Did you know that 21% of consumers used the internet to find a local business?

Prospective patients discover dental and medical offices in the same way. This is especially true for patients who have recently moved or changed insurance coverage.

Having a digital presence is critical for patients to know you exist.

To help you learn about which digital marketing strategies to use, these are some important dental marketing facts to keep in mind.

How Dental Offices Aquire New Patients 

New patients find their dental offices through local online searches, online business listings, and word of mouth.

Whether you know it or not, your dental business probably has a listing on Google My Bussiness, Yelp, and Healthgrades. It’s important that you claim these accounts. You can do this by completing your business profile and ensuring that the address, photos, and contact information is up to date.

Without claiming these online business listings, you’ll likely be missing out on new patients.

To ensure your dental practice shows up in local searches, you’ll want to have a strong SEO to get people to your website. This makes it even more critical for your address, hours of operation, and phone number to be accurate.

Patient Retention Is Critical 

The best customer is the customer you already have. They are the people that will be leaving your reviews.

Though it’s important to be working towards new patients, you’ll want to be sure to retain the patients you already have.

You can help maintain patients by offering alternative insurance to patients who may fall out of network. Since insurance is tied to work, patients may need to change dental offices if their job changes.

By offering fee-for-service plans, dental discount plans, and patient membership plans, you’ll have a higher chance of keeping these patients.

Your Competition Should Influence Your Dental Marketing Strategies

If you don’t know where to start for your dental marketing services, it’s helpful to look toward your competition.

There are a ton of ways to figure out what your competition is doing. One strategy is to “blind shop,” which involves calling the other dental office and posing as a prospective patient. Ask questions and see how they respond and treat new leads.

You can also subscribe to your competition’s emails and newsletters to figure out what kind of content they send and their referral strategies.

Now You Know the Most Important Dental Marketing Facts 

These are the most important dental marketing facts to be aware of when forming your digital marketing strategies. Online marketing is critical, but you can’t do it at random.

Keep in mind that these things are often in flux, and it’s important to stay flexible and adapt as you begin seeing new patterns. This ensures you maximize your digital footprint and that patients will keep coming through your door.

And for additional information related to marketing strategy, be sure to check out the rest of our blog. We have a ton of other awesome tips for you to start incorporating today!