Patient feedback is your friend! Make sure to publicize your online reviews on an easy-to-access section of your website. 67% of people will consider leaving a review for a positive experience. This means that satisfied, responsive patients are walking marketing tools for your practice.
Give Your Marketing Effort Time: If you’ve recently launched an updated website or retooled your digital marketing in any way, giving your new approach time to work for you is important. Marketing efforts can snowball and pulling the rug out from under your new strategy in order to retool it too frequently can erode patient trust. Make sure to put forward a consistent, informative marketing aesthetic in order to avoid attrition.
Reach Out: The quest for patient retention does not start or end at the office door. Use all available messaging services, including text and direct mail, to thank patients for their visit, remind them of any additional appointments, and follow up on their dental health. Make sure to use original, or original-sounding messages to come off warm and approachable. Avoid generic text like the plague. Some patients might not read it! But the ones that do will feel a personal connection to their dental practice.

Whether you are thinking of kickstarting a successful marketing campaign, or want to improve your pre-existing marketing efforts, ProspectaMarketing can help you attract and keep new patients so that your practice can continue to grow! We are an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices and the tools of Internet marketing. We help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

1Apr, 2021

A Whole Lot of Dentists

April 1, 2021

PM Blogger

internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing, Local Internet Marketing

Dentistry is an intensely competetive field, and in the United States there is no shortage of practitioners. One of the reasons for that, judging by recent statistics, is that more new dentists are graduating from dental school each year, while fewer are retiring once they reach the age of sixty-five.

Nationwide, it works out to something like sixty-one dentists for every 100,000 people. That ratio does not appear to be a blip on the radar, either: trend-watchers say the number of practicing dentists is expected to continue growing for at least another fifteen years.

Marketing!

How do you compete for new patients, when there are so many dentists for people to choose from? The answer is that you must market your practice. You may already have heard how important marketing your practice is, in order to stand out in a crowded field. Do you have a clear idea how to do that?

There are a lot of different strategies. In this day and age there is an emphasis on the Internet, but no single approach is the best.

Here are just few things to think about:

Be active on social media. When members of your community follow you on social media you can reach them, 24/7/365. Sharing your expertise and providing updates on your practice builds your reputation and is a great way to get patient reviews.
Emphasize Local Search. When people search the Internet for goods and services near their home, they use local terms. No one searches for “teeth whitening,” for example, without including the name of their town. The content on your website must have all the essential terms people look for, including the name of your city, its neighborhoods, and even local landmarks.
Get involved in your community. Offline, there may be nothing better to raise your profile locally than being active in the community. Share your knowledge of dentistry at local schools, sponsor a youth sports team, and have a booth in your town’s summer festivals. Each of these enables you to build personal relationships.

Marketing your dental practice helps you stand out from the crowd, and ProspectaMarketing can help. We are an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices and the tools of Internet marketing. We help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

17Aug, 2020

Your Practice and Digital Marketing

August 17, 2020

PM Blogger

internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization

The Internet has impacted virtually ever facet of modern life, including the way dental practices attract new patients.

Marketing your practice online has proven to be far more effective than traditional marketing at reaching new patients. How so? The people you reach aren’t just new patients, they’re the right patients. Online marketing enables you to target specific people with specific messages.

There are a number of reasons why online marketing – digital marketing, more properly – is so effective. First, consider the audience:

90% of adults in the United States use the Internet
85% of all consumers use the Internet to find local businesses
91% of the total population shop online

The Right Patients

What do we mean by “the right patients”? When people are searching for a dentist online, it’s usually due to one of several reasons:

Dental issues. They may have noticed a symptom that needs attention, like a toothache or bleeding gums, but do not currently have a dentist.
Research. They may looking for information about a specific procedure, such as teeth whitening or getting a dental implant.
Comparing options. They may be shopping around to see what one practice versus another has to offer on specific treatments, whether their insurance covers it, or other payment options available.

There are many ways of using the Internet to get your practice in front of new patients. These ways are called digital marketing channels. Let’s consider just one, pay-per-click, or PPC.

The term itself sounds self-explanatory. It means paying a fee each time a user clicks on one of your online ads. Because they are so effective at engaging new patients, PPC ads are worth their weight in gold.

PPC ads appear on search engines and business directories, where potential new clients are looking for new dentists like you. When they click on your ad they are linked directly to your website, where you’re offering the service they’re looking for.

There are other effective channels, like social media and email marketing. In an age when almost everything is influenced by the Internet, a well-orchestrated digital marketing campaign is the ideal way of driving new, relevant users to your dental practice.

To get started, please contact ProspectaMarketing, an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices and the tools of Internet marketing. We help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

15Jun, 2020

The Power of Testimonials

June 15, 2020

PM Blogger

internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing, Online Reviews

Here’s an experiment you might want to try: the next time you have a new patient come in for a checkup, ask what made them schedule the appointment with your practice. It almost certainly was not an arbitrary choice, and probably had something to do with reading your online reviews.

There is no overstating it: online reviews matter. Encouraging your existing patients to share their thoughts about you online should be a big part of your marketing strategy. Study after study bears out how effective online reviews and testimonials are.

A Big Difference

The numbers vary slightly depending on the source, but they all tell the same story: online reviews can make a big difference.

72 percent of patients say positive online reviews and testimonials give them more confidence in a practice
88 percent trust online reviews as much as the recommendations of friends
92 percent of consumers read online reviews and testimonials when looking for goods and services, like dentists

Not only do positive online reviews influence potential new patients, they also influence Google search results. The importance of that, too, cannot be overstated. Google recognizes review sites and gives them great weight. The more positive reviews you have, the higher you will rank.

Encouragement

So how do you get these coveted reviews? Well, it’s a funny thing. Even though most people read online reviews, and value them, most don’t bother to write any themselves. Even the patients who are happy with you are not likely to share their experience online.

That means you have to encourage them. Providing great services is an excellent first step.

Beyond that:

Always ask how an appointment went. This can invite feedback, and lead a patient to write a review.
Ask for a review. The direct approach can work! If it feels funny to ask, send a follow-up text message or email within a day or two of the appointment, inviting the patient’s valued opinion.
Make it easy. If you send an email or text, be sure to include a link to your online profile, such as Facebook and Google My Business.

Don’t worry: help is available. ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices and the tools of Internet search marketing. We help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

1Jun, 2020

Market Your Practice Online

June 1, 2020

PM Blogger

internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Uncategorized

Dental practices need a steady flow of new patients in order to remain profitable. With so much competition out there, and so much business now being conducted online, an effective digital marketing is essential.

shutterstock_527776330_edit_01 Whether they are looking for a new dentist or scheduling an appointment with their current one, the Internet is the primary tool people use. That simple fact cuts across all demographics: from Generation-X to Baby Boomers, virtually everyone interacts online.

Digital marketing is the way that dental practices an connect with their patients.

New Patients

Google is far and away the most common Internet search engine, processing more than three billion searches every single day. That includes people looking for a dentist near their homes.

Digital marketing practices include:

SEO. Search Engine Optimization is a way of driving new traffic to your dental practice website, and converting site visitors into patients. By optimizing your online presence, you get visitors more likely to become your patients.
PPC. Pay per Click is another way to bring new visitors to your site. They arrive there by clicking on advertisements that link back to the site.
Content Marketing. The content on your website offers value to site visitors. Embedded videos, blogs, and other content has useful information that helps generate interest in your practice.
Social Media. Nearly everyone is on Facebook, and other social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. Get the attention of patients and potential patients by publishing interesting and useful content on your social media profiles.

These and other digital marketing strategies can increase your website and social media visitors, leading to new patients and increased revenues. ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices and the tools of Internet search marketing. We help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

15May, 2020

Picture This: Your GMB Listing

May 15, 2020

PM Blogger

Dental marketing, internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing

Google My Business is an essential marketing tool for any small business, whether it’s a pizza place, a plumber, or a dental practice. It’s a free service that makes it easy to put relevant information in front of local Internet users. For dentists, it’s where future patients are likely to first encounter you and what you have to offer.

With Google My Business (GMB) you’re able to set up a profile with information like the services you provide, how new patients can reach you, and your location and office hours. This data shows up in search results, and it’s very effective: studies show that about fifty-three percent of people who do local searches on Google visit the places they find within a couple of days.

Trust the Pictures

A famous photographer once said he doesn’t trust words, he trusts pictures. Pictures are an important part of your GMB listing, and the higher the quality of your pictures, the more effective they’ll be.

If you or a staff member is a dedicated shutterbug, take advantage of that. Otherwise, consider hiring a professional to shoot well-framed, well-lit, high resolution pictures. The Google algorithm is more likely to prefer and choose these over amateur photographs.

The photos you upload to GMB should include the following:

Exterior photos. Exterior shots make it easier for people to find your office. Use several of these, taken from different directions and at different times of day.
Interior photos. You see your office every day. Get pictures that show it from a patient’s point of view, with an accent on atmosphere.
Team photos. Have plenty of shots of your staff, from those at the front end to the hygienists and dental assistants in examination rooms. A group shot is also recommended. Let everyone’s personality shine through, and remember to say cheese!

As a best practice, your GMB photos should be optimized with keywords in the filename and tagged in the right category. For example, don’t upload a picture called IMG_001.JPG. Instead, rename it checkup.JPG.

High-quality GMB pictures are important to marketing your practice, but you don’t have to go it alone. ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm; we understand how to most effectively use Google My Business. We specialize in dental practices and use the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

1Apr, 2020

Expanding Your Patient Base

April 1, 2020

PM Blogger

Internet Marketing, Local Internet Marketing

Thanks to the Internet, it has never been easier for people to find the goods and services they need. That includes dental practices. In a matter of minutes, anyone can pick up their smartphone, find the dentists near their home, and then check the experiences their friends and neighbors have had with them.

shutterstock_1022954143_resized That means it’s more important than ever to be sure that each patient who settles into one of your chairs is satisfied with their experience. While the bottom line will likely be the care you provide, there are other factors in play.

Here are some things you might consider:

Establish A Unique Office

What makes your dental practice unique? Anything from a specialty like dental implants to the most advanced equipment available will set you apart. It tells your patients that you provide outstanding care.

Office culture is important, too. When there’s a happy and healthy office culture, your patients can pick up on it.

Easy Scheduling

A big part of a positive patient experience is scheduling an appointment. Many practices allow patients to schedule their own appointments online.

This can be an effective way to bring in new patients. If they can find you easily online and schedule an appointment without having to call your office, you’ve just increased your patient base.

Referrals

Patient referrals are one of the most effective forms of promoting your dental practice. Studies have shown that for most practices, nearly two-thirds of new patients come from referrals. Satisfied patients are usually happy to tell others about a great dentist.

Digital Marketing

This is critical to expanding your practice. Online channels are a powerful way to reach new patients who otherwise might not know you’re there.

ProspectaMarketing can provide the guidance you need to succeed. We are an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices. We use the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

1Nov, 2019

Microsites: Your Showcase

November 1, 2019

PM Blogger

Dental marketing, internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization

Your dental practice website offers a lot: everything from a detailed list of your available procedures to patient forms to biographical information on you and your dedicated staff. And let’s not forget the smile gallery, and contact information!

It is, in short, packed with content. You don’t want anything to get overlooked, especially your most important services. What to do? You can attach a microsite to your main site, and prominently feature those services.

A microsite is a sub-site to your main website, and it focuses on a single topic. The entire microsite is built around it – dental implants, for example. The microsite has its own URL, its own content, and its own interfaces.

Benefits

You might think: why would I want something like that?

A microsite showcases one of your specialties – the aforementioned dental implants, or maybe teeth whitening. These two examples are among the most in-demand cosmetic dentistry procedures. It might also feature a specialty, such as endodontics.

By focusing on one service or specialty, you are able to improve your search engine optimization results. People search for these terms, so they’ll find you faster and easier.

With a more focused presentation, your practice will rank higher in search results. Your would-be patients will get a clear and concise of what you have to offer.

Marketing your practice is not easy, but there is professional help. ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices. We use the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

2Aug, 2019

Get It Right: Your Dental Website

August 2, 2019

PM Blogger

internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing, Local Internet Marketing, Websites

Your dental website is a reflection of your practice, and serves several important functions. It’s a showcase of your services, and tells people how to find you. It also allows you to share your expertise. But above all, your website is how you convert visitors into new patients.

Creating the best possible site is essential to the success of your practice, so it’s critical that you get it right. How do you create an effective dental website?

Keep It Simple

Generally speaking, simple things are easier to understand. That is as true for websites as it is for anything else.

What do we mean by simple? In the case of your dental website, it should have a simple design and be easy to navigate. Its menu should be clear and concise. Remember this important fact: most site visitors decide whether they will use a site’s services within the first ten seconds of landing there.

Content

Website content is any text, photograph, and the audio and video files published there: the stuff your site visitors are looking for.

The content on your dental website should be clean and well-organized – in short, user friendly.

Clear headings and sub-headings. Headings and sub-headings make site content stand out, and tells visitors that something is important.
Well-defined categories. Don’t clutter your site with excessive information; you’re likely to lose visitors (i.e. potential new patients) if you do. Make it easy for them to find the information they’re looking for.
Organized. There is no need to re-invent the wheel, or the website. Have a standard placement for titles, menus, buttons, and links. Use sans serif fonts – a type of font that doesn’t use little ornaments (serifs) at the ends of certain characters. Sans serif fonts like Helvetic and Arial are easier to read than serif fonts like Times New Roman and Palatino, especially on a website.
Optimized for SEO. SEO, or search engine optimization, is how Internet users find you. Optimizing site content is a strategy to drive traffic to your webiste by using certain words (keywords) and title tags, to name just two, that attract search engines.

Visibility and Improvment

Your dental website should be simple, but it should also reflect the personality of your practice. That’s how you convince visitors to use what you have to offer.

ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices. We use the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

1Jul, 2019

Keep It Fresh: Your Dental Website

July 1, 2019

PM Blogger

internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Websites

The Internet has steadily evolved over the years, and still is evolving. And like the Internet, the tools we use to access it are contantly changing. That’s one of the main reasons why most businesses, including dental practices, redesign their websites from time to time.

There is no industry standard for when a site needs an upgrade. That said, a rule of thumb has emerged: commercial websites are typically redesigned every two to three years.

Redesigning a website may not be a very appealing idea. A lot of work goes into it. But it’s an important part of staying competitive. The simple fact is that many dental practice websites, if you’ll pardon the pun, tend to get a little long in the tooth.

Is It Time?

A website redesign may involve anything from updating some of its elements, to building an entirely new site from scratch. How do you know when the time has come?

If you have noticed any decline in new patients to your practice, your website may be underperforming. Or maybe your site is just plain old and stale-looking.

New Patients. The most important function of your site is bringing new patients in to your office. That means your site must give you high visibility. Potential new patients find you through search engines like Google, so the entire site must have content that is fully optimized for SEO, search engine optimization.
Easy Navigation. Your site must be well-designed, so that visitors can easily find their way around. They may be looking for some specific piece of information, and you want them to be able to find it. If you’ve got something people are looking for, like your experience with dental implants or teeth whitening, visitors should be able to find that in one or two clicks. If they can’t, your site does not have an effective design. Time to fix it.
Up-to-Date. Websites have plenty of links. Does yours have any that are obsolete? No one wants to click on something only to get a 404 page, or one that cannot be accessed on a mobile device.

Your website is the public face of your dental practice; in many ways, its heart and soul. Is yours doing what it should?

ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm that specializes in dental practices. We use all of the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

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