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Smart Marketing Matters
Healthcare Marketing Article

Dentists are small business owners who should adapt general marketing principles to their practice administration. Growth should be a part of a dentist's strategic plan each year. Growth doesn't happen by osmosis. There are a variety of internal and external marketing concepts that can be applied to any practice to help ensure practice growth over the next 12 months.

Remember, marketing has two goals. The first goal is to increase your visibility in the community and the second goal is to get the phone to ring when your patient prospects need dental work or want to find a dentist to give them the services they desire.

Integrated Marketing Approach
Practice branding is based on sending a consistent message to your prospective audience. Post your practice name, logo and website address on every printed piece you create. Lay all of the information you print out on the table in front of you. Did you use the same font in your logo every time it was printed? Is your logo printed in the same colors every time you used it? Was your website designed around your logo? Does your website support the printed brochure you use? All too often, once all of the printed pieces are laid out, we find that all of the pieces look different. It is hard for the public to remember your name and your brand if you keep changing it. Create an integrated thread throughout your practice so your patients and prospective patients will develop a brand association between your practice and your practice name and logo.

Plan Your Marketing Schedule
Your practice should be doing some kind of marketing and advertising every month. Direct mail, newspaper ads, search engine marketing and bill boards are all forms of advertising that will let your target market know that your practice is open to new patients and that you have the services they are looking for. Contact your marketing representative and develop a plan to spread your marketing dollars out across the next 12 months. Be able to sit down next year at this time and outline all of the marketing projects completed with an evaluation of the results of each campaign. Sending seasonal postcards will help you keep your campaign going with quarterly campaigns. This direct mail campaign can be supplemented with newspaper ads or public appearances at community events and networking meetings on the off-months. All the while your Internet marketing campaign continues each month. You will receive return on investment and a sense of accomplishment that your marketing efforts have paid off!