Doing some kind of consistent marketing is vital, but what and why? In an economy like this, consumers need to quickly know why your expertise is valuable and be reminded regularly.

First, Determine What Your Dental Brand Is.

To many people and dentists, branding sounds like pure marketing hooey. Sadly, it often is in dentistry advertising. Not because there is no value in branding, but because few dentists develop their brand adequately, using rationale data and appropriate examination of their business goals.

Many companies disappear before most of us know who they are because of a weak idea. Other "great" marketing ideas have a short lifespan: the pet rock for example. Then there are companies Wells Fargo and Proctor & Gamble with brands that were built over time rather than through a modern "branding process".

Dental practices using fall somewhere in the middle of the previous brand building examples. Waiting 5 years to build their dental brand is an eternity and usually don't outlive the first dentist to develop it. The services dentists provide are needed, but consumers need to know where the dental practice is and/or it is accepting new patients.

Many dental practices start up much like a new family owned restaurant. They have good food (clinical skills), a nice interior presentation, and excited people ready to serve. They can thrive for a while on this energy and with a healthy referral base. "Come to my dentist - she just opened a practice and is looking for new patients. She is very friendly and gentle."

A few years later "filling the schedule" and "accepting" new patients are less of an issue. Maybe the dental practice is on cruise control traveling down the wrong road and does not know it. The community changes, younger competitors shake things up and newer suburbs pull people away. Dental treatments, techniques, and strategies evolve. These complex concepts become a harder sell or just bewildering to present in a cohesive way. Financing and dental insurance add more issues and complexity to the relationship.

New dental patient referrals start diminishing. And face-to-face referrals often cannot provide the right mix of "education" to move consumers up the ladder to higher-level dentistry. Patients still think you are very nice, but 10,000 for a restorative or cosmetic case requires more than nice. Patients and other local consumers start seeing other dentists marketing and begin thinking the competitor has something you do not have.

As you figure out how you will garner your portion of these dental patients, others are stumbling onto to these consumers by just doing something. These dentists slap together dental logos, ads, PPC advertising, SEO keyword content, DVDs, mailers and dental websites. With shear force of doing something (and often being the first to do it), these doing something dentists find some success.

CONCLUSION

While you could jump into this fray with your own something here, something there dental marketing campaign (or possibly you already have) you stop short and say to yourself: "This is not for me. There should be a way I can have success, but still present the image I want." This is where dental branding is required!

Rather than "advertising" and hawking your dental wares, you want to communicate a different level of dental value and expertise. Your dental brand could be an upscale image or just an upgrade in expectations and results. A real dental brand cannot be pulled from the shelf.

Make the macro economy irrelevant by communicating directly to those who really need and want your services. A complete and niche focused dental brand will make it possible.

Marketing Commentary by

NDA Member and Dental Communication Coach, Consultant Dick Chwalek