Category: Services

One of the most common requests we receive from doctors is for a website with “super clean homepage design without clutter or too many words”. While it might sound easy, this is often the hardest thing for us to do. Doctors also want their new website to rank high in the search engines, and trying to accomplish the latter with the style of the first can be almost impossible.

Your website is your virtual office. It is there to represent you before anyone meets you.  An online connection, of sorts should be as compelling and informative as possible. It tells the story of who you are, allowing the user to decide if you are the doctor and practice they want to go to.  It is an intimate decision to determine who a person will allow to treat them. Many potential new patients will decide if they will call you based on what they see and understand from your online message. If your online message is not thought out, all your investment and efforts are useless.

From its earliest days, Google’s core search algorithm offered the most relevant and organic search results quickly and accurately. For a few years, Google’s search worked seamlessly, repeatedly predicting the most relevant search results every single time, again and again. Then something happened – they saw this was a moneymaker for them. They also saw that people were savvy enough to figure out their algorithms on how the searches were done, and they furthermore knew they would have to change them constantly to keep the system honest and relevant.

With Google’s ever-changing ways, it is enough to frustrate any web team out there, ours included. With these ever-fluctuating changes, staying on top of your SEO matters more than ever. Google has many items that they factor in, but for now I want to talk about how extremely important content is.

While pretty, modern layouts are all the rage, they don’t help you be seen on the search engines. One of the major anchors that tether you to Google’s relevancy algorithms is content. If your content is just a few words (thin content) or duplicate content, or even something that is spun, this can hurt you.

While writing content needs to be lengthy and packed with critical keywords, it also has to be well written. Throwing a few words on a page doesn’t offer the reader any engaging information, and it doesn’t allow Google to see you as relevant either. Google favors those who show themselves as “Thought Leaders” and rewards those who practice it.

To keep a website significant in the eyes of the Search Engines, we need to make sure that keyword-rich meta titles are in place from the early development stages. The words you place in the meta title of each page on your website need to be the same words that patients are looking for you when searching for your services. Without this strategy, you will not be found.

Your content does matter. If someone is not in the field of dentistry, they are not an expert and do not know or understand the language that you and your staff speak. The information searched online has to connect to you. Example: A person who doesn’t know why they have bleeding gums may start out by asking Google “why do my gums bleed?” or “bleeding gums causes”. They don’t know to put “Gingivitis” in the search bar. Your content needs to connect with the answer to their question.

Reasons why we need content:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You need to maximize keywords for Google. Websites need to be just as appealing to search engines as they are for humans. What good is a “pretty” website that is never seen?

• Mobile Devices. When someone goes onto a website with their mobile phone, they are conditioned to continue scrolling down to get the information they want. If everything is hidden in a menu system, they will not know your services or practice, get discouraged and click away from the page.

• Everyone navigates websites differently. You can’t assume that everyone will think like you do, so the more content the better. Allow for nothing to be missed.

Many factors go into your rank on Google. Google cares about your age; if you are new then you are not their favorite. It takes time and patience to grow on Google, but keeping your content fresh and relevant will keep you on the path that Google likes. So if the question is “To Give Content or Not”, I say the more thought-provoking, well-written content, the better!

– Mike Shoun, President and CEO

Originally published at www.thedentistsnetwork.net/dmktg2.html

A logo is the visual that people remember about a company. The right logo can connect with our memories or interests and cause us to stop and look at it. A logo triggers an instant visual impression of your practice, representing the brand and marketing message you want to send. A picture paints a thousand words!

A good logo will be remembered. Words (your name) go into short-term memory and are only stored temporarily – “in one ear and out the other.” Images (your logo) go directly into long-term memory, where we store thousands of images. Think about it: How many times do you meet someone, only to forget their name the next day? How many times have you seen an ad and tried to tell someone about it by describing an image because you can’t remember the company name?

What message is your logo sending?
Your logo sends a message to everyone who sees it. Coordinating with a brand strategy that identifies your values, goals and mission, your logo can be designed to send the right message and strengthen your image. A good logo instantly connects people with the company and creates positive feelings.

How does a logo affect emotions?
Numerous studies have shown how strongly images and logo designs affect our emotions, and the power of logos in creating brand awareness and loyalty is well documented. The emotional impact of the logo is created with its colors, font style, shape, images, and words. For example, many people have a fear of dentists; the color red may mean blood to these people and turn them off. A script font as part of branding or logo design, however, looks like handwriting and has humanistic qualities that can give your practice a warm, friendly personality.

Why is a professional logo so important to your practice?
Logos are just as important for dentists as for any other profession. The logo is the first step in creating a brand image for a business or practice. This helps people essentially put a “face” to a business name. A logo also serves as the starting point for developing your brand. Whether your office is fun and bubbly or dignified and classy, that image starts with your logo. People who relate to the personality of your practice, reflected in your logo, will feel more comfortable when they arrive.

Follow the five basic logo style guidelines for a successful logo.
Today’s consumer is bombarded with logos – in the home, on the street, at work, in the store. How can you be sure your logo stands out and makes the right impression? A good logo meets these five basic style guidelines:

1. Appropriateness. Your logo must represent your practice and values. Your target market should be attracted to and relate to your logo design. Do some research to make sure your design is in step with your competition. If your logo is too far left field, you may not be sending the right message to attract your target audience.

2. Simplicity. A logo design that can be described will be talked about and remembered. You have just two to three seconds to get the person’s attention, so the simpler the better. A complex design is much more difficult to recall. For every rule there is an exception, but sticking with a simple design is most often the best decision.

3. Functionality. Your logo needs to look just as good in tiny print as on a building. Special effects and detailed images make it difficult to use the logo in a variety of formats. If you don’t recognize your logo when it’s blown up or can’t read it when it’s shrunk, you need to go back to the drawing board.

4. Versatility. Logos should be designed with no more than three colors in most instances, and need to be as recognizable and effective in one color. Your logo should work well as a print or digital image, on business cards and signage, and even on merchandise such as pens and T-shirts.

5. Timelessness. This is not easy, but it is important. A good logo will continue to represent your practice as it grows. The design should not be dated, so that it can be used effectively year after year. Remember that your logo is how people will recognize your practice.

Your logo should create a positive image of you and your practice, and is most successful when used throughout your branding and marketing strategies. First impressions are lasting – an inviting logo will provoke a positive response and encourage people to call you. The right logo will be an effective 24/7 marketing tool, helping to grow your practice and revenues as you establish an enduring presence and reputation.

– Mike Shoun, President and CEO

Originally published at www.thedentistsnetwork.net/dmktg4.html

A dental practice, just like any other business, must create and implement a marketing plan to achieve long-term business success. And a successful marketing plan requires consistency. Consistency in marketing moves a business’ product or service into the category of “familiar, trustworthy, and a safe bet.”

Marketing consistency includes harmony and conformity among the goals, themes, designs, appearances, attitudes and messages that are presented in every patient and prospective patient contact and experience. Employing marketing consistency to achieve business success requires:

• Consistent branding
• Consistent messages
• Consistent effort

Consistent Branding
Branding refers a business’ style, tone, voice and personality. In this age of multiple media and crowded marketplaces, standardizing your brand is crucial so that your target audience can quickly spot you in the crowd and feel they can trust and rely upon you. Studies and experience show people are more likely to choose familiar brands over others – branding helps people make decisions more quickly. Your practice benefits every time someone recognizes your brand.

A study by McKinsey and Company found that branding consistency creates high customer satisfaction, builds trust and boosts loyalty. When you think of Southwest Airlines, you expect a low-cost, no-frills experience. Southwest communicates this message consistently across all media and with all interactions, creating public trust and goodwill that they will deliver what they promise. The success of the airline over the years has proven this consistency to be a valuable tool in building a profitable business with a strong reputation in the industry.

Typically, creating a brand starts with designing a visual style that the public will repeatedly see and come to recognize. Designing that style involves graphical elements such as shapes, colors, fonts, illustrations and imagery that dovetail with the product or service message and your practice’s personality.

Next, you need to establish your voice. That’s the tone, personality and attitude that your practice wants to project. Consider whether your practice and its offerings are reliably traditional, cutting edge futuristic, youthful fun, quietly conservative, luxury, lowest cost, or <fill in the blank>. The visual and voice elements must be consistently presented at every public touch point. That consistency helps build recognition, trust and relationships over time – and it helps people decide in your favor more easily.

Consistent Messages
Message content educates, builds relationships and ultimately boosts sales. When you provide relevant, useful information about your practice and services, your patients and potential patients learn who you are and what they can expect from you. Today’s consumer wants to be educated, not sold. So the messages you send should include well written, helpful content that builds the reader’s confidence in you.

The communications’ content should target a clearly identified audience, using a tone that stays the same across all platforms, presenting the features and benefits clearly and understandably. Make it easy for the reader to become familiar with your practice. Investing special care in writing customer-friendly communications for broadcast, written and Internet media pays dividends.

Consistency here involves not only the media messages but also the delivery of the same impression in every marketing platform and at every customer touch point: direct mail, print ads, press releases, websites, blogs, social media, email signatures, office décor, signage, stationery, business cards, invoices, and staff interactions.

Consistent Effort
For the messages – the marketing impressions – to succeed, they must incorporate the branding, send a consistent message, and be consistently repeated across numerous media platforms.  How many ads or other messages must someone see before they take action to contact your practice? Research shows it takes five to nine impressions to potentially move a person to action – but only if the person was paying attention.

In the real world, people don’t pay close attention to every message. Research shows that people receiving 27 or more impressions are most likely to act. One email, one ad, one tweet – these simply will not work. Even the famous one-time Super Bowl ads succeed only if and when people effectively share them in news stories, social media conversations and YouTube, multiplying the impressions and increasing visibility.

Your marketing plan should include using several media platforms actively. If you are not consistently marketing on the same platforms, you likely are losing potential patients because they have not seen you enough times to be on the top of their minds when they need your services. It takes many months of consistent marketing to start seeing the true impact of your efforts. By keeping the same message over an extended period of time, you build a strong, memorable presence. Nike understands this very well. Everyone recognizes “Just Do It” as the Nike slogan, and over a 15-year period, Nike’s consistency in using this slogan paid off: Their share of the sports shoe market increased from 18 percent to 43 percent.

Changing your message too often will confuse people and weaken your impact. If you stop too soon just because you’re not seeing immediate results, you’ve just wasted all the time, money and energy spent on your messaging. Reebok changed their slogan 14 times during the same period that Nike had one slogan. And during that period, Reebok’s market share dropped from 30 percent to 16 percent.

Consistency in Marketing Pays Off
Marketing takes time and patience. Successful marketing depends on selecting the best marketing platforms for your practice and budget and being consistent in all of your marketing efforts. From developing a marketing plan, to the day-in and day-out implementation of those plans across all marketing platforms, success requires commitment and consistency.

– Mike Shoun, President and CEO

Originally published at www.thedentistsnetwork.net/dmktg5.html

Starting a practice has its high and low moments. The journey you embark on from the moment you choose dentistry to the day you open the doors of your first practice can be ever so rewarding. The process entails many important decisions, from location to equipment to staff. But in many cases, we find one of the most important elements is missing – and that is marketing.

When starting a practice, the last thing any dentist wants to hear is: “You need to spend money to make money” – but it is true. Marketing is the heartbeat of any business, and this is especially true for dentists. When you first start out, your marketing budget investment should be 25% of your income. Then when you are comfortable, spend 10% to maintain that comfort level.

If that sounds like a lot to spend on marketing, remember this phrase: “It is not what you spend, but what you make on what you spend.” Why wouldn’t you spend a dollar if you knew you were going to make three dollars back?

I hear it all the time: “I don’t have a budget for marketing, never thought about it.” But marketing can make or break any business, dental or otherwise. One of the first things a business owner should do is create a business plan with the first full year’s marketing budget laid out.

Effective marketing takes time to develop. It can be overwhelming to any business owner to “wait and see” for their money to bring results. But that attitude should change. Marketing money is an investment – an investment in yourself. I don’t know anyone who puts money into the stock market and expects a return that same day. Investing is just that – trying different ways to bring a larger return. Patience is the name of the game.

What can you do to get the ball rolling when the budget has been stripped down? A few things come to mind. When there isn’t much money, but you do have time, networking really works. Networking with other small businesses, networking online, networking with volunteer services. Networking is a way to make sure you are seen and remembered.

Networking should be attached to something tangible. I suggest having a coordinated effort with a Social Media Plan. If you are at a business networking event, take pictures. Tag others in them. If doing volunteer speaking at a school, post the event with photos and remind followers of any special offers you made. Have your existing patients take photos while in your office and tag you in them. This way you are free and clear of HIPAA laws while still getting attention from the patient’s followers.

Your online presence is a critical part of your business. All new doctors have the same complaint; they find it burdensome yet know it is needed. It’s hard to get the momentum going to have the social presence needed to stand out, yet most leave social media to some staff member who doesn’t even care. I highly recommend spending at least one hour a day to get your brand strong. Respond to anyone who likes your page or posts. Put fresh new items up. Stay current. Be careful never to post anything that will violate HIPAA laws. If you feel it is taking too much time, hire a professional who will have your best interest at heart.

Sponsorships are another item to consider. This may have a higher cost than you would like, but sponsoring a local sports team has many benefits. Your logo will be on a banner and the jerseys. What a great way to be seen while supporting the community!  This goes back to your social media – go to the games, take pictures and tag people in them. It is a perfect opportunity to be seen and recognized by the people who live in your area.

Another way to gain ‘brand awareness’ is to put a slide up at the local movie theatre.  Before the movie starts and in-between the trivia questions, your face and logo pop up. You can do more than just your name – make it fun! “Popcorn Stuck? Call Dr. Doe, he can get you smiling again.” Make it fresh and easy to remember.

Last but not least, try to get reviews on Google. Google loves information, and you love good information about you! Reviews are a huge factor in choosing a dentist; just one review can increase conversion by 10%. If you find reviews to be complicated, there are professionals out there to guide you through the process.

Many things can be done to increase your name and brand awareness – often with just your sweat equity, which allows for your marketing dollars to stretch further. Investing in yourself will only give you a bigger return in the end. If the budget allows, get with a full-service marketing agency that will work alongside you to control your brand and keep the ideas and budget in check.

– Mike Shoun, President and CEO

Originally published at www.thedentistsnetwork.net/dmktg6.html

Why should I redesign my website?
We live in a time where things are changing left and right, and technology is advancing at a faster rate than any other time throughout history. With so many changes and updates, it’s important to keep your digital presence current.

Google wants to provide the best user experience possible.
The Google Search Engine performs over 500 updates every year. These updates can be anything from small algorithm updates to major rank changing factors such as the Mobile First Indexing and speed updates. When considering the numerous updates performed each year, it’s important to remember why Google exists. The sole purpose of Google is to provide the best possible user experience; Google wants to rank websites and brands to tailor the user’s search results. If the people searching in your area are looking for local services, Google will display results that include websites designed for both user experience and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Google wants websites that are built using the best website building practices and that offer unique, high quality content for their visitors.

A website is the foundation for your digital marketing success.
Do I really need to rebuild my website if I just built it a few years ago? Unfortunately, there is no simple answer for this question. There are several important factors that must be considered when you build (or rebuild) a website, as your website will serve as the backbone and foundation of your digital marketing efforts. Was your website built with the best website-building practices in mind? Is your website easy to use on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices? Is the content on your website written with a friendly font that is easily readable? Do you truly own your website? These are several user experience questions you should ask when analyzing your website.

A website rebuild can be your best friend, or your worst nightmare.
When it comes to website optimization and SEO, your website is at the center of it all. If you decide to redesign your website, do your research before choosing a marketing agency or website developer. If you have been performing SEO on your website, and your new website is not built properly, you can end up destroying all the hard work that you performed to have your website ranked competitively in your area. There are several important factors when it comes to a website rebuild if you want to avoid an SEO Disaster. Avoiding this disaster is why you should make sure the company rebuilding your website is experienced and addresses these concerns with you prior to the rebuild.

Consistency and quality are critical for success.
From professional athletes to digital marketers, there are two essential elements that will determine your success or failure. Those elements are Consistency and Quality. Consistency and quality are essential in obtaining and maintaining your success.

Ask yourself the following question: What determines the success of a team or business? The answer is simple: Consistent, high-quality content that shows you are genuine and professional. Dedication, faith and confidence in yourself and your team will show anybody who is watching that you have the skills to make a difference in whatever field you are competing in. You must be able to consistently perform and provide quality content that gets results. Your website is no different. Your website is your most effective resource when it comes to competing in the digital realm.

Why is this important for my industry?
Nowadays, consumers are researching companies more and more in-depth before contacting the business. Reviews hold more weight than they have ever held in the past regarding digital marketing. Consumers desire a positive, unique experience with your brand on the internet. An up-to-date website that provides unique, quality content can not only increase your website visitors each month, it can also increase your return visitors.

A properly built website will have your marketing teams working together. Your design team should be working with your SEO team, website administration team and social media marketing team to have everyone operating on the same level. With a website rebuild, it is important that each team member of your marketing agency is working towards the same goal – obtaining more visitors to your website and turning them into patients for your practice!

– Mike Shoun, President and CEO

Originally published at www.thedentistsnetwork.net/dmktg7.html

We live in a world where we think we need to please everyone. However, when it comes to marketing, we really only need to please the target market. As a marketing company, we see fads come and go, and dollars wasted in chasing what someone says is the right thing to do. It can be very frustrating, to say the least, for anyone trying to decide the correct way to go.

When we turn on the news, it seems things have changed overnight on the latest gadgets to use. We have become a society of “the next upgrade.” I for one haven’t even figured out the majority of features on my phone before the next model is out and all the rage. Computers become touchscreens, and when using the “dinosaur models” I leave fingerprints on a co-workers computer and they give me strange looks. So what is one to do if everything is always the “latest thing”? How do we get the word out regarding our service or product without breaking the bank?

Following trends can be good for a moment, but unless you are a hip venue or a tech business, trends can label you a confused organization. If your target market is dental patients, they are looking for information regarding you and your practice. They need to have clear, reliable information that tells them you are capable of taking care of their oral healthcare needs. They don’t care if you have a Twitter account, especially if you don’t update it regularly. When they find your practice, however, they do need to know that you are the practice they’re searching for.

How do you make sure they find you, and how do you make sure they know they have found the right practice? Consistency. Yep, one word – consistency. With everything you hear buzzing around you, it doesn’t matter what fad is going on. It is consistency that will get you the results you are looking for and make your investment pay off.

When looking for the best ROI on your marketing dollars, the first thing any practice should do is sit down and look at all the marketing collateral currently being used. Ask yourself, is this me? You can have the slickest salesman come to your door and get you to buy into the latest trend on marketing, and he can swear everyone is doing it and you will make a fortune, only to find out you wasted thousands of dollars for nothing. How does this happen? You can probably pin it on consistency.

The “fad marketing” you purchased may have been consistent, but was the rest of your marketing collateral consistent? I am talking about your brand. Brand consistency is the single most important element of any business structure. If brand consistency isn’t there, you acquire what we call “brand confusion” – which can destroy many practices without anyone even being aware.

Containing the destruction of “brand confusion” is a simple strategy. You fix it. You gather your collateral, evaluate your online presence, and as a group you see if everything belongs together. I’m sure that over the years, complacency has overshadowed the desire to be consistent. When one team member decided to put one item out and the next staff member chose another route, they started the brand confusion, and before you knew it your identity stamp was lost.

Fixing brand confusion will help to eliminate what we call the “competitors edge.” Your competitors do not want you to fix it. They want you to stay lost in your confusion so they can have your patients. Having a strong brand leads to a strong online presence, which in turn leads to patients trusting what they see. Patients get a feel for you before they even meet you, and this trust factor is placed by a simple strategy called consistency!

If you have never had a true brand and are confused on how to create one, this is the time to do a Marketing Evaluation and see what needs fixing. Investing in yourself is the single most important thing you can do to bring your practice to the next level. Struggling to keep a consistent marketing plan can wreak havoc. Take a moment to find out who you are and who your market is, and be consistent. It is the new fad.

– Mike Shoun, President and CEO

Originally published at www.thedentistsnetwork.net/dmktg10.html