Modern Dental Practice Marketing

Facebook actually has a page called Super Bowl commercials 2013. Everyone knows about Super Bowl commercials, and for some, the ads are the best part of the show. Marketing professionals look to the crazy ads each year for inspiration, because that field is where the big dogs play. This year, Super Bowl commercials are going for $4 million for 30 seconds. That’s a lot of green to participate in this ballgame! In addition to the highly anticipated commercials, however, on January 3, we’ll see social media throw a spiral into the Super Bowl fanfare.

Hyundai, the car manufacturer, is hosting a Facebook ad campaign for their Santa Fe crossover SUV on Super Bowl Sunday. The “mobile experience” or “social experience” allows engagers to build a team of Facebook friends, each having an assigned archetype, like “bully” or “brains.” The campaign, called Find Your 7, correlates with this commercial:

Why all the hype around mobile marketing?

You expect advertisers to get excited about the Super Bowl commercials, but why integrate mobile marketing? Research tells us, during the 2012 Super Bowl, 15 million tweets occurred about the event, while only 3 million folks twittered about the big game in 2011. A growing number of people (consumers) love to communicate, play, shop, and share online.

In the last quarter of 2012, Facebook’s mobile users outpaced desktop users, and the revenue from Facebook mobile advertising was $150 million last year. After battling with company executives about mobile applications being important to Facebook’s growth, the company’s inventor, Mark Zuckerberg, says, “There is no argument. Facebook is a mobile company.”

It makes sense, then, that big advertisers would join the biggest TV advertising opportunity of the year with super-popular mobile marketing. Read the rest of this entry →

When it comes to quality, oftentimes the original is your best bet. For instance, the carbonated beverages aisle of the grocery store boast brands like Kountry Mist, Citrus Drop, and Mountain Rush, but it was 7 Up that broke into the soda pop market with a lemon-lime soda in 1929. Other name brands, Mountain Dew and Sprite, gained momentum later. However, many competing lemon-lime beverages failed throughout the 20^th century. Why? Because 7 Up got it right and is the original un-cola. By 1940, 7 Up was the third on the list of top-selling soft drinks on the planet.

Consider for a moment what 7 Up had to do. This unfamiliar beverage had to win over loyal drinkers of ginger ale (1851), Dr. Pepper (1885), Coca-Cola 1886), and Pepsi-Cola (1898). For a century, people had been consuming tasty carbonated beverages. By 1940, there was staunch competition.

What does this have to do with dentistry?

The small world of dental blogging is an up-and-coming in the greater realm of dental marketing. While yellow pages advertising has dramatically fallen in popularity, many dentists don’t yet have a website. At MDPM, we have to convince dentists that blogging is important – it’s good and valuable – it will endure the test of time. While this sounds like a daunting task, the numbers speak volumes. A dentist blog with daily postings of original content can bring in more targeted traffic than a dentist website. Google Analytics does not lie!

Why should a dentist blog?

Six years ago, not many dentists blogged. Google’s algorithm was evolving as the Internet grew and people tried to trick search engines into ranking their website high on results pages. These black hat tactics, as they’re called, were booted by Google and other search engines. Today, we know for a fact that when it comes to ranking websites, Google places the greatest importance on original, informational web content. Read the rest of this entry →

The Oregon Dental Association now says that dentists can’t use Groupon for marketing in Oregon. And, on a side note, the BCE made the same decision regarding chiropractors. Why? Because Groupon gets a referral fee or commission, and that’s against the rules.

The deal that broke the camel’s back offered a $49 Invisalign exam, x-rays, and impressions, said to be a $540 value, plus $500 off Invisalign treatment.

A chiropractor went before the board and complained that medical services, including dentistry and chiropractic, should not be put in the same realm with nail salons and restaurants.

I’ve heard mixed reviews from dentists on the effectiveness of Groupon, anyway.

Facebook offers a check-in deal, but I don’t know any dentists who use it. I’m going through the process of creating a check-in deal with Facebook today, so I’ll update this blog when I develop an opinion about the process. With a check-in deal, patients can use a smart phone to check in at your location and redeem a special offer on their phone’s screen. The benefit to the business, or you in this case, would be that the person checking in makes your practice name visible to all of her Facebook friends. The checker can add a photo and message to the post, as well. Read the rest of this entry →

I have asked this question thousands of times through the years: What sets your dental practice apart from others? Funny thing is, most dentists (if not all) say that one-on-one attention and customer service make their dental practice better.

“Better” is a bad word when discussing dentists. I know that you have a respected peer relationship with other dentists in your area. However, you’re a dentist and I’m a dental marketing expert. One of us has to consider your peers competition. Let it be me.

My point is, the attention and service your team provide to patients may be head and shoulders above your competitors’, but: A) no one will know until they become your patient; B) so the only time it matters is in word-of-mouth or testimonial marketing; C) surely there is something else that truly sets you apart – something measurable or tangible. Find it. Show it off.

Ask yourself:

• What training and certifications do you have that others may not?
• What experience do you have (even life, not career, experiences) that others do not?
• What training and experiences do your team members have that others may not?
• What technology does your office offer that others may not?
• Do you have before and after photos or videos for your marketing?
• Are your labs extraordinary, or do you have an in-office lab?
• What conveniences do you offer? (parking, online forms, payment plans, kids’ play area, etc.)
• What comforts do you offer? (anesthesia, sedation, ergonomic chairs, sunglasses, iPods, neck pillows, paraffin hand treatment, etc.) Read the rest of this entry →

Modern Dental Practice Marketing is growing and evolving. Many of our clients have asked for very custom dental marketing packages, and we’ve recently expanded our services to include custom videos, search engine optimization and reporting, email and print newsletters, branding identity, and even completely custom copywriting and print projects. Here’s a rundown of what MDPM can do for your dental practice: