3 Things We Do to Hinder Our Success In my recent conversation with a business owner, we were discussing business strategies to help her. Her business wasn’t growing as quickly as she needed it to in order to cover her overhead. In strategizing and coming up with ideas with her, she gave me some very strong resistance which manifested in these three things that hold many people back from success.Hunger for Approval I’ve seen it time and again, business owners are too concerned with what their employees will think of them that it stops them from doing what they have to do. In my conversation with this business owner, I was suggesting that she try a management strategy that I use in my own company, which operates on accountability. I described how I run my team by giving detailed instruction, holding people accountable, and having deadlines.The business owner felt like if she tried this management style that she might be accused of being a ‘micromanager,’ and she was adamant that she did not want to micromanage her employees. She was about to let her desire to have her employees approval hinder her from trying something new. I’m happy to say the business owner will be implementing an accountability management style.Perfectionism and a Fear of Failure These two often go hand-in-hand: Perfectionism and a fear of failure. Many business owners are afraid to make a mistake, and only want to do something that will guarantee a positive outcome. The problem is if you don’t try anything, you’ll achieve nothing.During this same conversation with the business owner, I presented her with some strategies to grow her business. Her initial reaction was ‘No’ because she didn’t know for sure that these strategies would work out well, or give her the results she wanted. As we continued talking, she found herself quickly realizing that, Yes! She could try these new strategies–she could learn what works and what doesn’t.The call concluded with a business owner ready and excited to execute some changes to grow her business.The Takeaway Take a moment right now to consider your own life, your business. Are you letting these roadblocks hinder your business from progressing:Do you worry about acceptance from your team? If they approve of what you do and say?Are you giving your team the tools they need to succeed individually, and as an organization?Are you letting perfectionism and fear of failure paralyze you?As business owners, we have to remove these roadblocks we put in our minds. We need to be willing to take a risk and try something new. Listen to my vlog here:
Why Successful Practices Need Ongoing Marketing Marketing your practice should be a proactive approach, not a reactive one. Learn why successful practices need ongoing marketing in our latest blog.Consider This:Imagine a scenario in which you and your team have just invested in a short-term marketing approach such as a high-cost ad that runs for the duration of a month. The ad goes live and you’re surprised by the amount of new patients you’re seeing each day.Then, your month is up. The ad comes down. The stream of new patients that were calling each week and making appointments is dwindling. What went wrong in this scenario?Marketing should never be approached with a one-and-done mentality. Building momentum in your brand recognition, patient education, and your search engine potential takes time and effort. This is why investing in an ongoing marketing campaign is crucial if you’re looking to bring consistent, tangible growth to your practice.The Strategy Behind an Ongoing Marketing CampaignIf an ongoing marketing campaign is the best way to reach practice growth, what does one actually look like? Here are some of the key elements.Modern, Optimized Website — A visually-stunning, easily navigable website with a direct call-to-action should be the crux of your strategy. With ongoing maintenance and security, your site can stay up-to-date and protected.SEO — Search engine optimization is a long-term investment that offers incredible ROI by bringing you to the top of Google searches in your area.Facebook Ads — This strategy allows you to show your community the value of choosing you through compelling ads that target your unique services. Over time, you can tailor specific ads to custom audiences, improving your conversion rate by targeting your ideal, new patients.Google Ads — Are you hoping to reach neighboring towns or attract more speciality cases? Pay-per-click ads on relevant Google searches can get you there.Social Media Marketing — Engage your community with custom-branded social media marketing on a consistent basis.Depending on your unique practice, your strategies will differ. That’s why we take the time to listen to your needs and help you build an ongoing marketing campaign that prioritizes long-term success through a constant influx of new patients.How can we help?We can’t wait to hear your goals. Schedule your complimentary marketing planning session with our team today.
Smart Marketing for Big Cases How can you become the go-to dentist in your community for larger cases such as dental implants or complete smile replacement? The answer is smart marketing. Learn how to expand your reach for big cases in our latest blog.Building Credibility through Patient EducationWhy should your patients choose dental implants over a cheaper, quicker option such as dentures? Why should patients choose you and your team instead of another dentist or specialist? Patient education can solve both of these questions. If your patients don’t understand your method of smile replacement, they won’t feel inclined to invest the money, time, and effort into pursuing it.Instead, focus on teaching your patients why your methods are truly the best for their health, confidence, and comfort. You know that dental implants are a longer-lasting, more permanent solution for their oral health. You know that they may be more expensive than dentures or other methods of smile replacement, but they are worth it. However, your patients likely won’t have this context. After all, you’re the expert. By listening to their questions and educating them on the benefits of your services, you can build credibility with your prospective patients.Becoming the Expert, not the SalesmanTreatment acceptance isn’t about being pushy. It’s about teaching your patients the value of accepting treatment, and how their lives can be improved. That’s why you need to position yourself as the expert, not the salesman. In your communication and your marketing, you should take the role that feels natural to you — your community’s guide toward improved health, comfort, and oral function. Patients who understand your true dedication to improving their lives will take initiative themselves to seek out the treatment they need.Utilizing a Funnel Campaign and RemarketingOne question remains — how can this philosophy of patient education translate into your marketing efforts? Here is a breakdown of how to utilize these ideas to boost your big case acceptance.Advertise. Attract patients with initial interest in your services using advertising on platforms such as Facebook or Google. Educate. Your ad should lead to further information that explains just how your treatment works, and what benefits it will bring your patients. Show your expertise and commitment. Have you taken hundreds of hours of continued education and obtained relevant certification? This will reassure your prospective patients that you are the best choice for their optimal results. Remarket for increased conversion rate. When your ideal patients engage with your advertising, you can tailor future ads to what they initially showed interest in. This helps to build brand recognition and allows you to pinpoint your efforts, making sure the right people are seeing the right marketing. Analyze your results and adjust your strategies. How is your marketing working on a month-by-month basis? Your success relies on a constant evolution of your techniques.If you are looking to grow your practice by marketing for larger cases, we can help. Whether you are focusing on specialty cases or hoping to expand your reach, our team at Identity Dental Marketing has the tools, the expertise, and the dedication to drive your marketing forward and help you attract your ideal, new patients. Schedule your complimentary marketing planning session with us today.
How Busy is Too Busy? 5 Tips for Ensuring Practice Growth Are you too busy meeting with current patients to worry about attracting new ones? Keeping a full schedule is crucial for your success as a dentist, but can often leave you with little time or energy to consider the big picture moving forward. Here are five easy tips to ensure your practice stays growing when your schedule is packed tight.Delegate. You might be the owner or the lead dentist in your practice, but that doesn’t mean you have to take on the responsibility of business growth alone. Train your team on how to identify every source from which you receive new patients. Track this new patient reporting and review it on a monthly basis so that you can adjust your strategies and budgeting with your ROI in mind.Set a goal and stick to it. Even if you lack the time or the resources to personally manage your business growth, goal-setting is important. Start small! Can you and your team reach one new patient this week? As you build a foundation to work forward from, you can expand your reach over time and build momentum. Soon enough, you may find yourself launching past your goals with a consistent influx of new patients each month.Implement a high-powered marketing campaign. Creating an effective, driven set of marketing strategies for your practice takes both time and expertise. Let us help, so you can get back to doing what you appreciate most as a dentist — delivering high-quality dental care to your community. We will listen to your needs and custom-build a marketing campaign that helps you achieve your unique goals as a dentist.Bring in an expert. Are you curious how you can improve your practice’s systems and train your team, but are unsure where to start? It’s time to call in an expert. We can refer you to one of our trusted colleagues that will help you redefine your practice’s productivity and effectiveness from the inside out.Stay motivated. It sounds simple, but remaining optimistic and forward-thinking is one of the most crucial ways for you to reach success for your practice. This applies to your entire team as well. Is morale slipping, or is everyone excited to grow together with achievable goals and the means to reach them? It’s your responsibility to create the atmosphere necessary for practice growth.Don’t let a busy schedule cause your practice growth to plateau. Get started on a customized marketing campaign that can take your efforts to new heights, while affording you more time and energy to enjoy the success you’ve created. Schedule your complimentary marketing planning session with us today.
Spring Cleaning? 5 Ways To Refresh Your Branding This Year With March already upon us, the time for spring cleaning is quickly approaching. Is your practice’s branding in need of an update, as well? Learn five easy ways you can refresh your brand this year in our latest blog.Try a new color scheme. Not loving your logo or branding as much as you used to? A new color scheme can sometimes be the answer. Many designs benefit from a simple tweak to their color selection. For more advice on how to pick the best colors for your unique practice branding, check out another of our recent blogs.Update your font. Does your font choice date your practice? In the last decade, popular fonts have shifted away from serif fonts (think Times New Roman or Georgia) to sans serif fonts (think Arial, Helvetica, or Futura). The reason for this is that sans serif fonts are considered more modern, friendly, and approachable. While there are still situations in which a serif font (or even a script font) can be the perfect fit, sans serif fonts are generally easier to read and oftentimes more memorable.Modernize your icon. Icon design is constantly evolving. Recently, many brands have begun implementing simplified, brighter, and flatter icons that are easy to recognize across different viewing platforms. Icon design now favors sharper, more defined edges that are visually cleaner.Out with the old, in with the new! If you’ve updated your branding and are still holding onto outdated appointment cards, rack cards, business cards, or letterheads, now is the time for spring cleaning. Ask our team about refreshing your practice’s printed materials so you can share your re-brand in all forms.Hire your favorite marketing company to help. You don’t have to strategize your brand refresh alone. As a full-service marketing agency, we can help you achieve your new goals with ease through our expertise in art and graphic design, as well as print and digital media.Whether you are in need of a quick touch-up for your logo or are seeking an entirely new brand for your practice, we can help. Schedule your complimentary marketing planning session with Identity Dental Marketing today.
14 Frequently Asked Questions about Facebook for Dentists Do Facebook’s evolving tools and strategies leave you with questions about how to market your practice with confidence? Equip yourself with the answers to the most frequently asked questions we’ve heard in dental marketing.1. How will an active Facebook presence benefit my practice?Building an active Facebook presence through both organic and paid reach can grow your brand awareness, attract new patients, and allow you to build credibility with your community. As a dentist, Facebook offers you a convenient way to connect with your patients beyond the office.2. What are hashtags?Hashtags are a type of metadata tag that allows search engines and social media platforms to index your post. By using hashtags, you can increase the visibility of your posts when people search for them. They are also a clever way to add personality or flair to your posts.3. How many hashtags should I use?While there is no single right answer, we recommend using between 2 – 5 hashtags on Facebook. On Instagram, 11-15 hashtags is appropriate.4. Can I link my practice’s Facebook page with our Instagram profile?This is not only possible, but recommended. Linking your accounts together allows you to share your posts from one platform to the other, and vice versa.5. What does ‘boosting’ a post mean?Boosting a post allows you to display it to relevant groups that are beyond your normal reach, such as people in your area that aren’t following your page. For most posts, we recommend applying a boost of $20-$40/post. This can increase your post’s reach to the hundreds, or even thousands in your target market.6. What is the difference between a personal Facebook page and a business page?A personal page is for your own use to connect with friends and family, while a business page is for your brand and your services. You will manage your business page through your personal page.7. Can I give multiple team members access to our business page?Yes! To do this, visit your business page on desktop and select the Settings on the top right. On the sidebar to the left, select Page Roles. From here, you can assign new page managers. Make sure your team member has liked your page first, or they may not appear when you search for them.8. Can I invite patients to like my business page?Personal page users can invite others to like a business page, but a business page cannot. This is part of the reason we recommend utilizing the Page Roles feature to allow yourself and your team access to manage your business page via your personal pages.9. I accidentally made a personal page for my practice, not a business page. How can I fix this?Don’t worry — this happens to many people. Facebook allows you to convert a personal page to a business page.10. I accidentally created two pages for my practice. Should I delete one?If you’ve created multiple business pages, you have the ability to merge them on Facebook. This will combine them into one page that adds both follower groups together.11. Are Facebook Ads effective?Facebook Ads can be an incredible investment that attracts your ideal, new patients, while increasing your brand recognition. We invite you to reach out to us to see if Facebook Ads are right for your unique goals.12. When is the best time to post on Facebook?The rule of thumb for scheduling posts is to aim for midday between noon and 3:00 pm. Wednesday is typically the busiest weekday.13. Can I create a custom URL (web address) for my Facebook business page?Facebook business pages with 25 or more likes can create a Vanity URL. For example, ours is www.facebook.com/IdentityDentalMarketing.14. How can I increase the amount of followers my practice has on Facebook?We can help. Ask us about our social media marketing that can help you engage your online following, inform your community, and lead patients to pick up that phone. With custom-branded social media posts that link to your website and feature eye-catching graphics, you can start making an impression as you grow your practice.Schedule your complimentary marketing planning session with Identity Dental Marketing today.
Dental Marketing | The Power of Pinterest Does your practice have a presence on Pinterest? Learn about the power of Pinterest in our latest infographic. Contact our office to learn how to maximize your social media accounts!
5 Ways to Increase Patient Referrals Referrals are one of the most important methods of reaching new patients. How can you get your community buzzing with positivity about your practice? Learn five tips for extending your reach to achieve new referrals in today’s blog.Set a goal. How many patient referrals are you receiving each month? How many would you like to receive? Set a goal and stick to it. This helps you give structure to your growth, and allows you to ensure that the methods you take are working. Did you set out for 10 referrals, but only achieved 8? Aim for 12 the next month.Bring in the team. No matter how much effort and heart you put into your dentistry, your patients’ dental experiences are shaped by your entire team. Now is your chance to get them involved. Ensure your team has trained on new protocols that can boost your referrals. Building strong communication — especially at the end of an appointment — can go a long way with impressing your patients.High-quality care speaks for itself. The best way to develop a 5-star reputation is simple: be a 5-star dental team. Focus on making each step of your patients’ experience comfortable, warm, and uplifting. Are you and your team masters of listening? Give your patients every opportunity to speak their mind on their goals, their needs, and to ask questions about their treatment.Simply ask! Don’t be shy about patient referrals. Many people love to share their stories when they find a new restaurant, a new store, or a new experience they enjoy. The same goes for dentistry. Let your patients know they are more than welcome to invite their family and friends to receive the same great care that they have.Let us help. Whether you are looking to host a fundraiser, contest, in-office event, or you are building a connection to your current patients through social media, email messaging, or more, Identity Dental Marketing can help.Growing your practice through new patient referrals takes a combination of empowered communication, excellent care, and strategy in your marketing. Are you looking for more ways to extend your reach? Schedule your complimentary marketing planning session with us today.
Mythbusting: Dental Marketing Style Do you know the difference between fact or fiction when it comes to marketing your practice? Don’t be misled about the answers you deserve as a business owner. Follow along as we break down common myths and misconceptions about dental marketing in today’s blog.Myth 1: Dental marketing simply means having a great website.While a slick, fully-responsive, and modern website is the foundation of digital marketing for your practice, there is much more at stake. Branding, social media marketing, SEO, advertising, and several other innovative marketing strategies all come together to bring you exposure and connect you with your ideal, new patients.Myth 2: You should only engage in one marketing strategy at a time.This is not only false, but a dangerous assumption to make in regards to your practice’s success. Engaging in a single marketing strategy such as a direct mailer or a single ad will lead you to lose out on a massive portion of your audience. Instead, building a widespread marketing campaign allows you to utilize many methods that can work synergistically to push your practice ahead and set you apart.Myth 3: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) results are immediate.SEO is not an overnight process. Building backlinks, adapting to algorithm changes in search engines, and boosting your rankings requires building momentum over a monthly period, typically up to six months. While implementing SEO is a long-term investment, it’s often your best one to make.Myth 4: Patients think less of dentists who market their practice.False. In fact, ethical marketing strategies allow you to build trust, credibility, and brand awareness with the community you are hoping to serve.Myth 5: My website is future-proof.Unfortunately, no website is truly future-proof. Web design, development, and visual trends are always improving and moving forward every year. We recommend critically evaluating your website every three to five years to update functionality, features, or its core design.Myth 6: All dental marketing agencies are the same.Like with any industry, dental marketing agencies can differ wildly on quality, quantity, and effectiveness. Protect your practice from companies that over-promise or offer their services for next-to-nothing rates. There are no shortcuts to your success. You should aim for a marketing team that has both the expertise and the commitment to truly elevate your practice and help you reach your goals.We hope that you’ve found our guide on dental marketing myths interesting. Do you have any more burning questions that you’d like answered? Schedule your complimentary marketing planning session with Identity Dental Marketing today.
Walking the Tightrope – 6 Factors That Can Help You Win New Patients Are you teetering on the edge between sustained, powerful growth, and another quiet month? Marketing your dental practice successfully requires an introspective look into the strategies and systems you are implementing on a daily basis, whether online, over the phone, or in-office. Learn 6 factors that can help you win new patients in our latest blog.Google Rankings — There is a drastic difference between appearing on page 1 versus page 2 of a Google search. If your practice is ranking in the top local listings for relevant keywords, you can find yourself with a surge of new patients each month. Are you worried that your Google rankings aren’t achieving the results your desire? We can help.Online Reviews — Your reputation is important to uphold as a dental care provider, especially online. Be cognizant of how patients are reviewing your practice, whether on Google, on Facebook, on Yelp, or elsewhere. While online reviews may seem easy to brush off as unimportant, they can be the deciding factor for people searching for a local dentist. Thank patients for sharing their positive experiences. For tips on how to respond to negative reviews, read our guide.Your Call to Action — Attracting patients is one challenge, while having them schedule a new visit is another. Is your call to action strong enough? Whether you are marketing to patients through your website, social media, an ad campaign, or each of these, you should ensure there is a direct path for them to schedule appointments with you. This concept extends to your front office team as well. Give your team members the proper training to turn any new phone call to your practice into a new patient appointment.New Patient Specials — Practices grow or falter based on the benefits, value, and services they can provide their community. Is your practice engaged in a new patient special? By discounting a service such as exams and cleanings, Invisalign® treatment, or providing a free consultation, you can make it easy for your patients to choose you.Team Training & Communication — First impressions are everything. Is your team achieving the level of care and communication that you need to establish an excellent experience for your new patients? Take the time to train and elevate each part of your team to ensure they match the compassionate care you seek to deliver.Availability — Being flexible and available for your new patients is important. Make sure that no call goes unanswered. Have you considered changing your office hours? Offering convenient scheduling can go a long way with attracting new patients.Are your marketing strategies building you a consistent source for attracting your ideal, new patients? Let us help. Schedule your complimentary marketing planning session with our team today.
