Dental Marketing: Dentists Share Their Most Effective Strategies

Post your comments about dental marketing campaigns to our blog. Read the dental marketing press release.

The Wealthy Dentist asked dentists about which dental marketing campaigns have been most successful for their dental practices. The clear winner was direct mail marketing. Dentists have also had good luck with Yellow Pages listings and TV ads. One dentist was thrilled with his new dental practice signage, saying, "60 new patients per month with the new sign!"

Read the dentists’ comments for more insight into their thoughts on marketing strategies.

Here are the top types of marketing campaigns for dental practices, listed in order from most to least effective.

1. Direct Mail
2. Yellow Pages Listing
   TV Advertisement
3. Internet Directory Listing
   Signage
   Newspaper
4. Website Promotion
   Billboard
   New Patient Discount
   Radio
5. Insurance Network
   Referral Cards
   Points System

For more insight into what our respondents are thinking, check out their comments!

Success by the numbers

• "Sixty new patients per month with the new sign!" (Florida dentist)
• "A mini implant ad can help many people with denture problems and many more with restoring their existing teeth. Oh yeah, and my campaign brought in thousands in restorative revenue." (Idaho dentist)
• "My radio ad with website support (I hate CPAP) led to 200+ calls in 4 days!" (Illinois dentist)

Simpler is sometimes better

• "Referrals from satisfied patients. It's that simple, and if you treat people well, they will refer you patients just like them." (Florida dentist)
• "Most effective for me was a single postcard – very simple, with my photo." (Michigan dentist)

People love personal contact

• "We sent out a personal holiday card with a short letter of thanks and future exciting information to present and past patients we hoped to reactivate.  It did not go to the few difficult patients. We had a huge response of reactivation and new referrals from present happy patients. (Minnesota dentist)
• "In an area exclusive, I invest in personal contact with new residents." (California dentist)

Try a multi-pronged approach

• "1.) Points Card: 3 Points are being rewarded each time a patient comes on time for their initial appointment, and one point if they come on time on any follow up appointment (fillings, extractions) etc. Once they have reached 12 points, they get to pick a prize ranging from: a kid's toy, grocery store gift card, movie ticket, gas gift store. Kids toys are specially displayed in the waiting room inside a glass case, so it will entice our children patients.
  2.) Neighborhood Flyers are distributed monthly. And we keep track of which neighborhood produces the best visitors.
  3.) Referral Cards: A card (a little bigger than wallet size) that contains our logo and company information is stapled on the front side of our gift bags that we hand out to patients (with their toothbrush and floss). We always remind them to give out these cards to anybody who needs a dental office. This has worked great so far!" (Canada dental assistant)