Almost all businesses are striving to grow. Don’t neglect these 5 effective ways to generate local leads for your dental office. As a business owner or practitioner in the dental field you probably rely on local customers for repeat business. Here are some ways to generate local leads to help you grow.
- Be great at what you do. First and foremost you want to shine to your current clientele. The best referral is from an existing client who raves about you. If you give excellent service, do not be afraid to ask people for reviews or referrals. Sometimes a great customer may not realize how important he or she is to your practice. Let your current clients know how much you appreciate them and need them. Be sure to communicate that you are taking new patients and are always open to new referrals.
Social media can be a powerful lead generator. The world of business today is much different than it was even 20 year ago. People utilize online review sites to get feedback about restaurants, hotels, and all different types of services, including dental work. If you are not currently utilizing social media as a marketing tool, you need to start. Social media has many different venues and strategies to leverage it to the best of your ability. Online reviews, social websites such as facebook and twitter, and local community webpages can be effective marketing tools if leveraged correctly.
- Don’t underestimate the power of online reviews. Online juggernaut google offers people an opportunity to review a business as soon as it populates in the search engine. Yelp and Angie’s list are just two additional examples of popular review sites that are frequented. If you are running a dental office, odds are the bulk of your customers are a little leery about scheduling that first appointment to being with. Having a stack of positive reviews with current clients raving about how comfortable they are in your office and how kind and caring your staff are can help soothe any fears of the dentist and get that prospective customer to schedule that first appointment.
- Search engines matter. Your dental office is looking to grow and you would like to generate more local leads. Where do you rank on the search engines? Where does your business show up on google when you perform a search for dental offices and your city? If you are on pages 3– 10, you may not see an impactful increase in leads from these sites. Utilize marketing professionals to boost your websites search results and your SEO results. If SEO sounds like a foreign language call an expert to translate and implement meaningful adjustments so you can reap the rewards of today’s internet age.
- Construct your website and content with your ideal client in mind. Think about your dream client; now think about your marketing efforts, is your marketing targeted to your ideal prospects? Your website and content need to be meaningful resources for your clients and would be clients. Your site should stay fresh and up to date. In today’s world of immediate information and business listings to choose from your online marketing needs to be up to date and stand out from your competitor’s.
- Social media matters.
- Smallbiztrends gives tips to using underused online marketing tactics. Some ideas include connecting to a cause, promoting your clients, and podcasting. Connecting to a cause that is near and dear to your heart and cross promoting your business and your cause can be very beneficial. If you are looking to generate local leads consider choosing a cause that is community oriented that would allow you to reach important community leaders while fundraising or promoting the cause. Promoting your clients is another way to cross promote. Many of your clients are probably business owners or in sales and would love an opportunity to be featured on your website, while also speaking about their experience as your patient. A podcast is another way to generate leads. A podcast is a form of digital media that is typically setup as a series for people to follow and listen to. If you have a specialty or a lot to talk about regarding your business and have a way with words this could be a fun way to engage a larger audience and drive new leads to your practice.
- Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin can all be used to impact and generate local leads for your dental office. Twitter, while limited to 140 character posts at a time, gives you an opportunity to briefly offer insights into your practice and tag important articles or information for your client base. Facebook can accomplish the same things and allows for more room to include additional information. Facebook is also an excellent opportunity to establish the face of your company, to share more personal stories about your staff and to give potential clients a feel for what you and your business are about. Linkedin is a professional networking site. This is an excellent opportunity to network with other professionals in your field and related fields and become referral sources for one another.
- A bonus tip: Community webpages can be phenomenal for your business. Local pages that can be found on Facebook, yahoo, and others are centered on specific local communities and often serve as a referral base. To capitalize on local leads investigate in advertising opportunities. You may also want to be active in these groups. If your current clients are happy tell them not to be shy in sharing their experiences on these types of pages.
Every business owner is striving to grow and thrive. Don’t waste opportunities to generate local leads for your dental office. If these marketing tactics are outside of your comfort zone there are professionals that can tackle these tasks for you. You and your staff are the front line of promoting your business but don’t neglect the opportunity to have a powerful online presence and referrals. When considering your marketing resources you may want to consult with an expert to explore how and where to put your marketing dollars and efforts. You need to reach potential clients and let them know why you are the best choice for them.
