On the Texas Dental Practice Podcast, Drew Etheridge, VP of dental real estate, interviewed Nate Woudstra of EOS Healthcare Marketing to learn dental marketing best practices, trends and strategies that are happening in Texas.
EOS Healthcare Marketing is a full-service, dental-specific marketing firm that’s focused on helping their clients develop marketing strategies for their practices. They use a data-driven approach to evaluate their clients’ markets and practices’ goals to create marketing initiatives that will drive the targeted results.
Top Dental Marketing Trends for General Dentists and Specialists:
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One size does not fit all. A general dentist in an urban, downtown area should have a different strategy than a general dentist in a suburban area because each practice is looking to attract a different type of patient. The same principle applies to specialists.
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Proper planning is essential for start-ups. When entering a competitive market as a start-up, planning and promoting should begin early in the process. Many dentists experience sticker shock when reviewing budget line items at how much should be set aside for marketing. However, if you’re not investing in marketing, a competitor within a one-mile radius likely is.
“They’re collecting people that you’re not, because you’re trying to save a buck. You’re stepping over dollars to pick up pennies.” – Drew Etheridge, dental broker in Houston
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Customer loyalty favors start-up dentists. While corporate dentistry was once considered king, patients want to visit the same doctor, build a relationship, and be loyal to them. This brand loyalty, along with new marketing tools and verticals, are giving start-up practices (single-owner practices) opportunities to be more successful.
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Define your brand before it defines you. When starting up your practice, this is your blank slate to decide what you want your practice to be. It can be challenging to change the perception once you’ve established it.
“In marketing your practice, you have to have a strategy and know what route you want to go and map out your plan of where you want to get to, because a wrong turn in marketing can brand you in a way you do not want to be branded.” – Nate Woudstra, EOS Marketing
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Get involved in the community. Attend community events and follow the local social media pages because those are your patients. These kinds of are grassroots efforts are low cost and they will plug you into the community.
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Take advice from industry experts. When you’re a start-up practice, your biggest hurdle to overcome is that no one knows who you are. You have to tell potential patients who you are in order for them to get comfortable with you. Industry experts can help you develop a strategy so you that you aren’t alone in the process.
“Branding is the writing on your website. It’s the design of your website and the colors you choose. It’s how you present yourself to potential patients in the market. Your brand is essentially your practice.” – Nate Woudstra, EOS Marketing
EOS Healthcare Marketing is offering a complimentary marketing evaluation to Texas Dental Practice Podcast listeners and readers. If you want an opinion on your current dental marketing practices and a recommendation from the experts at EOS, simply send an email to nate.woudstra@eoscorporate.com with the promo code TXDPP.