Obviously, everything that your practice brings to the table is important for a successful marketing strategy. But what about your competition? If you don’t know much about your competition, that can be an obstacle to your dental marketing plan. Knowing what your competitor is doing is incredibly useful.
Who Are Your Competitors?
Knowing exactly who your competitors are is the first step. In a smaller area, there may only be a few other dentists near you. But urban areas mean more competition. Identify your direct competitors first. They offer services and products that are exactly what you offer as well. These are the people you’ll be competing with head-on.
Indirect competitors are important too. While they don’t offer your exact services, they do offer something similar. It’s crucial that you keep an eye on them as well. If you specialize in laser dentistry and then purchase a laser for their practice, they’re now one of your direct competitors.
What’s The Audience They’re Targeting?
This also helps you identify your competitors. You know the demographics you’re looking to target. If you find businesses that are also targeting these groups, that’s your direct competition. Studying customers allows you to see what they really want and successful ways to target them. Determine what customers are doing and how they’re reacting to competitors’ products and services.
What’s Their Marketing Strategy?
Looking through their internet presence can help you understand what they’re doing. Look at their social media profiles and see who they’re trying to target there. Google My Business pages and reviews are important to look at. How do they communicate with patients and potential patients? How often are they engaging with people?
Studying their brand’s presence helps, too. Their website is the best place to study this. Look at the services and keywords they’re targeting throughout the site. What type of personality are they trying to convey throughout their imagery and content? These things show you who they’re trying to target.
What’s Their Public Image?
One of the first things a potential patient looks at is the online presence of a company. What are their reviews like and how do they respond to those reviews? If they don’t like the tone of responses or the company isn’t responding at all, they’re less likely to be getting business.
You’re able to learn from the mistakes of your competitors. If they have bad reviews, it’s important to encourage the good ones. Mention reviews to your satisfied patients before they leave your office. Make sure you’re responding to questions and concerns in social media comment sections. Ensure you’re projecting a good image of yourself online.
What Extras Are They Offering?
Not only do you want to bring in new patients, you also want to retain them. Look at competitor pricing and specials they may be offering. Think of things you can offer to users to make them want to come into your practice. But also think of things to keep them coming. Membership plans and long-term packages for repeat patients make them feel appreciated. You don’t just want to only target one set of patients.
Create a Marketing Partnership With Dental Revenue
At Dental Revenue, we’re with our clients every step of the way throughout their marketing journey. Choose a marketing company that doesn’t just set up services and forgets about them. We don’t consider ourselves successful unless our clients are! Call us or schedule a demo online.