Data-Centric Strategies to Pivot Your Dental Marketing

It might seem like 2020 kept your dental practice or DSO in a reactive rather than proactive mode.

For good reason, you had to pivot a lot in providing dentistry.

Now you’re positioned to move out of “survival” mode. And marketing is key to that proactive and much-needed shift.

A dental marketing focus that’s more intuitive (and data-driven)

Marketing your dental services in this rebuilding era requires a bit more intuition than before the pandemic. Intuition implies being thoughtful and strategic as you approach dental marketing.

Your current patients or those seeking your services for the first time are seeking a secure, safe dental environment. How you market must align with patient perception.

That’s where data can help.

Available data you can “mine” using your dental dashboard can reveal much about patient behavior. Be more intuitive as you review your patient database and craft your marketing strategies around your discoveries.

How to pivot and (re)position your dental marketing

Create a compelling narrative

In essence, your narrative is the story you’re telling. But it’s not just your story…it’s your patient’s (story) too.

Audience attention is hard-earned. Your content is effective to the extent that it holds their attention and compels a response.

This increases the need to use different storytelling mediums. The message can be consistent although the format and channel can change.

• Use “snackable” or “micro-content.” Isolate portions of longer content pieces. Share them and link back to the original content.
• Create blog content around topics that answer real questions your patients are asking. Share the content using benefit-focused posts on social media with links back to your blog post.
• Craft social “stories” with approved images that compel patients to interact with you and make treatment-based decisions.

Content tells a “story.” Sharing your narrative on a variety of channels gets it in front of more people…who could become patients.

Plot the “patient journey”

A person’s interaction with your practice(s) leaves certain clues. For example, click-data can reveal where someone last browsed your website before they navigated to your contact page or called your office.

Real-time data analysis gives you valuable insight into the patient journey. This is worthwhile information because it shows you how to be more intentional with your marketing.

The patient journey follows a path.

• Attraction (to your website, social media platforms, coded promotional mailers, etc)
• Acknowledgment (of their current condition or questions, your services, etc)
• Acquisition (what leads them to contact you and share their related information)

Intuition about the patient journey helps you know where patients are first connecting with you, how they prefer to interact/engage, and when they decided to make their initial or next contact.

Leverage your data to better understand patient engagement

You have vast amounts of data available to you. It would be unfortunate to waste its value.

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) must graduate beyond the often touted, “new patient volume” statistics.

• Turn your attention to trends and average production per patient
• Map out where your new patients are coming from. Referrals? Online search? Ad/promotion response? Social media?
• Monitor your social media engagement. These days, word-of-mouth influence extends beyond personal encounters to the channels you (and your patients) interact on.

Revive your SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) hasn’t disappeared. Granted, it changes “colors” like a chameleon depending on the latest algorithm shift.

Frankly, it’s the “little things” that make a difference in your practice or organization’s SEO revival.

Thought-leaders recommend:

• Video transcription to give viewers more options to consume your content
• Including “title tags” and “meta descriptions” on your webpages
• Creating long-form content
• “Clustering” your content (e.g. repurpose one topic into multiple content pieces to distribute to multiple audience types)

Prioritize patient retention

Acquiring new patients account for higher costs than retaining them.

Lifetime patient value delivers high returns when packaged with referral strategies and other trust-enhancing opportunities.

Give attention to patient acquisition but make sure you’re giving big energy to creating long-term loyalty with each new patient you acquire.

Current (loyal) patients are priceless ambassadors. Keep them happy and engaged and their loyalty will serve your practice and/or DSO well.

• Know how they like to communicate and engage with your practice(s) (e.g. phone, email, text, direct mail, etc)
• Keep them comfortable and secure via your amenities and protocols (e.g. reception area, sterilization, etc)
• Give patients options: online scheduling, automated payment processes, paperless/contactless solutions, insurance advocacy, etc.
• Encourage feedback through online reviews and simple surveys

It’s essential to your practice and organizational success that you refine your dental marketing strategies. Any investment of time and/or revenue is a worthwhile investment.

And speaking of worthwhile (and innovative) investments…Marketing Matchback could be what you’re looking for to boost your dental marketing strategy

Jarvis Analytics Marketing Matchback module tracks your patient journey from lead to production. And after all…isn’t dental marketing an ongoing journey leading to what could be lifetime patient relationships?

What’s a “matchback?”

• They’re a new or existing patient who visits your practice within 60 days of their first contact.
• They assist you in assessing the dental marketing campaign that generated the most patient production and how those patients found you (e.g. Facebook, a referral, etc).

The Jarvis Analytic Marketing Matchback tracks key metrics such as:

• First visit revenue (FVR): the production from each unique marketing campaign to the patient’s first investment.
• First-year revenue (FYR): the production from each unique marketing campaign to the patient’s first-year investment.
• Cost Per Lead (CPL): total cost calculation of the marketing campaign divided by the number of leads.
• Matchback Visit Production (MVP): calculation of the total production generated by all matchbacks.

The Jarvis Analytics platform and the Marketing Matchback module help assure that you’re tracking the important metrics and staying on track with your goals as your dental practice and/or DSO grows and expands.

Jarvis…

• Integrates seamlessly with your chosen practice management software/platform
• Presents the metrics you want and need in an easy-to-view dental dashboard that reduces data complexity for growing dental practices, dental groups, and DSOs

Request more information about the Marketing Matchback module or experience Jarvis in action.

Request a demo today!

And…

Contact us for more information about data tracking that leads to better dental marketing and organizational profitability.