Promotional Campaign
Promotional Campaigns come in all different ways that you may not even be aware of… Finding and maintaining a patient-quota that’s right for your growing dental practice is harder than it seems. If you thought shopping for the right piece of real estate for your new practice was daunting, keep in mind that even dental practitioners in prime locations have trouble keeping the waiting room full from time to time. And remember, the most important aspect of owning and running any business is customer retention. A promotional campaign targeted at a particular demographic of patients like young families, millennials, or retirees might be the boost your dental practice needs – and the excuse you need to update those magazines in the waiting room!
Determine Your Target Market For a Promotional Campaign With a Modern Eye
Before you even begin to advertise your dental practice with promotional campaigns you need to determine who your target market is. That sounds simple, but it’s not. A significant percentage of any dental clinic’s patient registry is determined by proximity alone. Many of these patients are permanent residents of the borough or town where you’ve set up your practice. These are your regular, reliable patients for whom dental checkups and appointments are like clockwork. In the heyday of snail-mail, these were also the same patients who would routinely ask to be taken off general mailing lists because their mailboxes at home were inundated with irrelevant promotions from every local business. Now thanks to instant messaging and social media reaching out to a subgroup of your patients and networking in a meaningful way has never been easier. But you have to have something to really draw in the crowds.
Free Seminars Is a Type of Promotional Campaign
A simple mass text message or Tweet to patients of a particular demographic is a quick and easy way to gauge interest in events like free seminars and clinics. But remember: whether you’ve decided to host a cavity seminar for young families or a financing Q&A for prospective dental implant patients there must be included an incentive that’s right for the target and right for you! For instance, to entice current or potential patients to attend a cavity seminar, you can offer them a small prize package if they have no cavities at their check-ups in the following year. This prize package can include such items as toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, mouth wash, small dental kits, home whitening kits, coupons for more extensive, in-office whitening procedures, or other items your office may have readily accessible. This is also an excellent opportunity for you to build or strengthen business relationships with key suppliers. Many national brands go the extra mile for free clinics and seminars.
Great Promotional Campaign That is Tried, Tested and True – Reward Your patients For Referrals
One successful promotional strategy used by nearly all dental organizations is an enticement for patient referrals. The reward can be a simple gift like a monetary prize or a coupon for your services. Of course, the implication that needs to be made clear is that the person referred to you must actually come in for an appointment. For example, you can give out a 30% off services coupon to any patients who refer a friend, or you can offer something potentially more straight-forwardly valuable like a $25 cash reward to both the referrer and the referred following the friend’s first appointment. The reward needs to be appealing to the patient and will surely be returned to you in dividends.
Connect With a Local Business or National Chain
Another effective incentive which is becoming increasingly popular involves reaching out to local businesses or larger national franchises and big box stores in your area. Dual promotion is appealing for all concerned. A simple gift card, free menu item at a local restaurant, shopping coupon, or other enticement not only attracts customers to your business, but can also distribute revenues throughout your borough or town. It’s a win-win. It’s the kind of move that causes a positive stir in your local chamber of commerce. It puts you on the map in a big way. It’s also as close to a sure thing as it gets when it comes to promotional opportunities. The majority of local businesses are happy to connect with dental practices, particularly ones that are active in the community and are known for free outreach services like seminars and clinics.
Complimentary Consultations and The Simple Psychology of it All
Offering a free consultation says one thing about your dental practice: it’s the best. It’s seen as a veteran move. A free consultation signals to your customers that you have confidence in your dental practice as a business, too. It assertively says that from the time a new patient arrives and checks-in to the time they’re walking to their car that their every hope and need will be so expertly attended to that a return visit is guaranteed.
Always remember that your potential patients’ first encounter with your practice is likely going to be online. Habitual online window shoppers are inundated with promotional offers and complimentary services on a daily basis so making yours stand out is the key to your advertising campaign’s overall success. That’s why daily reminders are essential. Ever notice how radio stations countdown the days of summer to match their station ID or hold annual give-away events like “a bike-a-day in May”? That’s because it generates interest like nothing else. Make your practice’s promotional campaigns a part of your patient’s daily routine and lifestyle. A Facebook countdown to a draw for a free service or even a free trip to an exotic locale will draw online traffic and even media attention like nothing else.