practice marketing
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FOUR KEY STEPS TO
Building the Online Social Proof That Wins Over Prospective Patients
by Marc Fowler
There are a myriad of ways a prospective patient can discover a new dentist . Among them – asking for a personal recommendation from a friend or family member , seeing a billboard , receiving a postcard , and of course , searching online . There are so many in fact , it can be difficult for a practice to know where to focus their marketing efforts in order to reach the highest number of prospective patients .
This is the challenge of “ attribution .” Most practices end up semi-invested in multiple channels , not really knowing which of their efforts are giving them the results they want – which is more new patients .
No matter how prospective patients first hear about you or find you , it ’ s not enough to get them scheduled and in your chair . They will always take one more step before setting an appointment .
So , what is that step ? We recently conducted a nationwide survey of 1,000 potential patients to ask them what mattered the most when choosing a dental provider . The number one answer ? Online reviews and recommendations . Whether your office has been referred to them , they ’ ve received a postcard from you or they ’ ve found you via a Google search , they ultimately head straight to websites like Yelp , Facebook and Google Maps to see what your current patients have to say about you .
You may have the best looking office in town and the nicest website – if you don ’ t have positive reviews and accurate listings to back it up , prospective patients simply won ’ t choose your practice .
Online reviews and recommendations carry considerable weight for prospective dental patients . To convert those prospects into scheduled patients it ’ s important for dental practices to do these two key things :
Invest in your online reputation .
A dentist ’ s reputation is everything – so it ’ s important to fully understand what an “ online reputation ” includes . It includes everything that ’ s ever been said about you or your practice online . Reviews posted on Google , Yelp and Facebook help shape public opinion about your practice .
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