When you hire a company to design your website, a direct mailer, or a logo, how do you determine whether the finished product will attract your target audience? One big mistake many dentists make is that they seek advice from family and friends. Why is this a problem? Your family is not your target audience, and neither are you!
In "7 Myths of Dental Marketing," an article published in Dental Economics, myth number one states, "your friends may not really know what works," and myth number two explains, "What’s important to the intended target audience is what counts – and you are not them." Effective marketing will attract your target audience, not you.
As a dentist, you should not choose marketing pieces based on what appeals to you, because your knowledge, background, and ideas about dentistry are different than those of your intended audience. You may live in the same area as your patients, shop at the same stores, and know the same folks, but when it comes to dental marketing, you just can’t be objective. That’s why you should hire experts to help.
The only true way to recognize an effective marketing tool is by measuring return on investment (ROI), though this can be difficult. In your Internet marketing, look for reporting features. TNT Dental offers reporting with their deep search platform. When you choose search engine optimization (so that potential clients can find your site on search engines), you receive monthly reporting to see how many visitors your site had, where they entered and left, and other valuable information that helps determine what’s working and what needs tweaking. Additionally, a response form on a website can be invaluable. Many direct mail firms can set up systems to track your ROI, as well.
Your marketing consultant, web designer, and/or graphic artist should ask about your intended audience – their age, income, types of jobs, whether they have families or are single – and then design your marketing piece to cater to this target audience. If you aren’t into getting that complicated with marketing, hire experts to help. Arbitrary marketing will only waste your marketing dollars.