When discussing dental marketing, it is important that we get the following fundamentals out in the open before we get to the actual strategies and tactics we use to grow a dental practice.
The Cost to Acquire a New Patient
The Lifetime Value of a Patient
New Patients versus Existing Patients
Marketing Leverage
Practice Equity
Lets start with number 1 and work our way to number 5. Hopefully by that time the beginning of dental marketing will all come together and youll have a firm understanding of how all of these things will affect your practice and, more importantly, your personal and financial wellbeing.
1. Cost to acquire a new patient
The first thing to consider when thinking about dental marketing is the cost to acquire a new patient. This is simply how much you pay for each new patient who comes into your practice. This cost can easily be calculated by dividing the amount you spend on dental marketing each month by the number of new patients you see a month. For example, if you spend $3,000 on advertising and marketing and get 25 new patients from that investment your cost per new patient is $120 ($3,000 / 25 = $120)....