With dental marketing, I think the most important source of new patients for a dental practice is word-of-mouth. This form of marketing is invaluable, primarily because people inherently trust recommendations from friends and family more than they trust traditional advertising, especially when it comes to healthcare services.
In this blog, we'll look at how implementing a word-of-mouth system is crucial to your dental practice's marketing strategy. By focusing on exceptional service, creating memorable patient experiences, and making it easy for satisfied patients to share their stories, you can leverage the power of personal referrals to attract new patients and grow your practice.
The Importance of Word-of-Mouth
Not all of your leads are equal. That is really important to understand.
Leads generated through word-of-mouth typically enter your sales funnel more qualified and are more likely to convert into patients in comparison to many other marketing channels.
These leads often already have a good level of trust in you and they have already to a large extent been qualified by the person who recommend you to them.
Importantly, they are also often already aware of the cost of your services too, which means one of the biggest obstacles has already been hurdled (or at least partly hurdled).
What this means, is that leads generated from referrals results in higher conversion rates and lower acquisition costs compared to leads generated through more expensive marketing tactics such as paid advertising.
Therefore, before investing heavily in other marketing avenues, the priority should be on leveraging your current patients and optimising your word-of-mouth system.
Strategies to Enhance Word-of-Mouth
There are three main factors that contribute significantly to the success of WOM marketing:
1. Ensure Your Service is Worth Talking About
This might seem like obvious advice, but it is fundamental. No marketing strategy can compensate for a poor product or service. If you want referrals, your dental practice must offer an exceptional service that patients feel compelled to talk about.
2. Create an Outstanding Patient Experience
From the moment a patient steps into your clinic, every interaction should make them feel valued and well-cared-for. Importantly, you must understand that the patient experience extends far beyond just the dental care. Granted, it’s the most important part, but the experience your patients receive needs to be fantastic from the very first touchpoint to the last.
3. Make It Easy to Share
Encourage your patients to tell their friends and families about you…don’t just expect them to do it! At The Campbell Clinic, we have created “pass it on” cards which we give to happy patients at the end of the treatment. We also ask for reviews through Working Feedback and add people (assuming they have consented) to our monthly email newsletter. The easier you make it for patients to spread the word, the more likely they are to do it.
Practical Steps to Implement WOM Systems
Focus on Existing Patients
Begin by concentrating on your current patient base. They are already familiar with your services and are the most likely to refer others.
Train Your Team
Your staff plays a crucial role in enhancing the patient experience. Ensure that they are trained to provide exceptional service at every touchpoint. Encourage them to ask satisfied patients to refer friends and family or to leave a review.
Leverage Online Reviews and Testimonials
Encourage your patients to share their positive experiences online. This not only helps in reaching a broader audience but also builds your online reputation.
Conclusion
When building your marketing strategy for your dental practice, before you focus on anything else, focus on word of mouth.
If you can get your current patients to tell their friends about you and act as your sales team, then you will always be busy with new enquiries.
But you have got to give them a reason to talk about you, that’s the hardest part!
And then you have to encourage them and make it as easy as possible for them to tell their friends and families about you.
So, before you go and pay for an expensive marketing campaign, ask yourself, ‘Are we doing everything possible to create the conditions for word to spread about our dental practice?’
If the answer is no, then before you focus anywhere else, focus on building or optimising your word-of-mouth system.
I promise you, you’ll get the most return from focusing here first.
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