Finding New Dental Patients

Dental practices must continuously reach out to acquire new dental patients. New patients simply do not just walk in the door. Dentists need a comprehensive marketing approach that reaches out to new prospects. Plus, they need to employ Local Search so prospective patients can find them.

Reaching Out

There are several key markets that bring in new dental patients year-in, year-out:

  • New Movers is the most widely-used dental prospect list. New Mover lists provide dental practices with a continuous opportunity to reach new households as they move in. Many practices mail to New Movers on an on-going monthly basis. This way the continually generate new patients that stay with their practice for years.
  • Selected Demographic mailings to targeted households within a given radius. Many dentists pull households in a 5 mile radius around the practice. Additionally, successful dentists select head-of-household females. They are the dental decision makers in the household.
  • Geo-fencing – a new way to reach prospective patients digitally.

Specialty Dental Practices

  • Pediatric Dentists love our Children Turning 1 list for baby’s first dental visit. They also succeed with mailings to families with children 5-14 years old to market Sealants. (read the NY Times article 9-28-16). Also – remember to make use of Children’s Dental Health month in your marketing. And, consider marketing to families who are visiting pediatric offices using new geo-fencing techniques.
  • Orthodontists mail to families in their markets with children turning 7 years old. A birthday card to this demographic will give an Orthodontist entrée into this special niche market.
  • Cosmetic Dentists have great success with college graduates looking for job. Likewise with singles looking to find soul mates and affluent individuals looking to improve their appearance. And now, with geo-fencing, cosmetic dentists can target individuals who are visiting plastic surgeons.
  • Prosthodontic Dentists can reach out to Denture Wearers and individuals who have self-reported that they have Gum Problems. Diabetics are another good target group for prosthodontic specialists. This is due to the fact that diabetics often suffer from gum problems.

Want more information on putting your mail campaign together to find new dental patients? Read the latest White Paper on Direct Mail for Dentists – Where to Begin & What to Expect.  You might also want to read our  Tips for Dental Direct Mail. Another good read focuses on the difference between Dental Marketing & Dental Advertising.

Local Search

What happens when someone breaks a tooth or needs emergency dental care? Most of the time, they will go on-line either on their home computer or use their mobile phone to search for a local dentist. They will usually click on one of the dental practices closest to the top and if they use their mobile phone, they will most likely only see one or two choices.

How does your dental practice rank? Can you be quickly and easily found in local search? Furthermore, will your practice name pop up, along with a map indicating directions to your practice and your phone number for easy connection?

Remember, when an emergency occurs, people need speed, people need convenience. They are not going to start scrolling around. They need to find your practice and be able to click & call you right away. And, if your practice is not front and center in local search, consumers will bypass you. They will go right to the practice that offers them the efficiency they are looking for.

Call the Dataman Group office at (800) 771-3282 for more information about the right mailing lists to generate new dental patients for your Dental Practice. We can also help you find out about the best way to increase your visibility in Local Search.

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