Dental B2B
3 Ways to Deliver Value Through Your Dental Marketing Content to the Masses Searching for Your Services
“You add about as much value as the ‘g’ in lasagna.” – @BillMurray (not the actor) via Twitter
I chuckled while scanning my Twitter timeline as the above quote got my attention. It’s blunt but there’s a principle you shouldn’t ignore.
Whatever you do, don’t be a “g.”
It’s vital to your dental marketing success that you avoid being the “g.” As quoted, the “g” adds no value.
In the language context it occupies a necessary space, a keystroke, within a yummy word. But it’s silent and holds no value beyond the word’s spelling.
I’m not going to debate the nuances of the English language here. That’s not my point.
Here’s the principle: Your dental marketing content – especially online – should add value to your readers and dental website visitors.
There’s two reasons I’ve been beating this “drum” on recent posts.
One, is because the volume of dentists, dental professionals, and dental marketers who are “getting-it” is increasing as we speak. If that’s you, you’re dialed-in to the digital marketing reality that having a dental website is ONLY the beginning.
There’s more and you know it.
You’ve adopted the content marketing mantra that valuable, useful content, consistently published, and distributed via a blog/article page, a podcast, social media, etc is how you build a trusting audience – an audience of readers who will gladly use your services because they trust your expert content.
The second reason for beating the “content-drum?”
A significant number (I’m sad to say) still rely on high-word count, feature-heavy, technical web pages full of dental-speak that colleagues understand but the general public quickly click away from. Not because they’re “dumb” but because the content is “numb” (typical, expected, overdone, and over-used).
How to Deliver Value Through Your Online Dental Marketing Content to the Masses Searching for Your Services
1-Publish Tight, Accessible Content
“Tight” content is readable. Copy and content readability involves a conversational flow.
Write and publish content that your readers can easily scan and understand. Keep in mind that most are reading your content (and viewing your website) on a smartphone or mobile device like an iPad or tablet.
Accessibility is vital to your digital marketing success. The tighter and less wordy your copy/content is the better for how your reader commonly accesses it.
2-Deliver Useful Content Consistently
I’m often asked, “How frequently should I publish or distribute my content?” Opinions vary.
At a minimum I encourage dental professionals to publish every other week or two times per month – minimum! Weekly is best (four times per month on average).
Consistency builds momentum. And the quicker you build momentum with valuable, useful content via a blog, podcast, or social media channels the more trusted you and your expertise become.
Brainstorm and write down the questions your patients or clients are asking. What topics emerge that you could answer through a 400 to 500 word article/blog post?
Create and update an editorial calendar. List topics that apply to certain dental “seasons” (Late summer: back-to-school, Fall/Holiday: end of year insurance benefits, Spring/Early Summer: teeth whitening and cosmetic dentistry for wedding and prom season, Etc.).
Hire/contract with a skilled copywriter or blog content writer who understands the dental “landscape.”
3-Compel with an Easy, Clear Call-to-Action
Inform your readers what the next step is. Compel them to take it.
Use “action” words like “Schedule,” “Contact Us,” “Request,” “Click here,” Etc.
Remove the passive language from your website content. Words like “Welcome to…,” “We’re proud to announce…,” “We would like to…,” “Please…,” imply passivity and permission.
Tell readers about the benefits of your services and ask them to do something specific to access them.
Deliver value through every piece of content you publish. It’s how you build trust, gain attention…and avoid being a “g.”
3 Strategies to Stop a Common Mistake You Could Be Making on Your Dental Website
Our grandson is sharp. As a six year old he’s also incredibly random.
He blends his thoughts with the skill of a chef. And it’s most entertaining when his conversations shift-without-a-clutch as he jumps from one topic to another.
Yes, we laugh a lot when he’s around. Good times.
Randomness has me wondering. I don’t often rant in my posts…but today…well…here goes.
These days it appears that many dental professionals (and I suspect other industry pros as well) still don’t get-it when it comes to their dental web page content.
Cliche’ ALERT!
If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it a thousand times from clients – “We want more substance on our internal web pages….Why bullet points…Where’s the (self-indulgent) information about our state-of-the-art thingamajig…??” Geez!
I’ll stop there. But I won’t stop my bold appeal – there’s a place for information and so-called substance and it’s not necessarily on your standard, internal web pages (Hang tight, I’ll clue you in shortly.)
Do your dental website readers really care?
That’s a good question. And you should give significant strategic thought to it.
As a copywriter and content strategist I certainly do. In fact, that question is where I live when writing.
Put yourself in the shoes of a potential new patient or a client (if you’re a dental business other than a dental practice). They find your website or content as result of a search.
Typically that search is driven by the use of a specific keyword or key phrase. But actually reading your content when they arrive is a completely different issue.
Is there more to online search success than SEO?
It’s not necessarily because you stuffed your internal web pages like the gluttonous rampage of a person on their third trip to the all-you-can-eat buffet line. Today’s search success (leading some to prophesy that “SEO is dead”) has more to do with usefulness and authority than it does keyword strategy.
Say again…?
That last sentence will perhaps get me in trouble with some. But I’m worn-out with crap content that attempts to game the search engines and funnel people into something more than it informs, educates, and provides solid solutions.
Maybe it’s because I’m not an SEO rock star (I’m really somewhat okay with that). But the more I learn and expand my bandwidth, the less inclined I am to be a “gamer” with my new-found knowledge and skill.
Mostly, I want to help people because I believe in the power of words to persuade, coach, help, assist, create breakthroughs, lead, feed, encourage, serve, promote, compel, on and on I could go. I love words.
And you should love the power of words too.
But not random, misplaced, or otherwise overused words. Who reads them?
And frankly…who cares?
1-Deliver value and your value will increase.
Design your internal web page content (Home page, About page, Services/Product pages, etc.) as crisp, to the point, and benefit oriented as possible. Trash the industry-speak, “feature-focus,” “est-syndrome (greatest, latest – you get the picture), and “state-of-the-art-cutting-edge” drivel.
2-Lose the idea that high word count (on internal pages – see above) is the ticket to search success.
Maybe it helps (and I said, “maybe”). But maybe you’re better served by serving your readers with more words on those pages that are capable of delivering the value you want to deliver. Internal web pages (again, see above) are for one purpose – to establish a credible call-to-action. For the dental practice that’s a scheduled appointment. For the dental industry business that’s a client lead, inquiry, or purchase order. Period. Why numb your readers/visitors with the sound of your own voice because you think you must?
3-Build your authority and increase your “word-count” where it has greater valued readability.
Blog, write informative articles, create high-value digital newsletters, podcast, use images, info-graphics, video, and social media channels. Words carry more weight there than they do tucked away on internal pages where people are numbed and disinclined to visit…much less read.
Web visitors and content readers these days are onto you. They know the gig, especially when clicking on a dental practice website.
One pretty, smiling stock photo image says it all. And the response is all too familiar – “We’ve been here before…Tell us something about your dental practice (or even better – your expertise) we haven’t already read a thousand times…”
Want to build credibility and authority?
- Be different than the dental practice or dental business down-the-street in your website content.
- Focus your site visitor’s and reader’s attention on information they can use and that’s packed with solutions.
That’s not random. These days it’s the most strategic thing you can do in your dental marketing via your website.
How to Add Some “Suspense” to Your Dental Marketing Content and Increase Your Influence
Out of the corner of my eye, all I saw was a dark flash outside my studio window. And then a few tufts of feathers floating upward in the breeze.
The suspense hung in the air as I searched for the cause of all the commotion.
It’s easy to miss the point of why you create content for your dental marketing. And the bigger issue might be what’s really missing.
As far as I could tell the bird never saw it coming. The “it,” was apparently the small white cat with said bird in its mouth (Poor, lil’ thing…the bird that is).
The plot unfolding outside my studio window was thick. Suspense works that way.
What’s the point of your dental marketing content? Even more revealing – what’s the plot?
A random flash of dental speak here and there isn’t a plot.
Why?
People expect that. So, let’s talk expectations for a moment.
Web searches turn up hundreds, even thousands, of results for dental services. Depending on the size of your locale those search results can be even higher.
I write a lot of dental website content for clients. And my curiosity remains high about how effective it really is when all’s-said-and-done.
Potential dental patients, new patients, or those seeking your dental services, etc., arrive at on your website for one reason.
Something worked in their search query.
Keyword rich copy is essential. But…
I’m realizing there must be more to keep them ON your website. And more important – returning again and again.
Don’t cop out saying – “Well, they scheduled…or hired us…so my website must have done it’s job.”
Sure, a scheduled appointment adds to your dental digital marketing win-column. I’ll give you that.
What is of equal importance is the relationship you’ve only begun to develop with that new patient or client.
Is the suspense (or lack of it) “killing” you?
Who is helped by typical, outdated, status-quo, overly technical, feature-heavy, dental web content? And why is that a necessary question?
Imagine someone arriving on you dental website and experiencing something entirely fresh, out-of-the-box. What would that look like?
Glad you asked!
The new brand of dental web copy that adds a little suspense, keeps them returning for more, and sharing what they found so your dental practice or dental industry business achieves greater influence.
That’s a lot to comprehend. Allow me to break it down.
Your new brand of dental website copy or digital marketing content isn’t about your services.
“But I’m in the business of providing dental services,” you say. Correct! You are.
Yet, that’s not the only reason why people do business with YOU!
Remember those thousands of web search results?
You are hopefully among them. And the only reason you or another local practice or business showed up where you did in the rankings has everything to do with this.
One, you paid for your ranking with ads or any of the common, trendy approaches that work but also devour time and cash flow.
Or…
Two, you’re nowhere near the top of the search pile because you didn’t invest in the latest, trendy SEO technique.
Or…
Three (and here’s something to think about and repeat lavishly), you achieved a higher ranking than most because you know the value of a content-rich website that consistently provides useful, relevant content for those searching for your services.
It’s not only what you do or provide. It’s also about showing up consistently with information that showcases your authority or expertise.
- Launch or re-launch your dental blog or dental articles page. It’s the most cost-effective and long-term beneficial strategy to maximize all that dental-speak that you think can only be posted on your services pages.
- Use your blog to communicate the information potential patients or clients are searching for about solutions for their dental health or dental business.
Your new brand of dental website copy isn’t really about YOU.
“But I’m the founder, the dentist.” Right. You are!
And everyone expects you to talk about you.
How about your About Us page? You know, that page where you talk about qualifications, educational achievements, CE credits, and on and on.
There has to be more.
- Tell readers less about your qualifications and more about what it’s like to do “business” with you. For example, what does an appointment look like from start to finish? What’s your personal treatment philosophy? How does a consultation move step by step? And what are the outcomes people can expect?
- Invest your dental marketing copy in those descriptive processes that build the “suspense” about what it’s like to work with you and your team. The return on that investment has the potential to be greater than a quick glance and…”Oh, sounds like every other dentist or dental service provider in my search results.”
Suspense can transform your dental marketing efforts. Use a bit of it to increase your value in the eyes of those searching for precisely what you provide.
How to Build Your Dental Marketing Plan Like a Dance in the Summer Rain
I envied her the moment I saw her walking along the curb in the street outside my office window. Nothing was stopping this mom and her two preteen daughters from thoroughly enjoying the drenching downpour of a summer rainstorm.
What if you could free yourself from boundaries in your dental marketing? Being aware you have them is the first step towards a new era of effectiveness.
The mom’s and daughter’s laughter made me curious. And my curiosity was quickly turned to thoughts of how freeing it is to lift your arms into a summer downpour with no fear of getting soaked to the bone.
Everything in me wants to live that way. More of that freedom desire is in me for how I write, market, and run my growing dental content and consulting business.
Think free-range
Most of my life, I’ve been an outside-the-box, color-outside-the-lines kinda guy. Cliche’ as that sounds, the core value could be the difference in how you connect with your patients and/or clients through your marketing.
You build an audience these days by…
- Content that sounds like a conversation more than a used-car-lot sales pitch.
- Connecting with people in a social media environment more than an invasive, in-your-face marketing campaign.
- Compelling people to do business with you as result of your freely shared, easily accessible, useful knowledge and expertise more than dropping people into a sales funnel to see who survives the process.
What I’m saying is – untether yourself from how it’s always been done…how it’s currently being done (in some instances)…and get out there in the downpour of possibilities.
What’s possible?
Let’s get practical. You own a platform on which your services are the main course.
As a dental provider you’re known for providing treatment that helps people eliminate their pain, maintain their health, and look better. If you’re a supplier, consultant, or marketing firm you’re a connector that delivers the goods to help dental providers do their job effectively.
None of that’s ground breaking information, I’m guessing. But it’s a perspective that shapes a few possibilities you might have forgotten or not pursued in your dental marketing.
Build your dental marketing plan like a dance-in-the-summer-rain (Why it’s okay to free yourself from how you’ve always done it)
1-Get comfortable with creating useful content around your professional expertise and services.
The easiest and yet most ineffective thing about your dental website?
You can set it and forget it.
But forgetting it no longer has the effect it once had. Why?
Google values content…content…content. Not just any content, rather content that’s fresh, relevant, and useful to your market…and delivered consistently.
Keywords matter (don’t misunderstand) but they’re no longer the magic dust they once were.
Use them. Just don’t abuse them.
What do I mean?
Baiting your website with keyword data to get the search hits is old-school. And it’s especially confining (not freeing at all) if it’s ALL you rely on to get found in your local search results.
Pay as you go is another, still popular, option. Google ads are effective but their scalability is lacking if you want to invest available marketing dollars elsewhere.
Here’s your elsewhere…and it’s totally free-ing!
- Brainstorm all the topics you can think of that serve your patients/clients. Then consistently create blog posts, enewsletter articles, podcasts, etc and share them with your list.
- Listen to your patients/clients. What are they telling you about their pain, problems, need for solutions, etc.?
- Scan your testimonials and reviews for “nuggets” of info you can build content around.
And if all this sounds time consuming and out of your wheelhouse –
- Hire a copywriter/content writer to do the “heavy-lifting” while you stay on your game in dentistry.
Sound good?
2-Build relationships with social media and use the connection to help people with your expertise.
Social media isn’t all cat videos (those are hysterical), images of your latest root canal procedure (gross), or a group photo standing under your latest proclaimed state-of-the-art technology or service you invested thousands of dollars to promote at your booth at the recent industry convention (who cares…wait…that was rude…sorry – but you get my point…hopefully?).
Conversation is the essence of social media. And it’s dialog that often, if not most of the time, revolves around the sharing of knowledge based content – yours or someone else’s.
Social media is a wasted tool, if…you’re only talking about yourself and not helpfully engaging people in conversation around…wait for it…your “greatness.”
I use that term “greatness” loosely.
Face it, you ARE great. You have skills, expertise, authority…and by-golly people like you! Or they should, right?
Dance in the social media rain, my friend.
- Post useful info/content on your dental practice Facebook page.
- Link to your blog, latest podcast episode, or another industry colleague’s content via your Twitter feed.
- Picture your practice culture on Pinterest or Instagram.
- Tell a story with video on your YouTube channel.
And remember…
3-People do business with those they know, like, and trust.
Trust grows over time when you help people deal with their pain, problems, and related challenges. It’s vital to your marketing relationships (that’s what they should be) that you don’t give the you’re-just-a-name-on-my-huge-aren’t-you-impressed-with-the-size-of-it-list impression.
Lists are essential (treasure them). Marketing funnels work (careful you don’t abuse the privilege of your list trusting you to promote to them).
Marketing is ultimately about sharing information or services that help and potentially change people’s lives.
And you can do it with an effortless humanity that people feel more compelled to give you their time…and money.
Be that person. It’s the principle behind why I stopped working for a moment to watch a mom and her daughters dance joyfully in the rain.
- Lose the marketing tone, schtick, or whatever you want to call it. Be yourself by talking like a human being to other human beings.
- Evaluate your marketing copy and content by it’s dance-in-the-rain, conversational, realness. Write (and market) like you talk!
- Preserve people’s trust once you’ve earned it. Keep giving away content (blog posts, podcasts, newsletters, reports, webinars, etc.) because it helps them.
Then…
Enjoy the returns on your investment. Celebrate them like a soaking dance in a summer downpour.
2 Core Content Strategies That Give You an Edge in Your Dental Marketing
Our soon-to-be six year old grandson lives every moment full of anticipation. And we love the satisfaction of being able to respond to his hopes for fun.
You’re in a unique position to be responsive in your dental marketing. And the satisfaction of your patients or clients depends on you being prepared with a core content strategy.
All our grandson had to hear was the word, “Zoo!” The mention of that word signaled what my wife and I already knew would make him happy.
It’s a grandparent thing. We know him. And we know what fills him with hours of joy.
Start with what you know.
When you know someone you’re in a position of leverage. In recent posts I shared the true value of your website platform (PC) and what leverage means to your authority (AC).
Knowledge also equips you to respond.
People expect a response these days. You send someone a text and if you get the “bubble” (indicating they’re reading it) on your screen with no reply you think – “Hey what’s the deal?”
Or you send an email or leave a voice mail. Hours…days go by and no reply. Wow!
Customer service rises and falls on quick, adequate, satisfying response.
Responsiveness rules.
Think of your patient’s or client’s digital (online) presence as a sort of third “ear.” It’s where you apply your responsive listening skills through the use of what let’s call “Responsive Content (RC).”
You’re essentially in the problem-solution “business.” People search for you and your services because they’re in pain (problem), lack knowledge about maintaining their health (problem), or perhaps lack the resources to solve either circumstance (problem).
Communicate where people are listening.
What’s the quickest way to respond these days? And where do your patients/clients access that information?
It seems appropriate to respond digitally rather than using snail-mail or direct mail. If you want to connect in real-time you can’t beat the digital response.
Two digital content strategies you must be prepared to use if you want to master a responsive reputation.
Work your email list.
The most abused and at the same time under-used responsive content (RC) tool you have is e-mail.
Why abused?
Because you could fail to understand the intrinsic value of permission. And if you have permission don’t discount what it means to treasure it as a trusted relationship.
Certainly, you know what it means to be spammed. If not, scan your email inbox and evaluate those who emailed you.
What’s their relationship to you?
Someone you requested info from?
Someone whose content you find useful?
And while we’re on the subject of “usefulness,” here’s how to get the most from your email promotions.
- Be untypical. Inform your readers via a relevant story, idea, or theme.
- Connect the story, idea, or theme to the action you’re asking them to take when reading your email content.
- Ditch the formality. Treat your email like a one-on-one conversation. Write the message in a way that sounds like a casual conversation with one person (your reader).
- Avoid salesy words and common cliches’. The quickest way to get your emails spam-filtered is to sound like your “selling” something. Think about your language.
- Invest in your subject line. The key to emails being delivered (not filtered), opened, and…drumroll…read…is your subject line.
- Share a benefit in your subject line that compels them to open it.
And #2
Connect with social media.
The key is connecting. I hesitated to use the word, “engage,” because it’s often overused and has lost its impact.
That’s sad since social media is really about engaging (there, I said it!) your patients/clients in an online conversation with you via your content.
There must be more to your social strategy than contests, promotions, and images of office parties (important, don’t get me wrong) or dental procedures. Keep your social media channels “human,” but don’t miss the advantage of having a (hopefully) growing “fan base” because of your content value.
- Link to your own relevant, useful content. This is the importance of having a consistently updated blog or article page on your website platform.
- Curate and share other valuable, helpful content that’s relevant to your dental practice, dental expertise, and dental products or services.
- Balance content with the occasional (and I emphasize, occasional) promotion. Social followers are numbed when every other post is about your latest “Like”-our-page-share-our-page contest for a free give-away.
- Avoid violating privacy issues. But don’t allow your fear to keep you from legitimately and effectively connecting with your patient/client base on social media.
- Review and respond in as much real-time as possible to comments or direct connections on your social channels. If necessary, designate, or better, hire someone to manage your social media content and communications.
Responsiveness gives you an edge in today’s digital marketing. And timing is on your side when your mindset is aligned with two of the most effective strategies.
The First (of 3) Snooze-You-Lose Strategies That Eliminate Panic and Propel Your Dental Marketing
If you’ve ever attended a family reunion you understand. I’ll explain.
At the core, it’s the same principle that connects your dental marketing to the big-picture strategy.
My dad made a statement at our most recent family reunion. I can’t get it out of my mind.
It answers the question, “Why am I here?” And I’m not talking some existential, meaning of life idea.
The essence of his statement to our gathering of nephews, nieces, cousins, spouses, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren defines what it means to be family.
We were circling up prior to our reunion meal. My dad (the current family patriarch) pointed to the displayed, vintage portraits of my grandmother and grandfather.
Then, tearfully gesturing to our gathering, said, “They caused all this…”
Cause and effect
Everything starts somewhere. Before a tree, family or otherwise, extends its branches, there’s a simple seed (the cause).
And your dental marketing impact (the effect) is no different.
What seeds are you planting? And going a step further, do you have a strategy that’s easy to implement?
Reacting isn’t a strategy
You’re accustomed to it. For example, as a dental provider, you react to the pain a patient presents with.
Your education, training, and experience teaches you to diagnose the situation and prescribe a treatment plan. I realize it’s a bit more complicated than that, but you get the imagery.
Reaction can grip you too when there’s a need to market your services.
- New patient scheduling is down
- Recare has stalled
- Web search analytics are showing downward traffic trends
And the dentist down the street is your community’s new rock star with their state-of-the-art…cutting-edge this or that (and if they use “state-of-the-art” or “cutting edge” to describe whatever in their latest postcard mailer or on their newly designed website, you should stop worrying…because no one cares…seriously, nothing says boring, “numbing,” marketing copy than those two phrases…but I digress).
Meanwhile, back to your challenge at hand…
Your marketing dilemma is a different cause for reaction than you’re typically educated, trained, and experienced to handle. You know when a tooth has erupted and what to do to fix it.
Now your marketing presents with pain. What to do?
A road paved with “good intentions” that leads you nowhere
Well intentioned dental professionals do what they know best to do when marketing challenges arise. Right?
You leave a Post-it® note on the desk of your office manager or designated front-office team member that reads, “See me about an email blast…” (or something related to a panic-driven “marketing” blitz).
Is that the best you can do?
Your dental marketing deserves better than a random, reactively conceived, out-of-their-depth (with all due respect reference to the person tasked) email blast. You’re panicked. I get it.
Take a deep breath.
Better…?
Now let’s assess the problem and nail down a more effective solution to your ongoing marketing dilemma.
You WILL be in panic mode again. That is, unless you readjust your perspective and realign your approach.
The first (of 3) marketing content resources you’ll ever need to build your dental practice or dental industry business (and stop burdening an already focused and busy business assistant).
1-Your Platform Content (PC)
Consider your website your office’s front door. Before a new patient or anyone else walks through the door of your dental practice they’ve probably invested a portion of their time hanging around in your digital “lobby.”
This assumes you have a website. If you don’t…well…we need to talk (and we should have that conversation, like, NOW).
Having a website is only the beginning. These days there’s more to an established, effective, useful, search friendly online presence than a mere website.
Home page-check! About us page-check! Services pages-check! Contact us page-check! Social media buttons-check!
I’ll even go so far to say Blog-check! You’d be surprised (perhaps) how few can check that one off the list these days.
And if you do have a blog page, how fresh and/or recent and useful is your content?
More on that later.
How to make your dental website a solid, home-base platform
Consider it the “cause” of your intended “effect” (to borrow from my earlier family reunion story).
If you want to avoid reactionary, panic-stricken marketing make certain your website platform is solid.
- Visit your website as if you’re searching for a dental provider. How informative is it? Do you know where to go next from page to page? Does it communicate relevant, benefit focused information (rather than “hey, look how great, equipped, educated, etc we are…”)? Are there clear calls to action page to page? Does the content ultimately lead to scheduling an appointment or consultation?
- Clean up your language. Make sure your entire site is “you” (reader/patient/client) focused. It should read as if you’re having a personal conversation with the person reading your content.
- Stop talking so much. Reduce your page word count if necessary. You should be able to inform and compel a response with 250 to 500 words per page on average.
- Keep it real. Evaluate your page header images. If your images look cookie-cutter, your site can appear that way.
You want to avoid having the reader feel like, “oh, I’ve been here before…just another dental website…” Imagine them feeling instead that your practice story, culture, and voice is different than most…and unique to yours.
Your dental marketing starts somewhere. And your website platform is the most strategic place to begin if you want to solve the panic mode problem in your marketing.
Process and act on this for now. Stay tuned…there’s more to come in an upcoming post.
2 Actions That Will Protect Your Dental Website from Being Left-Out-in-the-Rain
My first thought was, “On a holiday at 6:30 p.m.?” But when I saw him standing there, in the rain, at the edge of my front porch, another thought occurred to me.
His chosen approach has much to do with how you reach your audience via your dental website.
My soggy, evening visitor was going door to door selling the opportunity to “…have a few minutes of my time…” He wanted to talk about my home security system.
A number of thoughts raced through my mind in the brief moments I felt sorry for him standing there, on my doorstep, rain-soaked from walking door to door in my suburban neighborhood.
One thought dominated them all.
“There has to be a better way…!”
I’ve always admired door to door sales dedication. Seriously, it takes a level of perseverance (or desperation) to do it (I can relate having done my fair share of it a few years ago for a variety of reasons).
I peddled everything from products to ideas. And I gained much from the experience that serves me to this day.
That said, technology has vastly improved the “sales” relationship. Say what you will about the grass-roots, guerrilla marketing, bootstrapping diligence of the committed few who knock it out door to door.
There IS a better way. And how you’re attempting to reach your audience via your website could be the door-to-door equivalent of my soggy, holiday, dinner hour salesman.
“You had ONE job…”
Your dental website has one fundamental purpose. And depending on your specific niche it could be patient related or product/service related.
That ONE job? Compel action from your reader.
Let’s define action. And let’s bottom-line it, shall we?
For the dental practice, most often your website’s sole purpose is compelling a new patient, current patient, or referral patient to schedule an appointment. I’m not going to argue the sub-categories of appropriate purposes. Let’s keep it simple.
For the dental industry service or product business, the common driving purpose is compelling a new client, current client, or referral client to order products and services from you. Again, corollary purposes aside, let’s stick with the basics.
What gets the job done?
My soggy door to door sales-guy gets points for effort. But more important, and he knows this, it’s a numbers game.
Every “No” gets him closer to a “Yes.” It’s common sales motivation.
Is this true when it comes to your website? Does every visitor who searches for dental services, arrives on your site, and leaves with a “No” get you closer to a “Yes?”
And if that’s true do you have the time to measure it? (Understanding, of course, that you can deep dive into your site analytics and get a boat-load of relevant answers to that question.)
I choose to deal in the realm of what increases the likelihood that they’ll not only STAY but RETURN again and again.
In this instance, it’s about relevant, useful information.
And speaking of a deeper dive, allow me to clarify what “information” I’m NOT talking about.
There’s more to useful, dental website information than standard, overly technical explanations of crowns, fillings, dental hygiene, implants, etc. And there’s way more than talking about your latest, state-of-the-art, high-tech equipment. You know, the equipment you’ve just completed hours of training or CE credit for the qualification to use it on patients who you assume are laying awake at night longing for the opportunity to sit in your op-room chair to experience it.
I overstate my case. But that’s the door-to-door equivalent on many dental websites when delivering information.
“Hand that dude a towel…” (so he can dry off and throw it in).
It’s time to renew your website, the kind of information you share, and how you share it.
As I earlier observed following my dinner time sales intrusion – “There has to be a better way…”
Do this…
1-Build your authority by being a reservoir of useful information.
These days information translates into trusted expertise. Notice I added the word “trusted.”
I don’t have to tell you that a search for “dentist” in your city/region will return pages of apparent expertise. Most are trustworthy and treat their scheduled patients appropriately – you included.
How and where you rank in that search determines whether they’ll give you the opportunity to show your trustworthy treatment approach. You can pay for that ranking via Google Ads, etc. hoping they’ll discover you to be everything they’re searching for in a dental provider…and then some.
Or…
You can show up consistently as result of useful information about the treatment, service, or procedure that they’re interested in.
- Blog content, podcasts, video, and social media content relevant to your reader’s questions, problems, and concerns spotlight your authority in today’s digital media world.
- Build a list of topics from the questions your patients and people you consult with are asking.
- Create useful, easy-to-access content.
- Make the content available on your website’s blog/article page, via a podcast button (linking to a downloadable audio file or an iTunes channel), or a link to your dental practice’s YouTube channel.
2-Be consistently available with answers to the questions patients/clients are asking.
There’s more to answering questions than filtering a select few through your website’s FAQ page.
- Make your web page’s sidebar a billboard for where site visitors can get answers to their questions.
- Create compelling content titles that capture their attention (make them scream, “Read me!”) in the “Recent Posts/Articles” section.
- Show your interest in patients by making your content about them and their questions…not you and your latest technological advance, credentials, etc.
Trust translates via being attentive. Your attentiveness shows up in being useful via quality content.
Don’t get left-out-in-the-rain on your dental website. Persevere, sure.
But be certain that your diligence is, above all, useful to those you’re seeking to compel.