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Effective Branding Brings in More Patients

When you shop for groceries, which products do you put in your basket: the branded ones or the generic options? Like most people, you probably patronize the former since they’re more established and you trust their quality.
The same principle applies to orthodontic marketing. That is, people patronize practices that have a clear branding message because they appear more trustworthy. Neglect your brand and your practice becomes just another dental office in the area.
To help you develop a strong brand—and attract more patients—here are three tips to keep in mind:
What Makes You Unique?
At its core, your orthodontic practice is still a business, and all businesses need to have a “unique selling point”—the one thing that sets them apart from the competition. Basically, if patients are to remember just one thing about your services, what will it be? Ponder this question carefully when branding your practice.

Pick a Good Logo
You might think that logos are only apt for consumer goods, but they’re very helpful in orthodontic marketing as well. Think of logos as a business card, a shorthand symbol for everything that your practice stands for. As such, be sure to select one that accurately represents your service philosophy.

Start a Website
The yellow pages are going the way of the dodo. If you want to be found, you need to have a website. Don’t develop just any website, though—make sure that it carries the same branding message as your other marketing materials.

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Tips for Marketing Your Orthodontic Practice

As long as there is a free market, there will be competition among businesses. Therefore, you need to do everything you can to stay one-step ahead of your competitors. With that in mind, here are three marketing tips to help your practice stand out from the crowd and attract new patients:

Google Yourself

Google yourself and your practice. Whatever you see is exactly what potential patients will see. Make sure you fill that first page with nothing but good things about you. You should also make sure that you regularly update the content of your website to keep it as the first search result. Google has a tendency to ignore sites that are not regularly frequented by users or updated by the owner.

Be Social

Social media is a fantastic place to market your practice. However, don’t use social media to shove your brand in the face of your target market; they don’t appreciate that. Be subtle with the way you market yourself. Provide dental tips, info on promotions, instead of the blatant “Come down to our office!” Your target audience will appreciate that more.

Patient Rewards Program


The most powerful way to market your practice to new patients is through your existing patients. Set up a rewards program for loyal patients. Prizes don’t need to be expensive; a gift certificate or movie tickets is perfect. Take good care of your patients and they’ll be more than happy to refer you to everyone they know.

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Three Effective Orthodontic Marketing Strategies

Just like any other company that sells products or offers services, orthodontic practices need to promote themselves too. However, marketing is no longer synonymous with billboards, TV ads, and radio plugs. Nowadays, orthodontic marketing campaigns use different channels to get their messages across.

Social networking sites

Social networking sites are well-known and very accessible to most people, as long as they have reliable Internet access. Orthodontists can use Facebook to answer queries from their clients and partners, as well as to inform present and prospective patients about contests, special events, and promotions. Pinterest, meanwhile, contains useful images, graphs, and infographics that orthodontists can use to educate the public (who are potential clients, too) about scientific matters, like current trends in oral hygiene or the proper way to floss one’s teeth.

Referral system

The second strategy involves the implementation of a referral system, ideally by partnering with a reliable dental practice. This win-win situation allows orthodontists to acquire dental patients who need dentures, braces, and the like, while dentists can provide orthodontic patients with teeth cleaning, checkups, and dental treatments.

Rewards


Lastly, a rewards system can also be implemented as a marketing strategy, mainly to get orthodontic patients to share their positive experience with family and friends. Gift bags or personalized birthday cards are just some of the rewards everyone will appreciate.

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Some Basic Orthodontic Marketing Strategies

As much as people need reliable orthodontic services to help them deal with dental trauma, teeth imperfections, bad bites, and the like, orthodontic practices can’t exist without marketing strategies. There’s no way for them to gain money if they don’t have patients to tend to, but patients can’t visit an orthodontist’s office without knowing its existence in the first place. This is the biggest reason why orthodontic marketing solutions are very relevant. 

Marketing in the context of orthodontic practices can actually be done by using simple methods such as networking. Establishing and maintaining a good rapport with local dental practitioners is a good idea, as this creates a harmonious relationship between professionals. For instance, dentists can refer their patients to reliable orthodontists for denture work and implant installation. On the other hand, orthodontists can refer their customers to a reliable dental practice if they need to be given certain dental treatments first before they get their implants or orthodontic device.

Creating good relations with the patients themselves is also a good idea, as this encourages them to refer their friends and loved ones to the orthodontists who treated them. Discounts, freebies, and other promotions can likewise serve as reminders to patients that their orthodontist always cares and values their overall health.

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