Why You Need To Plan Your Dental Marketing Strategy for 2022 Today
At Denteo Marketing Group we consistently evaluate our marketing campaigns, but as the new year approaches, we love to sit down and take stock of our marketing efforts and deep dive into our marketing strategies to understand which campaigns have performed well over the course of the year. We do this for each of our clients, and work with them to develop a strategy for the new year with the goal to improve marketing results year over year.
If you have a new dental practice or feel as though your practice growth has plateaued, we’ve put together a reminder of why it’s important to develop a dental marketing strategy each year, starting with the basics.
What is a dental marketing strategy?
Enough with piecemeal, tactical marketing! A dental marketing strategy is a comprehensive plan that helps increase revenue and market share for your dental practice. This plan will help you identify your best customers, understand their needs and implement the most effective marketing tactics to achieve your goals within an agreed budget.
Why is a marketing strategy important?
These days, with information being at everyone’s fingertips, all businesses, including dental practices need to focus on how to differentiate themselves from the competition. It is important to plan out a strong marketing strategy for the year so that you have a holistic view of your business needs to be able to set goals and evaluate results. Doing it this way instead of carrying out ad hoc marketing tactics will lead to much stronger long-term results and dental practice growth.
Things to consider before planning your dental marketing strategy
Competition — To ensure your practice performs better than your competitors in retaining current patients and attracting new ones, it’s important to carry out competitive research and understand which marketing strategies truly work in your area to make your dental practice stand out.
Budgeting — It’s advised that you should spend 10-20% of your gross revenue on marketing depending on how established your business is. Planning your budget across the year means you can consistently bring in new patients over the course of the year instead of running out of budget too soon or going over budget.
Branding — Branding and content matters, so it’s important to review and audit your website, social media and the look and feel of your brand to ensure they are aligned with your mission and appeal to potential patients.
Why is it important to plan your 2022 dental marketing strategy now, in Q4?
Preparation is key to starting the new year out strong. If you wait until next year to start planning, you will lose out on opportunities, particularly in longer lead tactics such as print advertising or direct mail. Hitting targets at the beginning of the year also means you will not be fighting to achieve your goals at the end of the year which is generally a busier and more stressful time anyway.
Types of marketing strategies you should consider
Brand refresh
Website optimization
SEO
Email marketing
Content marketing
Social media
Event sponsorship
Promotions
Online and print advertising
Reputation management
Public relations
Your dental marketing strategies will vary depending on how established your brand and business are. For example, start-up practices will need to invest more in brand awareness than a more established dental practice.
Need help with your dental marketing strategy?
Denteo Marketing Group is a boutique dental marketing agency that helps dentists maximize the success of their dental practice. A strong marketing plan and execution is not a small undertaking, so we are here to lighten your load with thoughtful and bespoke marketing ideas for your unique practice or practices.
Our experienced team would love to hear from you — arrange a free consultation today and begin your new year with peace of mind that your marketing needs are taken care of so you can get back to focusing on dental excellence and patient care.
