There are various concepts for promoting your dental website or practice. Some are very exciting and high-tech. Some work well; others fail to live up to the hype. The overall concept missed by many is the most vital element: communication. Yahoo realizes this. That is why they “communicate” rather than merely follow the hottest technology.

Yahoo, while not the leader in PPC advertising, is a successful company that utilizes various concepts to keep their brand out there. They realize we are not always on the web, have our faces in a BlackBerry, or are chatting on a cell phone. Just like your patients and every dental consumer, they know I lead a real life as well.

I pick up the newspaper or a magazine––less often than before—but still do. Still switch on the TV and listen to the radio during the week. And of course, see what comes in the mail. Yahoo knows that online advertising – their own and even their big nemesis Google’s PPC ads – will only reach so many business people in one day. The same for any one dental marketing concept you might try.

Plus PPC ads don’t land on the kitchen counter for us to “run into” almost everyday like direct mail. Your spouse does not say – “Here are some PPC ads that came for you” – after going to the PPC box at the curb each day. This level of communication is hard to come by with the latest technology alone.

Therefore, Yahoo also uses direct mail (image of actual postcard posted in this story) because it has inherent power online marketing does not. Nothing in dental marketing has a lock on our lives and impacts us in every way possible.

This is not to say you should avoid PPC or the next big thing. There is a good chance you found NicheDental.com because of PPC advertising. Yet it will probably take all kinds of communication – possibly with me, yourself, your spouse, your team, others and even more dental marketing – before you decide what direction to take your dental practice.

This is because communication is almost never a “one off” process. There are always many layers. My favorite example is seeing that new vehicle in an ad. Running down to the dealership to check it out. Leaving with the feeling I am going to come back in a short while and get it. Then I talk to my wife about my “great idea” and for some reason it is put on the back burner of life’s realities.

For some dental marketers, marketing your dental practice or website is only about chasing the next big idea. But I would also suggest making sure your dental communication strategy has many layers and is focused on deeper issues than merely hawking your wares more than the dentist down the road.

This story from Forbes Magazine – The Men in The Gray Flannel Suits – shows how we can forget the value of “real communication” – thinking that everything old has passed away.

Finding the easy, cheap, one-off, totally guaranteed solution is a very powerful drive. But much like your patients view of dentistry – the reality is – some things just take time, require planning and long term maintenance to make sure things stay on track.

Niche Dental is determined to keep plowing the path of communication reality so you can see the forest of long-term success through the trees of "one-off" dental marketing products.

Dental communication is what drives your success – whether between you and your patients or how the public thinks about the value you offer. If a simple apple a day concept did the trick (for dental health or marketing) you and I would be eating it and doing something else.

Dental Marketing Commentary by…
Dick Chwalek • Niche Dental President
Dental Communication Integration Consultant