You went to dental school, not business school, so you may feel a little bit out of your league when it comes to all of the other tasks associated with running a practice. While you may be tempted to take on everything yourself—keeping the books, ordering supplies and equipment, submitting payroll, and marketing your practice—the more of these you do, the less time you have for your patients.
Outsourcing the jobs that you did not learn in school allows you to focus on what you do best, which is providing outstanding care for the patients who are loyal to you. But how do you know if the marketing company you hire is what you need? How do you know that it shares your vision? Here are some tips to consider when you’re looking for the perfect company to handle your marketing.
- Find someone who specializes in dentistry. A marketing agency that caters to the foodservice industry is not going to know the ins and outs of how to promote laser dentistry, clear aligners, or dental implants. Furthermore, it won’t have intimate knowledge of your audience. Convincing someone that Company A has the best burger is not the same as convincing someone that your practice is the best choice when it comes to dental restorations.
- Know what you want. Do you want to grow your practice? Are you seeking patients who are willing to invest in more elaborate treatments? Who are your ideal patients? If you don’t know what you want, then you can’t inquire about what strategies a marketing company might use to help you meet your objectives. If you go in with a clear picture of what you want, it will be easier to find an agency that fits your needs.
- Find out if their campaigns are customized or templated. Agencies that offer customized content are investing time in helping you achieve your goals. Customized content is written to appeal to your audience, about topics that you want to promote, in ways that convey the unique personality of your practice. Templated content is the same from site to site, down to the stock images they use.
- Go with your gut. Do you trust the people at the agency? Are they willing to listen to you? A good marketing agency will become part of your team. It will stay in constant contact to make sure you are happy and constantly reevaluate the strategies it uses. If you instinctively don’t like or trust the agency, then you won’t enjoy working with it.
- Evaluate the legwork the agency did prior to your meeting. Did the agency take time to get to know you and your practice? Did it provide feedback about your current marketing channels? Did it bother to learn about your competition? If a marketing company doesn’t invest time in earning your business, then it’s likely it won’t invest time in keeping it.
Ultimately, only you know what your practice needs. Using these tips might make it a little easier to filter through all of the marketing agencies that are clamoring for your business to find the few gems that can help you reach your goals and allow you to focus on your patients.
With more than a decade of experience in corporate dental laboratory marketing and brand development, Ms. Ulasewich decided to take her passion for the dental business and marketing to the next level by founding My Dental Agency. Since starting her company, she and her team have helped a wide variety of business owners all over the nation focus their message, reach their target audience, and increase their sales through effective marketing campaigns. She can be reached at (800) 689-6434 or via email at jackie@mydentalagency.com.
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