Aligning Your Dental Staff with Your Marketing

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Filed under: Communication, Dental Practice, Marketing

No matter who you hire to promote your dental practice – or how much you spend – the most valuable marketing tool should be your team. By aligning the front office staff, hygienists, and dental assistants with your overall marketing strategy, you’ll tap into success on more levels.

You could say that your staff is your best marketing team.

The patient experience begins with first contact and will eventually involve everyone from the front desk to the dentist, to the hygienist and the billing department. It’s important to ensure each team member has the same goals.

All on the Same Page

Every practice has its unique value proposition (UVP) and who better to help identify and amplify it than the people who work there? By gathering your team in a regularly scheduled marketing meeting, you can not only share your expectations but strongly encourage suggestions and feedback.

Gather a consensus on the defining qualities of the practice to use as selling points in all communication and marketing. Examples may include:

  • Helping fearful patients
  • State-of-the-art technology
  • A caring team committed to patients’ safety and comfort
  • Flexible scheduling
  • Longevity and loyalty within the community

Each employee should be aware of upcoming campaigns – digital, email, direct mail, or otherwise – so they know what to expect in terms of patient inquiries and can respond confidently and knowledgably. Let them know the number of calls, leads, and new patients necessary to meet the ROI, so they feel invested in the results as well.

A Team Effort

Once the staff understands the marketing objectives, give them the tools they need to convert calls and visits into production hours. Every new caller should be asked, “How did you hear about us?” It’s also a good idea to create scripts for team members that include the predetermined qualities of the practice, or UVPs, such as:

“Thank you for calling Main St. Dental! We’re committed to your comfort and safety as well as your optimal oral health.”

By directing prospective new patients to your website for additional questions or information, digital marketing campaigns can be triggered to keep the practice top-of-mind for weeks to come.

There are multiple fronts team members can contribute to besides first contact that all feed into promoting the practice. Social media is a requisite tool for any business in today’s world, and most of your staff is probably on at least one platform. Encourage them to link to the practice where appropriate – list it as a place of employment, “check-in” on Facebook, and show workplace fun on Instagram or TikTok.

Happy employees who enjoy their jobs are always attractive to those seeking a new dentist. Just make sure all staff members are aware of HIPAA regulations and only include patients in online posts with their written permission.

The Right Stuff

It may be apparent that one team member is more comfortable on social media. Or one of them is an excellent writer who puts together great emails and may be interested in writing a monthly blog. Invite – don’t require – employees to help out with marketing as it falls within their comfort zone.

In other words, the shyest staff member won’t enjoy shooting videos of herself at work, and rapidly changing digital technology may not be enjoyable for your senior team members. Play to individual strengths – no judgment, just fun!

Online reviews and testimonials are also valuable assets in today’s marketing. Employees at every step of the patient experience can request feedback while offering a way to supply it, either in writing, online, or video. This also reinforces to your patients that your whole staff cares about their satisfaction with the care received.

Consider offering incentives or rewards for the extra team efforts. Enlisting the staff in marketing practices should make them feel integral to building the business which ultimately benefits everyone.

We at RAMP – The Dentist’s Marketing Company would love to be part of the team that elevates your practice to new levels. Schedule a free consultation today and let’s get started.