The Dental Product Shopper Conducted an Independent Product Evaluation with Dentists Who Use The DocSite’s Services and Gave a Score of 4.8 out of 5.0. The score was based on the following criteria:
There are many factors to consider when signing up with a website/marketing provider as it really can be the “Wild Wild West” when making your decision. We wanted to write this article to help doctors avoid crucial pitfalls and long term issues when choosing a website provider.
1. Own Your Domain
A website provider should never be the owner of your domain. As the client you should have full ownership of the domain. Be certain that you always have the ability to move your domain into your own account at anytime. At The DocSites, we provide a domain management service where we buy the domain and pay the yearly fee as a courtesy but all of our clients have ownership of the domain. This means you can move your domain at anytime and you are the owner. We never want to hold a client hostage and if a client decides to leave our service, we will gladly transfer the domain to their account.
2. No Long Term Commitments/Hidden Terms
We allow our clients to leave our services with a 30 day notice, and we never auto-renew a client for a yearly commitment. It is crucial to know that you can provide us a 30 day cancellation notice and discontinue your service with us. We have heard many horror stories that some website providers hold clients in long term commitments or auto-renew the service for 1 year with hidden contract terms. It is very simple, if you no longer need our services and want to discontinue, just give us a 30 day notice via email/phone and we will gladly allow you to cancel. Just make sure you ask any company you are thinking of working with about their cancellation policy and ready the fine print.
3. Transparency with Marketing Services, Facebook & Google Ad Spend
Many companies do not show you their pricing until you provide all your information or get on a call with a commission-based salesperson. With DocSites all our pricing is listed on our website so you can comfortably review it before you ever talk to anyone, and we don’t work on commission so when you do decide to call, you won’t feel any pressure. We will help you decide what fits your needs best to make the process very simple for you.
Another important thing for those thinking about doing paid ads on Google & Facebook is to make sure you are not charged one set fee. We have experienced many dentists hire advertising companies who charge one bundled fee for their management service and cost of ads without showing the exact amount spent towards the advertising platform (Google/Facebook). This means they charge a total amount but you never know how much you are spending on impressions/clicks directly from the Google or Facebook, thus not getting a real clear picture of its effectiveness and in many cases the actual value of the advertising service. At The DocSites, we believe in transparency and we bill you separately to manage your advertising and allow you to be billed directly from the ad platform so that you can see their direct monthly charge and how it works. In addition, our management fee is directly listed on our website ensuring that you know all of our fees up front.
There are many factors to setting up a website and marketing campaign, making sure you cover the basics and not fall for any pitfalls for long-term success are the first steps to a great experience. We are happy to educate you and provide you valuable information during our no-obligation sales process. Call us directly at 888-980-4949 to speak with a dental marketing expert today.
Dentists looking to increase their production with current and new patients need to leverage a combination of internal marketing, and external marketing to succeed.
Below are 8 Proven Ways to Increase Production with Current & New Patients:
1. Get your current patients back in the chair for treatment
Whether you use the phone, emails or text – the “lowest hanging fruit” most practices have is the opportunity to get current patients – or get those who didn’t show up previously in the chairs.
2. Add “New Patient Special Offer” on your website
At DocSites we create unique pages with the titles of “Special Offer”on our clients’ websites and we’ve seen from experience that more often than not, new patients will click to see what offers are available.
3. Increase your positive reviews on Google My Business / Yelp
The more positive reviews you have on these profiles, the more likely patients will trust your practice and book an appointment. Create a simple process of asking your happy patients to leave you positive reviews at the right time.
4. Optimize your SEO for “Emergency Dentist Near Me”
If you happen to offer this service, you can gain additional reach by optimizing your website for keywords like “Emergency Dentist Near Me.”
5. Highlight your Before/After work on Facebook & social media
People tend to believe what they see more than what they hear or read. Make sure you have a Smile Gallery on your website and post your before / after work on social media for your community to see.
6. Use targeted ads with a special offer to bring in new patients
Make sure that your offer is something of real value to patients – and personalize these ads with photos of your practice, team & staff for best results.
7. Create & optimize dental treatment pages
SEO (search engine optimization) takes time to see results, but it’s one of the best investments you can make to attract new patients consistently from Google.
8. Provide patients an EASY way to make appointments
Make sure your website has a clear call to action that reads “Request An Appointment” that leads to a simple form that patients can fill out and get a call back.
Other than your website your Google My Business profile is probably the most important asset you can control when it comes to your online reputation.
The reason why this profile is so important is that it’s the first profile that appears publicly (on the top right hand side) of Google results – when people Google your name.
Here are 4 ways you can improve your Google profile in order to reach more new patients in your local area.
Make sure your Google map listing is claimed, and has accurate information about your practice, including address, hours, services offered, and website URL.
To better enhance your profile, upload photos and videos of your office, dentist & staff.
For some time now Google has created a section within this profile that allows you to make updates. By making updates consistently, your profile will be seen as more active and shown to more people searching for a dentist in your area. Here are some ideas of what you can post:
• Special Offers
• Before / Afters
• Educational articles
These days what matters even more than just convenience is quality dental care! Dental practices that have many reviews, and a high star rating to go with, will benefit from higher rankings, and thus more exposure on Google.
Don’t let another month go by before you make a much needed change….
In the age of COVID-19, it is vital that your dental practice protocols, internal communication and external communications dispel patient fears and present a welcoming, safe environment.
We connected with Jennifer Surette of Fortune Practice Management to review her successful approach working directly with dental offices to ensure they maintain their patient flow in a safe manner.
We included our experience with external communications and what has successfully worked many dental offices.
Internal Communications are a necessary partner with your External Communications. If you are experiencing an increase in cancellations, it may be time for a different approach. Assume that every patient who calls to cancel has no idea what your safety precautions are. Instead of accepting their request to cancel, first try one of the tools we teach at Fortune Management, Feel, Felt, Found.
“Hi Katy, I have an appointment scheduled next week, and I’d like to cancel that for now. I don’t really feel safe coming back to the dentist yet”
“Mrs. Jones, I understand how you FEEL, some of our patients have FELT the same way, so I’d like to share with you why our office is one of the safest places you’ll visit. In addition to our PPE, we have implemented automobile check-in, our patient lobby is closed, and all our forms are electronic. In addition, we have air filters that clean the air every hour. What we have FOUND, is that everyone is relieved when they visit knowing we have kept them safe, and I think you’ll FEEL the same way too.”
Customize this message to fit the safety precautions in your office, implement Feel, Felt, Found, and you’ll be amazed at how many people decide not to cancel after all!
It is crucial to develop official language and messaging once you have established your protocols. We worked with a practice that had an issue booking their longtime patients and their regular appointments because of lack of communication. The office was very diligent in their PPE and patient care, adhering to all guidelines but because of the poor communication their patients had no idea. We worked with them to create messaging and included every step they take to ensure patient safety. Here are some important elements with your communications:
1. Your Monthly Email Newsletter, if you weren’t sending a monthly or quarterly email communication before, now is a good time to implement this tool. Too many sends can be bothersome but just enough can create value for your patients. Include a COVID-19 update in each newsletter and communicate your protocols.
2. Your Website is the heart of your external communications, patients should be able to visit your site and know all the information about your practice. In many cases, a message at the top stating the protocols you are taking can be enough. However, with certain patient demographics you may need an entire webpage.
3. Personal video from the doctor/staff. One method we’ve seen work very well is a personal video from the dentist. The video can help patients see the office and hear from the doctor personally about the details. This can really create ease amongst worrisome patients.
4. Patient Outreach when you text appointments. This is a great way to ensure patients don’t get cold feet the day of the appointment.
Many offices will think that implementing every marketing tactic is the right approach, and for an office with a bigger budget that could be the right approach. However, a smaller office should focus on slow and steady to win the race. I spoke to 2 multi-practice owners, who manage a combined 38 offices and here is their advice:
#1 – Your Website and Google Maps Profile – these 2 items need to be done with care and lots of thought.
Dr. Reem Shafi owner and operator of 18 offices says “it is integral to have one common marketing partner who knows the pains of growing and really gives you suggestions, gives you ideas and really makes you focus on your website. I think focusing on our website and Google maps profile and letting patients know that we’re not just a basic bread and butter dental office is important.”
Your website and Google maps give you great real estate to showcase the unique aspects of your practice and promote your office’s proficiencies.
#2 – Chair time with the dentist!
Yes. Did I just imply that your chair time is a marketing resource? I did. This is your opportunity to meet your patient, get to know their concerns, and familiarize them with yourself and the practice. What a huge opportunity!
“Each new office we acquire, we make sure our dentists sit with the patients for 15 minutes to make mutual introductions,” Dr. My G. Tran, CEO of Streamline Dental Solutions and operator of 10+ offices.
#3 – Mailers – target mailings.
“I will take a zip code and divide up the zip code and I will say I will spend three to five thousand dollars in literal target marketing. It has always worked. But once you go beyond that target marketing, it will get you enough patients to at least get day 1 to day 45,” Dr. Shafi.
#4 – The 2 Rs. Referrals & Reviews. Not all approaches work and you have to find the best methods for your patient demographic.
“What works for one office doesn’t work for another office, in certain areas I have a retirement community and so they don’t use text messaging, and they prefer that extra touch and that extra time. You can’t always standardize,” Dr. Tran.
In terms of getting your staff to implement requests for reviews, Dr. Shafi believes incentivizing her team. You can either reward the team members that achieve better results or the team as a whole when they achieve the goals of the office.
Before taking on a big marketing plan and making investments, follow these four core elements and grow the office the right way for longevity.
In the last few months, I have received many texts and calls asking about the secret sauce of the social media success for specific clients we represent.
We provide the strategies, follow up, and support, but it is their implementation and collaboration that makes them successful. Some clients have us post and do weekly work, and some do a lot of the work themselves while leveraging our assistance to make the impact they need. These tips below can help your office take the next step.
1. Personalization – Can’t stress this enough. You went to medical or dental school and invested $ and lots of time into becoming a healthcare provider, and now you have to be a social media personality? The answer to this is somewhat yes. You can choose not to use social media, but if you want to grow your revenue using social media this is one important part of it.
Why? Patients are researching their doctors the way consumers research products online. They are watching and spending their time researching for someone they can trust and who can provide the solution to their problems.
This doesn’t mean posting rants or long messages; this means showing us your smile, showing us you care for your staff, and showing us that you are someone who will treat us with individual care. If you look at many negative reviews about the actual doctor, it is about how the doctor didn’t treat the patient like she/he cared.
2. Use Social Media to share about how you solved problems consistently. People are coming to you to solve a problem they have. Generally, people are not excited about seeing a doctor, and they are doing so to fix something or feel better. Show that you solve problems.
Many doctors will focus on the features of what they do: i.e., here is a treatment, but they never actually sit and explain the benefits and how someone felt better because of it.
Watch Dr. Sally, and Her Patient Speak About the Veneers Treatment
3. Include your staff and patients. Showing that your team loves working with you and are willing to speak on your behalf is an underutilized tool. Testimonials from patients are essential but often staff testimonials are overlooked. In my 11 years of experience and working with 100s of clients I can tell a great office by how much the staff loves its Doctor!
View Dr. Solnit’s IG Video and The Implementation of Staff Testimonials
4. Look good. The way you look matters.
I’ve seen too many doctors and staff posting images and videos with “bed head.” Try to look your best.
5. Sell & be consistent. I don’t care what anyone says, people like being sold to. If you have something that will make me feel better and live a better life, sell it to me. And be consistent. Don’t do it 1x and leave it alone. Sell it to me. Make short videos, do quick write-ups, and keep showing me until I want to make that appointment with you.
This might be the most important point of this write-up. Don’t do it for 3 weeks or 3 months and stop. Just like any other marketing tactic, it takes time and repetitive effort.
I write these pieces to support people, create their vision and accomplish their dreams. If you found this valuable please Like or Share so that more people can benefit. Shoot me a message or call our office (818) 616-3919 if you want to chat. Thank you so much!
Is your dental office empty with no new patients?
If you aren’t using online marketing and your website to generate new patient appointments you’re already behind.
For 12+ years we’ve generated new patients for dentists across the country. No matter what the city or what the size of the practice, there are ONLY 3 ways for you to generate new patient appointments.
If you have no website at all then you’re not even in the game. Make sure you have a website at the bare minimum; this is more important than any Facebook or Instagram. Now, does your website show up when people are Googling your name or looking for a dentist in your city? You must have an online presence that starts with a website that is SEO friendly. If you do not, you are short cutting your own success online.
What can you highlight about yourself and your practice that will differentiate you, and more importantly resonate with your target patient? Visuals are the most important way to do so, and some ideas include: a smile gallery with before/afters, video(s) of patient reviews, highlighting any of your accreditations to show expertise, mentioning your use of technology and what benefits that gives your patient…. You get the idea. Having a website is NOT enough, you need to highlight your benefits so new patients can easily & quickly see why your’e the right dentist for them.
This is where you use your website and social media channels like Google and Facebook to be seen. If people don’t know you, you have zero chance of becoming their dentist. Post educational content, share your patients reviews – do whatever you can to get your content in front of prospective patients. The real truth is nothing great happens overnight, and it takes months and sometimes years of monthly marketing in order for you to gain the momentum that will translate into… 5 new patients… 10 new patients… 15 new patients a month…you get the idea. Don’t give up, do it consistently and reap the results!
Which step is your marketing falling short? 1, 2 or 3?
What you don’t know could be costing you money every single month.
Use Special Offers as an incentive to get more appointments from new patients in your area.
We’ve been creating amazing websites for dental & medical for 11+ years. We’re a team of dedicated individuals whose sole focus is creating websites that speak to your prospective patients. All our websites are ‘Responsive’, meaning they are friendly for users on desktops, tablets & mobile devices.