Advertising

The currency of advertising is CASH.

If you throw enough money at the problem, you will get a result.

Do you want to be page one Google for “dental implants Glasgow”?

No problem – just give your SEO people £5,000 a month and they will get you there.

Do you want to generate qualified dental implant leads on the English south coast?

No problem – just give your digital advertising agency £5,000 a month and they will send between 50 and 100 leads, depending on how things go (it won’t be possible to be any more specific than that).

By the way, both of those activities will generate a telephone enquiry from a stranger who will ask “so how much are your implants then?”

What happens next will be up to your telephonist or TCO – it has nothing to do with the SEO or advertising people. Your conversion rate isn’t their problem.

Throwing CASH at advertising is a fast process about which you have to warn your telephony team that they will be inundated with callers and will have to get used to a high attrition rate – I predict a 20% conversion rate on calls to appointments.

Marketing

The currency of marketing is TIME and TEAM.

If you can persuade your people to engage with existing patients for word of mouth referrals and digital recommendations, you will get a result.

If you want to generate more qualified dental implant enquiries, then ask your existing implant patients to:

• take your business cards and pass them on;
• check in to your practice on Facebook;
• write Facebook reviews;
• subscribe to your email newsletter and share relevant articles with their friends;
• agree to selfies for Instagram and Facebook;
• agree to video testimonials that can be repurposed across your social media channels, on your web site and in your newsletters.

These activities will generate calls from people who ask “my friend came to you for implants and spoke very highly of you – could you tell me more about what you do please?”

Getting your TEAM to invest the TIME is a slow process. It takes energy and commitment.

Asking your people to become internal marketers will involve your team in changing some of their existing habits, moving out of comfort zones and suspending their disbelief. I predict a 66% conversion rate on enquiries to appointments.

So which way are you going to play this?