Dental practices today need to create a modern dental brand to attract new patients. Robbie Hughes explains how you can do this and keep patients returning.
Modern-day cosmetic dentistry is considered a service, and one of the highest degree. Most of our patients come to see us, not because of need, but because of desire. They seek something which they believe is going to make a positive impact on their lives. And when executed correctly, it will do exactly that. But how can we make sure our patients choose us in the first place and put their trust in our hands?
The key is to understand your patient. Who is your perfect patient? What are they seeking? And how do you exceed their expectations?
The answer here is usually found in data. There are ways to utilise data so you can work out specifically who it is that is seeking the type of treatments you want to deliver day in and day out. You can also figure out where these potential customers seek out their knowledge on such treatments and how they make their choices.
Then you can tailor your content to market to your niche audience and ensure you deliver the right message to them first time around. Remember the modern-day patient is well educated on what they seek. Their expectations are already high and they will make lots of comparisons on the market!
Content is king!
A message some of you may have already heard, but what does this mean?
Ignore the importance of good quality content at your peril. Social media is without doubt the single most utilised platform for modern day marketing. That’s because its where the majority of us spend our time browsing for information on the topics what interest us. Social media is your opportunity to create a channel of content that stands out to your audience and delivers consistent quality educational messaging with emotion. The best way to do this is through storytelling.
Storytelling is one way to create content of the highest standard and consistently put it in front of your ideal audience with super high levels of engagement and cost-effective methods.
For truly astute storytelling, you should adopt a mixture of both micro and macro practices. Your stories must always remain on brand, be constant and share across all touch points of your dental brand identity. Ask yourself: is this strategy contributing to the storytelling of my dental brand? Is it helping my customer experience? The more you share your story with your clients, the more your brand will grow.
Integrating yourself with your team and technology
You are only as good as the team around you! Or put differently, a dental brand is only as strong as its weakest touch point. And when your ideal customer is expecting a super five-star service, you better ensure that’s one hell of a good team! Once your customer is through your doors, that’s not the end. The content will help you engage and put you in the privileged position to have them visit your clinic. But then you need to convert them into choosing you for their ideal dental treatment. This comes down to the fine balance between education and experience.
There is huge importance placed on a well-designed and structured patient journey. A seamless flow which creates an experience like no other. One which puts your customer at ease quickly in knowing they have chosen the right place and that they are surrounded by a well-equipped team of professionals, experienced in creating exceptional levels of dentistry.
There must be a huge level of dedication to your consultation process. This first visit experience before any dentistry is carried out is essentially the day when your patients will be converted or not. This is without a doubt a multiple team effort from front of house and admin team to dental nurse, TCO, and dentist. This means every team member involved in this experience knows their precise role very well and is very knowledgeable within their field.
Combine this with assistance from the best and most up-to-date modern-day digital technology. You can deliver the ultimate first-hand experience for your new clients, which instils confidence and gives you super high levels of conversion. Then you can focus on the dentistry.
Creating word of mouth referrals
From the first to the last appointments and even the follow up maintenance appointments, there needs to be simple step-by-step workflows that offer incredible levels of predictability and quality to be delivered by yourself and your team.
You cannot overlook the importance of workflows when considering business growth and scalability. For me, this is why digital dentistry is a vital factor. With the correct workflows in place for all procedures, your dental brand can be prepared for continued growth without losing pre-determined levels of quality and predictability.
Ensuring that is, you prepare a solid team around you, and give the spotlight to your team! What does this mean?
Help each employee discover what makes them a unique individual and what they can offer to the dental brand. Give them a network for their voice. Involve them in your business as best you can. Give them the spotlight with pride. In turn, this makes them proud to be a part of your dental brand. At the same time, take care of your own personal brand too, leading by example.
Furthermore, the end of the patient journey and treatment completion is never the end. You need to ensure your patients are retained long term and continually tell their friends, family and even strangers about their amazing life-changing experience when they put their faith in your hands! After all, word of mouth is still the number one form of promoting your business.
But with a modern day approach, how? Make your patients your own dental brand advocates. You attracted them in the first place with your brand storytelling and consistent quality content. Where possible give them their own story content to share. This is essentially live ammunition to promote your dental brand authentically. And the cycle continues!
