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Navigating Dental Marketing
12 Plays4 days ago
About the Hosts:
Dr. Savanah Craig: A passionate dental professional and co-host of the "Beyond Graduation" podcast, Dr. Savanah Craig is committed to shedding light on the early stages of a dentist's career. With a strong focus on authentic communication and patient care, Dr. Craig excels in connecting with her audience and colleagues by sharing genuine experiences from her own career journey.
Dr. Ronnetta Sartor: Co-host of the "Beyond Graduation" podcast, Dr. Ronnetta Sartor is an accomplished dentist and practice owner. Dr. Sartor has successfully navigated the challenges of building and rebranding a dental practice, emphasizing the importance of internal marketing and patient loyalty. Her insights into practice management and patient relationships are rooted in years of experience and continual learning.
Episode Summary:
In this enlightening episode of the "Beyond Graduation" podcast, hosts Dr. Savanah Craig and Dr. Ronnetta Sartor delve into the intricacies of dental practice marketing. They explore the ever-evolving landscape of marketing strategies, the role of technology, and the power of branding in dentistry. As both hosts share their personal journeys and experiences, they provide valuable insights into the challenges and successes encountered when establishing their practices.
Marketing in dentistry has dramatically evolved with the digital age, and this episode covers efficient strategies such as search engine optimization, social media marketing, and traditional methods like mailers. Dr. Sartor recounts her experience rebuilding a dental practice, emphasizing the significance of creating a brand that resonates with patients. Through engaging discussions, the hosts underscore the importance of defining a niche and aligning marketing efforts with the practice's vision, while also exploring the role of patient satisfaction in internal marketing.
Dr. Craig and Dr. Sartor engage listeners by sharing their unique perspectives on practice management and patient care. They stress the importance of authenticity and core values in building a successful brand, while exploring the impact of personal and professional branding on patient relationships. This episode serves as a robust discussion on the power of marketing in dentistry, encouraging listeners to think about the strategies that align best with their own practice values and patient needs.
Key Takeaways:
- The evolution of marketing in dentistry highlights the necessity of adapting to digital trends and leveraging social media and SEO to reach potential patients.
- Building a brand requires a focus on core values and patient satisfaction to create lasting relationships and loyalty.
- Internal marketing, through word-of-mouth and patient recommendations, remains a powerful tool in growing a dental practice.
- Understanding and aligning with your niche can refine marketing strategies to attract ideal patients and improve practice efficiency.
- Authenticity in personal and professional branding is crucial, ensuring that the brand aligns with the dentist's values and provides consistent patient experiences.
Connect with Us:
- Savanah Craig, DDS: @savanahcraigdds
- Ronnetta Sartor, DMD: @dr_sartor
- FutureDentists Beyond Graduation: @futuredentistsbeyondgraduation
- FutureDentists: @futuredentists
- IgniteDDS and IgniteDDS Coaching: @ignitedds and www.ignitedds.com
For more detailed insights and to hear the full discussion on innovative marketing strategies in dentistry, listen to the complete episode of "Beyond Graduation.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction: Transformation in Dental Practice Marketing
00:00:00
Speaker
Renata, share with the people some of, I'm sure marketing changed a lot when you took over the practice. Internet or um social media guru, Savannah knows that. It's a learning curve and I'm getting better with it. Not every dentist is the dentist for every patient.
00:00:16
Speaker
And in the same breath, not every patient is the right patient for every dentist. Join Drs. Savannah Craig and Renetta Sartor as we navigate life beyond graduation.
00:00:27
Speaker
Real conversations about forging our own paths in our early years in our careers. There's a reason it's called practicing dentistry. Welcome back to another episode of Beyond Graduation. I'm Savannah Craig. And I'm Renetta Sartor.
Digital Marketing Strategies and Adaptation
00:00:41
Speaker
So this week we thought we would talk about marketing and strategies with marketing, I will share my limited knowledge and Renetta can talk about marketing for the practice and maybe how building a brand and social media marketing and all of those things are have really changed the game for everyone, but especially dentistry. I feel like dentistry took a little while maybe to catch up with the digital age of marketing and then
00:01:15
Speaker
Now people are really, really getting after it. So Renetta, share with the people some of, I'm sure marketing changed a lot when you took over the practice and then how things have progressed in the couple of years since you've been open.
00:01:29
Speaker
Yes, I will start by saying by no means am I an internet or social media guru. Savannah knows that. home It's a learning curve and I'm getting better with it.
00:01:44
Speaker
Yeah. But prior to being a practice owner, I would take hiatuses from um social media altogether where I would just deactivate my social media pages.
00:01:56
Speaker
And so ah that's where I began. um When I acquired the practice that I own, we pretty much the previous owner didn't do any type of marketing or any of any of that stuff i don't even know if there was a google my business page for them so i pretty much started from scratch and especially since i changed the name of it so we had to you know create a brand think of a name think of a logo i had to do signage and all of those things including create a website
00:02:35
Speaker
and start trying to do social media marketing.
From External to Internal Marketing
00:02:39
Speaker
marketing And so um because I'm not a whiz at that sort of stuff, I hired someone to kind of help and do it, a team to hire that pretty much did it for me.
00:02:50
Speaker
um At that time, pretty much it was getting people in a door because the doctor that I purchased the office from, he had slowed down significantly and...
00:03:03
Speaker
you know This is a new business for me, so my goal was to try to ramp things up and ramp it up um as efficiently as I could.
00:03:14
Speaker
um so in the beginning, it meant you know just getting the word out there that we even existed and that we were open and ready to see patients Now, since I'm going into year three of practice ownership strategies and that sort of thing has changed. So um they always say the best type of marketing is internal marketing.
00:03:42
Speaker
having your patience of record being so satisfied with the work that you do in a service that you provide in an environment and culture that you provided in that it pretty much being all the momentum you need for them to love you so much that they let all their friends and family know about you.
00:04:05
Speaker
um and so it's transitioned a lot to, to that. Um, But we live in a world of where if someone hears your name, the first thing they're going to is Google it um yeah or your practice name. So it's also that side of it, too.
00:04:22
Speaker
So rather than just trying to, you know, get patients in a chair, I think we're transitioning now to. okay, this is the type of dentistry that we like to do.
00:04:34
Speaker
um We have a more defined vision for what we do and where we want to go
Balancing Patient Capacity and Joyful Procedures
00:04:42
Speaker
as a practice. So now we're transitioning more to, okay, the this is the our niche of patients that that um we want to see. um And it's not to say that we don't welcome everyone. We do welcome everyone, but just...
00:04:59
Speaker
Kind of honing down. Yeah. so Yeah. Get to be a little more, and don't know that selective is the right word, but just have a more defined goal. And the thing we always talk about, like, not every dentist is the dentist for every patient.
00:05:16
Speaker
And in the same breath, not every patient dentist. is the right patient for every dentist. That's well stated. Yeah, that's super interesting and exciting that you're now at a point where you get to sort of pivot those things because, so my mom um is a hygienist and Sometimes she talks about where they get, it's just a smaller space, smaller practice, and you can get so busy where you don't have room to see more new patients or more patients. And so you do end up having to be selective at a certain point if you don't have the capacity for everyone.
00:05:53
Speaker
hu Do you find that that's more where this is heading for you? is Is it a capacity issue or is it just you finding like your passion and your niche? Yeah. I think it's more so me doing a whole lot of um continuing education yeah and finding what brings me the most joy in terms of doing dentistry sure in the procedures that, um you know, I look.
00:06:21
Speaker
forward to doing yeah and trying to pivot to doing those things or not or but an um if I see that okay we're having a lot of patients that are having this particular issue okay we need to create a space where we can address it for them sure very cool what has i know you say you have limited experience um But on ah I guess on the outside looking in kind of what's been your experience with the marketing realm as it pertains to dentistry?
Insurance's Role in Patient Demographics
00:07:01
Speaker
Yeah. so came into an existing system with the practices that I am working at. So my boss is, from what I can see and what he's told me hits very heavy with like search engine optimization.
00:07:21
Speaker
um we are in, if not the top, but one of the top things that come up when you Google anything, dentistry is our practices. Obviously, I'm sure there's some sort of location specific thing, right? Where it's going to bring the practice closer to you to the top would be my assumption. i don't know how Google works. um But that's nine times out of 10, ask a patient, hey, what brings you in it's I Googled dentists near me and you guys came up. And because we're pretty big, there's a lot of doctors and a lot of operatories. I think we're able to capture new and emergency patients because nine times out of 10, there's an opening on the schedule, either same day or within that week. And so I think that helps us
00:08:16
Speaker
a lot to get patients through the door. The one thing you and I were talking about sort of off mic is your practice is fee for service. And so that's going to be a different patient population um where we accept most insurance um and are in in network with.
Traditional vs. Digital Marketing Tactics
00:08:36
Speaker
So that helps us a lot when those patients do call in that that's not necessarily a barrier. Mm-hmm. for people Because a lot of people are looking for that in-network benefit, ah whether or not they realize what that actually means. But that's all that's a podcast for another time.
00:08:55
Speaker
and like We could and probably should do one about insurance and all of that fun stuff. But yeah, so we do a lot of ah marketing that way. We have Instagram pages for all of our practices. The newer one I've already been getting ads for just while I'm scrolling Instagram and Facebook. So obviously he's pushing some of those advertising ways. I know we do a lot of mailers, which was fascinating to me because I didn't think anybody still did that or looked
00:09:27
Speaker
At their male. Is there a certain patient population. That you would say
00:09:35
Speaker
Responds. More to the. Like is there a certain age group. Yeah I would say it's more older. Patients. Which is probably good because I'm. This is probably making a lot of assumptions and about age groups, but I would say they're probably not the ones catching the Instagram or social media ads necessarily or doing the Googling.
00:09:58
Speaker
was going to say, you'd be surprised. Yes. Because a lot of our patients that come in and say, oh, yeah, saw your ad on XYZ. They saw it online. Yeah. yeah um But I think that's pretty interesting that we kind of live in a time where You can capture such a way a wide range of age groups in on social media, but also with those mailers and stuff too. Yeah.
00:10:22
Speaker
And we'll do different um like new patient specials if you're cash pay and there's like a discounted rate for that for like a new patient exam and x-rays. So I think that goes out in the mailers. So that helps.
00:10:38
Speaker
We've done a couple campaigns for mailers with... like whitening for life. Oh, wow. That's nice. um And so from my understanding, if you you have to bring the physical thing with you.
00:10:52
Speaker
then you get your whitening trays and the refills, the gel refills.
00:11:02
Speaker
I don't know. i think for free. And then you get the additional refills for a discount. Okay. That's still pretty nice because everyone... Everyone's wild about whitening their teeth. Yeah.
00:11:15
Speaker
So I think that has been a big one. And then obviously it keeps people coming back in the door to get there their refills. I should ask more about exactly what that looks like. i I think it also would include at a certain point if you needed new whitening trays.
00:11:33
Speaker
think that's part of the like fur life thing.
Tracking Metrics for Marketing Success
00:11:35
Speaker
Yeah. Part of it. Like you mean like if you got a restoration done. Sure. yeah and If yours don't fit anymore.
00:11:44
Speaker
i'm i'm assuming it's not like if you just lost it. But who knows? Who knows? But I i know the initial like impressions and your first set of ah trays and an initial couple of tubes of whatever the whitening stuff is, is included if you bring in that.
00:12:05
Speaker
And then our hope is you bring that in and you get your comp exam and you're... Right. Do you guys have, like, um I guess, restrictions to it? like Like you said, you have to get the comp exam? Yeah. Okay. Perfect.
00:12:21
Speaker
I've not seen anybody not do the whole shebang, and obviously we're going to explain. Why it's needed. prior Yeah. or hey, we need to get these other things under control before you can have your whitening. Right. Right.
00:12:35
Speaker
But it it gets people in the door, um which is interesting, and then keeps keeps people coming back. And we just put it in their chart as like a pop-up that like you're a whitening for life patient and I like that idea. That's, you know, people love a discount and like to feel incentivized for doing what they they need to do.
00:12:59
Speaker
um so it's a nice, okay, i I finished all my dental work. Now I get to get my free writing trays. So like that a whole lot. Yeah. And I do think there is Some sort of like time frame on the mail or two that like you couldn't you couldn't bring a whitening for life coupon from five years ago. you hundred Understood.
00:13:23
Speaker
So I think they watch the metrics and if we need new patients or whatever, then we're going to start doing those different campaigns and things from what I understand.
00:13:36
Speaker
And I think that's an important thing, like metrics when you're doing these sorts of things, like to make sure that what you're paying for, you're getting a good return on your investment.
Maintaining Authentic Branding
00:13:50
Speaker
Right.
00:13:50
Speaker
And if you're not, how can you pivot? But it's like you said, you know, listening to what the patients are asking for. And I think it's interesting to I do ask them, how did you hear about us? What brought you in?
00:14:04
Speaker
um and I think that's good feedback to the office of what is and is not working and where to sort of put your resources and your money. Mm-hmm. because paying money for a trillion mailers and then you get like one patient you know that's not helpful I think to take it one step further when they come in and you know if they say that oh I found you on social media or I saw an ad I have started asking the question what was it about what you saw that resonated with you oh like that um
00:14:39
Speaker
because it lets us know what certain people value. So it tells us about them, but it also tells us about our values too.
00:14:51
Speaker
you know, could it be that we make people more aware that, you know, this is what we value as a team. Sort of like intention versus impact. And if what you're putting out there is having the impact that you want it to and reaching those people that you want it to Exactly.
00:15:11
Speaker
That's really interesting because Sometimes I'm sure we're putting things out there that are capturing or portraying different, portraying to people differently than what we intend.
00:15:25
Speaker
So for example, the one thing that i was kind of picky about when I started was the on our websites, right? It tells you like services and a lot of those things from different marketing companies are pretty just generic.
00:15:42
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And so some of the stuff about sedation and IV station is really heavy on like sleep dentistry. and And I was like, no, because that's not what it is. That's not what I purport to patients. And so keeping an eye on those little subtle things that are accidentally attracting or missing Misleading. Yeah, misleading is exactly the word.
00:16:07
Speaker
And then people come in upset that you don't provide this service that your website... Says you did. Right, made it seem like you do. So that that was interesting things to just look in because you start talking to people and they're like, well, you say blah, blah, blah. And you're like, oh, i that would that would make me mad if I thought I was getting some, this thing and I'm not.
00:16:34
Speaker
So I can, I can understand that. What role do you think, you know, having creating a brand, whether it be your, you know, your personal professional brand or an office brand plays into capturing those patients?
00:16:57
Speaker
Yeah, that's a that's a really interesting question. i would love, i don't know how you would ever get these numbers, but to know how many people are actually Googling their doctors or looking at, I mean, we have bios on our website.
00:17:19
Speaker
I would imagine fewer people than I think are. they They just make the appointment. They show up. They don't care. But then there are times where people are like, oh, no, I looked... I looked you up and you're like, oh my God, I don't know what, what did you find?
00:17:36
Speaker
You know, you hope it's the office web website that comes up first. um So sometimes I'll Google myself just to know what's out there. But I have had a couple of patients very rarely, but who found my Ignite blogs, who maybe have found the Instagram page, the podcast, and That's cool and terrifying all at the same time.
00:18:03
Speaker
but i think it comes back to our our constant conversation of like values and integrity. And i would like to think that anything I have said on this podcast or written in a blog is the same thing I would tell somebody and in real life. um So just trying to keep all of that...
00:18:27
Speaker
You hate to be like, I'm a brand. Right. Because I am also a person and a and a wife and all of these other things in addition to being a dentist.
00:18:39
Speaker
But the age that we live in, all of that is also part of your brand. All the things. Mm-hmm. Yeah, so just trying to be authentic, I think is the right word, so that the brand they associate with me is me and not I don't have to remember different things, if that makes sense.
00:19:08
Speaker
Yeah, so it's more so staying true to who you are yeah and having all those things align. Who you as is Savannah, the dentist, the Savannah, the wife, Savannah, the carefree blogger and podcaster. Yeah, yeah. and And there is this weird balance of you're goingnna you're going to be different in all of these different situations and...
00:19:37
Speaker
wear different hats, but at the core remaining who you are. yeah I think we talked about that in our early podcast about our core values and those kind of remaining the same, if not transforming to make us better people to move forward. So I think it's a really good standpoint too. I think it's better too. Cause like,
00:20:05
Speaker
Before, i know when I was younger, you know, we had one dentist near where I grew up. So that's where we're going. didn't have to look online or anything like that.
00:20:17
Speaker
But it's kind of cool that now our patients have the opportunity to choose us. Yeah. um Based on what they see. and um I think that's why I like to ask the question, you know, like what resonated with you? Because I'm just interested to know. you know, you could use that to keep staying true to who you are and just as confirmation that what you're doing is reaching the people that it's meant to to reach. Yeah.
00:20:47
Speaker
Absolutely. What, um, I mean you have actually built the brand of the office. What did that look like? Because I sort of just fit in as a puzzle piece to an existing brand.
00:21:02
Speaker
Um... And like I said, it's evolved. And I think part of it is like time went on and I learned more about myself as a leader, as a dentist, um and learned more about, okay, what type of dentistry I want to do. Yeah.
00:21:23
Speaker
The marketing and everything kind of changed. But one of the things that have remained the same is my core values and my beliefs on how our patients should be treated.
00:21:35
Speaker
um And not just treated in terms of like treatment, but treated from the first phone call yeah that they make. all the way up to the experience that they have coming through the door. And um I know there are lots of metrics out there. and I think for me, i know those metrics matter and reviews and things matter.
00:21:56
Speaker
But at the end of the day, I want to make sure that I'm providing quality service and care and experience for our patients above all else, if that makes sense.
Managing Google Reviews and Patient Relationships
00:22:09
Speaker
Yeah. Google reviews my arch nemesis. But, and there's also this balance of knowing that you did the best you could and provided the best level of care and also it might not be enough or what people are looking for. It's all just so...
00:22:30
Speaker
So dynamic and so it's so difficult to capture because it is just human interactions and relationships. And I do think that's the probably one of the most interesting things. If you think back to those older dental practices where you were the only business, take it or leave it. I don't. Where are you going to Where now?
Comprehensive In-House Services
00:22:51
Speaker
You know, where now it is such a they want that personal relationship to feel like they know you. They want more, it's it's more like a concierge type of feel to what healthcare has become versus you want you want your tooth out today? it Doesn't matter to me.
00:23:11
Speaker
And people want, at least I'm finding, more things in-house. We're becoming more, give it to me everything right now as much as you can. and sometimes that's been an interesting practice builder too. of There are quite a few, which I get it, ah ah quite a few general dentists around us that don't
Listener Engagement and Conclusion
00:23:31
Speaker
pull teeth.
00:23:31
Speaker
I think pulling teeth is awesome. um That's probably... I mean, I get like, that sucks. I'm sorry you had to have your tooth pulled, but it's so satisfying to me. And um so that's been a cool practice builder because patients know that I'll least take a look.
00:23:50
Speaker
And if it is too complicated, I will send you out. But that's built that reputation too. So this is an ever evolving conversation and We're just trying our best. So if y'all have marketing tips or ah patients, if you have strong feelings about what you're looking for in your dental office or their website, let us know. It's it's also interesting.
00:24:19
Speaker
Yeah, we would definitely love to know. So anyone that's out there, i mean, you don't have to be a dentist. You could just be a marketing guru or a customer like Savannah said, or you know, a patient that, you know, these are what, these are things that you're looking for. We'd love to know. So please reach out to us.
00:24:39
Speaker
You can find me on Instagram at Dr. Underscore Sartor. And me at Savannah Craig DDS. Until next time. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Beyond Graduation. If you enjoyed this week's episode, be sure to share it with a friend.
00:24:54
Speaker
Connect with us on social media at Savannah Craig DDS and at Dr. Sartor. And remember, you are not alone on this journey. Thank you for listening to Beyond Graduation brought to you by Ignite DDS and Future Dentists. This episode was sponsored by Ignite DDS Coaching. We build self-determined futures. For more information, please reach out to the Ignite DDS team.