There’s nothing like the New Year that makes you reevaluate everything. Your dental marketing might be in a bit of a rut or you didn’t achieve what you planned in 2022. So now is your chance to reboot your practice and make some marketing New Year’s resolutions for 2023.

We believe that every practice is unique, so everyone’s marketing resolutions are going to look a little different. But there are a few things that every practice can do to kick-start their dental marketing for the year to come.

Here are 5 marketing resolutions every dental practice should make:

1. Review Your Website Design

Having a website working to your advantage is critical in this day and age. Your website is the centre of your marketing hub and should be used as a key component of both your external and internal marketing.

We recommend a number of changes to your website including:

• Include more professional photographs of the team and practice
• Ensure that you are clearly displaying your points of difference on your website
• Add more information about the practice, your team and your services.

2. Nurture Relationships With Your Existing Patients

Many practices make the mistake of focusing only on gaining new patients. They fail to effectively address the need to retain those they already have.

Did you know that the most valuable asset that a practice has is its existing patient base? Every practice wants and needs new patients, but your surest and most predictable source of new revenue is right under your nose. It comes from the loyal patients who already know your practice.

Email communication is one of the most cost-effective marketing methods you can implement. A growing number of professionals use email newsletter marketing to build their practices. A patient newsletter demonstrates your concern for the people your practice serves and aims to strengthen that relationship. It is a convenient and impressive way to keep in touch on a regular basis, especially with patients you may not see often. 

3. Improve Your Social Media Presence

Through social media, patients will pick up on a very powerful message. That you listen, care, are open and honest, and that you treat people, not teeth. The perception is that you are the leading edge in everything you do, including your dental services.

You can use social media to:

• Create a credible image
• Boost your website traffic Improve your SEO rankings

4. Consider Promotions

People are procrastinators; particularly when it comes to dentistry, they need a reason to come back in to see you. Incentive-based marketing is a great way to get your patients to come back in. Promotions work. The statistics show this, with more than 81% of Australian consumers having purchased a product because of a promotional offer, and almost 40% having done so in the past thirty days.

By using the right promotions, retain existing patients, attract new patients, and sell a wider array of products and services to patients who have traditionally participated in a very small segment of what you offer. Incentives can help you leverage the power of referral-based marketing, too. More practices than ever are using this strategy to drive growth.

5. Review Your Marketing Budget

Marketing is an investment. A dental practice should be spending somewhere between 2-10% of its annual gross income on marketing. This includes planning fees, personnel time, production costs, and implementation costs. Your marketing budget is very much dependent on your business goals.

When increasing your budget it is important that you implement a plan, track your activities and track your return on investment of marketing. It is important to measure Return on investment (ROI) so that you can make informed decisions on your future marketing activities.

ROI is a simple calculation you can use to evaluate the success of your marketing tactics. In order for you to calculate your marketing return, you need to have systems in place to track the patients and referrals that are generated.

Is Improving Your Marketing One Of Your New Year’s Resolutions?

At this time of year, we always get lots of calls from practices who want to improve their marketing for next year. As a consequence, we are always busy in January.

So if improving your marketing is one of your New Year’s Resolutions, we suggest you get in first and book a time to chat.