Attraction Marketing became an understood concept in 2012. As a term it defines a specific method to gain patients through the internet. The idea is that, with an online article or blog, or by using platforms such as Google, Facebook and Instagram, you can generate traffic to a designated page where people who are already interested in your product (well-qualified leads) provide their information.

The follow-up on these leads is generally soft-sell, such as providing monthly emails with a newsy little story followed by an offer or discount. The idea is to build a relationship and generate a community of patients with distinct brand loyalty – that brand being you.

This type of marketing isn’t about specific products or even a specific business. In this era, knowledge is power, so your knowledge is the power driving your business, securing patients, and building up your patient base (Dental Market).

Once you have a solid attraction marketing system, you’ll see the following results: 

•    Leads that are relevant to your specialty and geographic area

•    Relationships with your leads (this is the furthest you can get from cold-calling, just short of actually joining the same club or church that your leads attend!)

•    Income from your leads, on a residual basis (not one-time)

•    Vertical applications, or the ability to offer other products or services to your leads

Your job is to offer something to your patients that attract them to you as an expert in your field of expertise. So as a dentist, this is as simple as answering the questions you hear from your patients every day. As your patients decide which dentist to go to, and how often to go, they’ll rely on your portrayal of yourself – your brand – to make these decisions.

Obviously it’s vital to build a reliable system around your brand. You’ll need to be sure the content is correct, the platform (Twitter, Facebook, blog, email, etc.) is appropriate, and that you follow the unwritten rules of communicating to patients. Avoidance of appearing “spammy” by over-communicating is an example.