Return to flip book view

DENIALPXE HTWORG ECITCARP LATNED Dental Practice Growth Solutions THE PHARMED SIGNATURE APPROACH TO DENTAL PRACTICE GROWTH DENTAL PATIENT JOURNEY DENTAL BRANDING INTELLIGENT WEBSITE PRACTICE LISTINGS SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH DIGITAL PROMOTION WHO WE ARE PHARMED is a BBB registered Healthcare Growth Solutions agency run by physicians for healthcare professionals Based in New York City our doctors have decades of collective experience in big Pharma Medical Marketing and deep knowledge of the United States healthcare market and regulations Our designers and marketers utilize cuttingedge technology to offer world class digital solutions to physicians in a scalable and affordable manner OUR COMITTMENT We strive to be your lifelong partner in the fast pacing and ever changing world of dental practice growth PHARMED will listen to the challenges you are facing and offer customized solutions targeting your local dental patient at every step of their journey leading to your office We guarantee an increase in your patient appointments and retetion THE PHARMED SIGNATURE APPROACH TO DENTAL PRACTICE GROWTH

ThinkThe about Simonini medical brand will be your promise to your patient Itpersona will tell themdefinition what Patient they can expect from an office The perceived vs real visit and what differentiates you from yourjourney competitors Your patient brand is derived from who you How to you approach are who want to be patients and whoevery people perceive youstep to be on journey The Patient Persona If you worked with digital agencies in the past they probably promoted various versions of your services to google ads and facebook ads And the results were likely disappointing The reason for poor results is that the promotion was generic and without the crucially important pre work and structure that enables a marketer to laser target patients exactly where they are during their journey to your practice Before we discuss where your patient is during their journey we must identify who they are Patient persona is a mini biography of your patient and includes Demographics e g age gender education occupation Psychographics e g hobbies and interests Geographics e g location Behavioral Traits e g personality and demeanor In PHARMED we create this together with you using data from your existing patients and the new patients that you aspire to attract The result is 1 6 different personas that we will rank in order of priority for targeting Why is this important Because it will allow us to know WHERE and HOW to approach them For example If your ideal patient is 20 years old and you target them on Facebook you are wasting your marketing budget If you are a pediatric dentist you should be promoting your practice in channels that have the demographic granularity to target parents but also define the parent age that will prevent your ad to be wasted on parents who have grown up kids in college Countless of these considerations are being taken seriously by PHARMED in order to maximize your ROI and effectively use your digital budget 2020 all rights reserved

Before we explain what is the dental patient journey lets make clear what the Dental Patient Journey IS NOT word of mouth Google search appointment appointment OR Firstly it fails to outline the concept of the funnel Not all the patients who will hear the good word about you will eventually book an appointment the funnel Why is this important Most agencies will boast results related to increasing traffic towards your website or increasing your followers a proxy for digital word of mouth on social media This is useless metrics if the end goal appointment bookings is not achieved PHARMED takes a large number of measures to ensure that the majority of the patients who hear the good word of mouth or find you on a search engine actually book appointments Secondly almost no patient who will hear the good word of mouth will immediately book an appointment From a practical standpoint chances are that they don t even have your contact details yet From a behavioral standpoint nowadays patients tend to be inquisitive and want to do their own research So how does the patient journey looks like and why plotting it accurately for each dental practice is important 2020 all rights reserved

The Dental Patient Journey looks like this word of mouth search engines social media reviews website appointment colleague referral insurance referral There are five critical entry points to the patient journey Word of Mouth Search Engines Referral websites Colleague Referral Social Media Insurance Referral Which one is important That depends on your services business model and brand equity For example If cosmetic dentistry is a core service for your practice social media word of mouth and search engines are of higher priority If you accept emergency appointments then word of mouth and search engines are your priority a patient in pain will ask Google or their friends for a recommendation Countless of such considerations are made by PHARMED before we create a dental practice growth proposal for you If your work with a marketing agency in the past was unsuccessful its because these considerations are often disregarded 2020 all rights reserved

The TWO most important steps in the patient journey word of mouth search engines social media reviews website appointment colleague referral insurance referral Regardless of the entry point there are two critical steps before a patient books an appointment Reviews Your practice s reviews on various platforms such as Google my Business yelp Facebook ZocDoc Healthgrades and a ton of other listing and review platforms are crucially important As many as 70 of patients admit that reviews heavily influence their provider choice Website Your website is the projection of your dental practice into the digital space It is the last step before a patient books an appointment and may either facilitate or hinder appointment booking Patients today demand a remarkable experience HIPAA compliance hassle free online booking ADA compliance mobile optimization SEO chatbot fluid design and more If your marketing efforts have been unsuccessful or partially successful so far it is because of the several variables described above that need to be carefully defined SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUR PRACTICE If your marketer applied an onesize fits all plan there were limited chances for success Now that you know the basics of the patient journey let s talk about enhancing the patient experience at every step maximize the efficiency of your patient intake funnel and ultimately increase the number of new patient appointments at your dental practice 2020 all rights reserved

Think about Why does your practice exist What differentiates you What problem do you solve Why should people care Depending on your existing brand equity PHARMED will help you either fill in the gaps in your curent branding or simply align your branding across various channels Why spend resources on my brand A strong brand provides Recognition and Recall Concise communication regarding your values and expertise Differentiation from competitors Patient Loyalty Financial value Let s define branding for dental practices The term brand has become one of those words that has almost propelled itself into the hallowed halls of business jargon due to its ubiquity and frankly overuse It might be easier to start with what a brand ISN T A brand is not your logo your tagline your service All of these things can be expressions of your brand but they are not your brand Here s the simplest way we here at PHARMED define brand Branding is about the promise of a distinct memorable experience It s about creating an expectation and delivering it consistently every time someone comes into contact with your brand whether it s how you answer the phone how your website functions your patient service process how your practice looks or how your product service performs It s how you make your customers feel about themselves and their decisions when they are interacting with your brand 2020 all rights reserved

The PHARMED Branding Process The ideal current and prospective Dental patient demographics location habits job family influencers and detractors Patient Persona Competitors Define your distinctive qualities and benefits with emphasis to research interests clinical skills and approach Unique Qualities Create the Brand Develop one single sentence that will convey your core message and will resonate to the target patient audience Leverage the existing brand equity and create a blend of the core value proposition and distinct qualities Mission Statement Brand Voice Develop several options of logos fonts color palette tag line iconography typography and the creative brand guidelines to ensure consistency across media Examine the branding and reach as well as ratings websites paid promotion marketing methods and major differentiators of local competitors Define the tone of voice i e personable vs formal established vs modern fun vs serious and develop the brand story and messaging Logo Creative 2020 all rights reserved

Think about 3 5 websites that you like and why Desired functionalities see below Desired content topics Domain name and access to DNS servers The PHARMED signature Dental Website A responsive mobile optimized Dental Website design fully customized to reflect your Dental Practice Branding and character a website that is proven to attract inform and retain patients an interface that facilitates doctor patient interaction as well as boosts appointment rates A Dental Website should include 2020 all rights reserved Custom creative Fluid animated design Expert mobile optimization SEO HIPAA compliant intake forms ADA compliance Blog and weekly blogging by a doctor Monthly analytics and traffic reports Chat module Online payments Online store Online appointment booking Telemedicine integration Patient portal Social Media integration Reviews integration

The PHARMED signature Dental Website Explained Custom creative Fluid animated design Your personal brand lives and breaths on your website and will be reflected on the videos and graphics typography fonts color palette logo mission statement and overall character And all these in the most impressive captivating manner Why is it important Reflect branding consistency professionalism facilitate recall project values inspire confidence and build trust Customization differentiate from competition create strong memorable impressions promote your unique qualities services and expertise Fluid design videos increase organic traffic up to 40 with proper use of videos facilitate user interface interactions Expert mobile optimization The mobile version of your website is at least as important as your desktop version and should allow for all functions to perform in a fast and efficient manner Often regarded as good to have the mobile functionality is nowadays a must have and requires a second and very different version of your website Why is it important 60 of your website visitors will view it on a mobile device and this is a figure that will only grow with the 5G technology becoming widely available Facilitates word of mouth organic growth and app integration yelp google my business social media Visitors are more likely to share add in their bookmarks and review your website from a mobile device Immediate actions on the go The mobile version can be seen at any time during commuting hours leisure time social interaction time During these hours the visitor has time to interact with your content and consider your services while the desktop version of your website is more likely to be viewed during working hours when the visitor has no time to interact or consider your services 2020 all rights reserved

The PHARMED signature Dental Website Explained Search Engine Optimization SEO SEO is a marketing discipline focused on growing visibility in organic non paid search engine results SEO encompasses both the technical and creative elements required to improve rankings drive traffic and increase awareness in search engines In other words SEO is the process of getting traffic from the free organic editorial or natural search results on search engines We use search engines to find answers and information online SEO helps your website rank higher for relevant queries and ultimately brings interested users to your new website Why is it important Discoverability Organic search is most often the primary source of website traffic SEO Builds Trust Credibility The goal of any experienced SEO is to establish a strong foundation for a beautiful website with a clean effective user experience that is easily discoverable in search with thanks to the trust and credibility of the brand and its digital properties It is actually do or die If You re Not on Page 1 You re Not Winning the ClickIt s no secret in the world of SEO that if you re not on Page 1 you re likely not killing the organic search game A recent study shows that the first three organic search ranking positions result in nearly 40 percent of all click throughs while up to 30 percent of all results on Page 1 and 2 don t get clicked at all Is good content everything Not quite SEO has to do with the technical non visible part of your website as much as with the visible content It also has to do with the authority of your website among other relevant websites Usually referred as off site SEO this is the amount of backlinks aka links on other websites pointing to yours It s similar to the citations for a journal article PHARMED signature website packages include SEO as standard because without it its like building your business in the desert None will see your website no matter how attractive it is unless a proper optimization takes place continuoussly 2020 all rights reserved

The PHARMED signature Dental Website Explained The SEO circle of excellence SEO leads to free website traffic and can contribute up to 50 or more visitors to your pages For this reason it complements and often rivals paid advertising methods but is also a time consuming and long term ongoing process SEO Marketing budgets that include only paid promotion such as PPC and not SEO are fundamentally ineffective and are several times more costly on the long run SEO is not an expense but an investment 2020 all rights reserved

The PHARMED signature Dental Website Explained Compliance ADA and HIPAA Healthcare websites are subjected to certain regulations and are increasingly scrutinized Although small dental practices are less likely to be sued for noncompliance satisfying the U S regulations means also better services for your patients as well as eliminating the risk to get sued What is ADA compliance ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act It was signed into law by President George Bush in 1990 and it is America s most important law regarding accessibility and civil rights for people with disabilities including web accessibility The part of the ADA that affects the way that businesses serve customers is called Title III and dental practices fall under this regulation At the moment WCAG 2 0 is the best measure of web accessibility when it comes to federal law WCAG stands for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines They are the most important guidelines for web accessibility policy and set the standard for web accessibility legislation in most countries around the world Why is this important for a Dental practice The Department of Justice may file lawsuits in federal court to enforce the ADA Compliance and courts may order compensatory damages and back pay to remedy discrimination if the Department prevails Under title III the Department of Justice may also obtain civil penalties of up to 55 000 for the first violation and 110 000 for any subsequent violation of ADA Compliance Do ADA lawsuits really happen ADA s relevance to web accessibility isn t just theoretical Since 2017 the number of ADA title III related lawsuits skyrocketed In 2017 816 ADA Title III lawsuits were filed but in 2018 that number rose to over 2 200 cases That s a rise of 180 and it s only the tip of the iceberg It doesn t reveal the increasing number of ADA legal complaints and lawyers demand letters that were filed against businesses with non accessible websites in the last few years because they never become part of the public record Experts estimate that approximately 40 000 demand letters were sent in 2018 and 2019 has peaked with over 100 000 demand letters and over 10 000 lawsuits 2020 all rights reserved

The PHARMED signature Dental Website Explained The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 HIPAA is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient s consent or knowledge 2020 all rights reserved

The PHARMED signature Dental Website Explained Website blog An active website blog equals to the eyes of the patient visitor an active practice PHARMED signature websites come with blogging as a standard Depending on the package you subscribe to a medical doctor or healthcare professional will create blog articles for your website on your behalf Why is it important Drive traffic to your website Increase your SEO SERP Position your brand as an industry leader Develop better customer relationships Monthly analytics and traffic reports PHARMED signature websites come with real time analytics that you can access at any moment In contrast with all other agencies that will provide you a monthly report often with meaningless numbers we empower you to review your digital performance across all channels through our proprietary healthcare excellence platform More importantly our platform provides you with the tools to Why is it important Calculate and improve your spending ROI Identify search trends and adapt your services Continuous keyword and SEO optimization Monitor traffic sources visitor demographics and adjust your marketing efforts to the groups that perform best Review and improve bounce rates Make adjustments to your online presence to improve visitor conversion 2020 all rights reserved

The PHARMED Real Time Analytics Report example 2020 all rights reserved

The PHARMED Real Time Analytics Report 2020 all rights reserved

The PHARMED Real Time Analytics Report 2020 all rights reserved

The PHARMED signature Dental Website Explained PHARMED Signature Website Chatbot Although proven to increase interaction between visitors and website owners dental practice website chatbots have been faced with skepticism Would it be HIPAA compliant How will I answer website visitors while I am with a patient or even out of hours Why is it important Chatbots are proven to increase appointment booking rates by 30 60 The reason is simple people find texting easier and less intrusive than a phone call The most common questions coming in from chatbots are When can I book an appointment Do you accept my insurance Do you provide certain treatments What are your fees for the service I require As long as it is clear that the intended use is for general practice information and not medical advice your admin can pick up the chatbox communication in the same way they would answer the phone Online Payments Bookings and Invoicing Online transactions are preferred by patients and dental practices and today s technology allows for digital payments in a secure manner Implementing online payments on your website has several benefits and is a standard for a PHARMED signature dental website Why is it important Offer convenience to your patients Reduce admin workload Track invoices automatically Reduce no shows Improve cashflow 2020 all rights reserved

The PHARMED signature Dental Website Explained TELEDENTISTRY integration Research shows that patients prefer a Telemedicine appointment over an office visit during the pandemic times and trends indicate that virtual clinic appointments will gain traction even after the pandemic Why is TeleDENTISTRY important More efficient way to conduct online consults prescribe medications and screen those in need of emergency care Patient preference Safer than in person visit More affordable than in person visit 2020 all rights reserved

Think about Neustar Localeze Factual Data Axle Foursquare Google Yelp My Dental practice is on Google so I am discoverable Famous last words Read on and dive in the depths of the U S local search ecosystem You will also realize why your past collaborations with marketing agencies failed your expectations How does the PHARMED listing distribution work The PHARMED Listing Distribution submits your business information to the main data aggregators Neustar Localeze Factual Data Axle Foursquare Over time hundreds of sources will reference these aggregators to collect business data and create accurate listings based on your submitted information This includes search engines navigation systems voice search mobile apps and even offline sources like telephone books and government records Why is this important When multiple sources have consistent business data two outcomes occur Search engine crawlers like Google s WebCrawler finds the same information in multiple places and adds more confidence to their business data Good backlinks are created with more referring sources to the business website creating better SEO 2020 all rights reserved

What are the data aggregators Data aggregators gather consumer and business data and provide it to hundreds of listing directories review sites search engines and more They also power sophisticated modern applications such as Apple s Siri and personal navigation systems What should you do PHARMED will update your listings on all data aggregators and resubmit your listing data once every week to ensure that aggregators always have the most accurate version of your listing You will notice a dramatic increase on your organic traffic What about Google maps and Google my Buisness Google My Business is a free and easy to use tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google including Search and Maps To help customers find your business and to tell them your story you can verify your business and edit your business information Why is Google my Business Important Your Business Profile on Google helps your business show up when it matters most the moment customers are searching for your business or products or services like yours on Google Search and Maps Log into your Google My Business account to update your address phone number website open hours and more to help customers find and connect with your business Keep your profile updated with fresh photos special offers and promotions to make it easy for customers to choose you Or have PHARMED do it for you What about Yelp is it Important Along with other review sites because it is emerging as the review site for many types of currently receives high priority Search Engine results Yelp is important leading consumer businesses and it from the Google 2020 all rights reserved

What about ZocDoc PHARMED stands categorically AGAINST any platform that charges dentists for referring patients ZocDoc charges hundreds of dollars for monthly fees plus 35 100 for each new patient appointment booking Every healthcare professional understands the anti kickback laws governing patient referrals ZocDoc has received a favorable advisory opinion from OIG claiming that the fees charged are for the platform functionality and for offering an easy booking system that facilitates appointments This may have been true in 2013 when zocdoc started becoming popular and when HIPAA compliant healthcare booking functionality was expensive and cumbersome HIPAA compliant appointment booking technology is now accessible by everyone and included in all website packages by most web developer agencies hence we don t see why any healthcare provider will be required to pay per patient booking fees to use it At the same time being discoverable can be achieved organically and in an unbiased manner through search engines and great website content In this manner you are not bound to algorithms created by a platform with conflicting interests to yours So what does ZocDoc really facilitates In one word Cancellations ZocDoc is heavily skewed towards allowing easy and free cancellations for patients By allowing patients to cancel a booked appointment for which the dentist has already paid and cancel it without a penalty fee ZocDoc creates a reality where patients book multiple appointments without commitment to show up A reality where the trust relationship between a dentist and their patient is severed by the culture or the plenty and noncommitting engagements It is our firm position that the only sustainable way to create a strong patient base is by showcasing your reputation on your own media and building a strong brand and strong patient provider relationships and word of mouth referrals Summing up HIPAA compliant booking systems are affordable and often free Charging a dentist a per appointment fee claiming that it is for the use of a booking platform is unfounded and unethical Depending on a booking platform skewed towards easy no fee cancellations leads to no shows and severes the patient dentist relationship 2020 all rights reserved

Think about Channel Selection 3 5 competitor accounts Review the patient persona defined in chapter 1 Review your branding guidelines Set budget and frequency of social media posts I have no need for Social Media I am on Google This does not hold true You certainly aknowledge the value of word of mouth when it comes to new patient referrals Well word of mouth today takes place on social media Over 200 million Americans are on social media 2020 all rights reserved

and they spend over one hour per day there Social media increases your brand s visibility Just as there are plenty of fish in the social media sea there are also a TON of boats looking to land a big catch Ensuring your dental practice and brand are present and active on multiple social channels will create the opportunity for consumers from different demographics to find and follow you Also half of consumers follow brands to indicate their loyalty so a business s current customer base will also increase brand awareness and visibility The more followers a business has the more likely it is to be seen Additionally if a dental practice owner treats these followers as a sentient community rather than a stagnant lead pool it will help improve customer service and brand image 2020 all rights reserved

Social media improves your customer service A dental practice s presence on social media creates the opportunity for dialogue with consumers and 60 of followers expect a brand to interact with their followers directly through social media With more than half of marketers utilizing social media as two way street for communication it is important for business owners to give their audience what it wants By providing engaging content exclusive social offers and genuine responses to feedback like reviews or questions you will be able to build brand loyalty and lasting customer relationships with your social community Did we mention that all of this comes with a minimal price tag Social media is easy on your budget A dental practice s presence on social media creates the opportunity for dialogue with consumers and 60 of followers expect a brand to interact with their followers directly through social media With more than half of marketers utilizing social media as twoway street for communication it is important for business owners to give their audience what it wants By providing engaging content exclusive social offers and genuine responses to feedback like reviews or questions you will be able to build brand loyalty and lasting customer relationships with your social community Did we mention that all of this comes with a minimal price tag Old school marketing tactics like snail mail ads or flyers can be expensive and it will undoubtedly take time to measure their ROI Joining and posting to social media is free of charge there s no limit to how many posts you can publish and your efforts are seen by followers immediately Paid advertising on social media is also an option and this tactic will allow you to target specific audiences you want to reach The best part is that your budget for paid social advertising can be as large or as small as you see fit it s all designed to meet your business s unique marketing needs Investing in social media with time or money can help with more than just a business s social accounts too 2020 all rights reserved

The circle of Social media Social media management requires a rigorous relentless process with continuous content production and evaluation strong project management processes to ensure that the appropriate scientific and marketing content is transmitted to the right audience In PHARMED the process is as follows Channel Selection Select the appropriate channels based on your target patient persona Content Bank development A content bank of at least one month worth of posts should be created in advance and approved by you Only trust healthcare professionals to create your social media content never lay marketers Client Review Promotion a multidisciplinary team consists of creative content and project managment and pushes content for review several weeks in advance of publishing Each social media post will be a candidate for a minor paid promotion to increase the reach likes and follows Posts go live Our social media manager will be posting approved content according to schedule and carefully optimize promotion to increase views likes and ultimately followers 2020 all rights reserved

Think about Digital Advertising Distinct types of services that we will promote Potential offers seasonal or continuous Events relevant to practice Monthly budget for digital advertising What is digital advertising and why is needed A world class website or great posts on social media will not attract visitors or convert them to patient appointments without promotion Digital Marketing consists of the following Search engine optimization SEO Search engine marketing SEM Content marketing Social Media Marketing SMM Pay per click advertising PPC Affiliate marketing Email marketing Digital promotion will take place in various channels defined by the patient journey from the moment they realize that they have a dental need to the moment they book an appointment with a dentist Brand awareness campaigns Brand consideration campaigns Website traffic campaigns Lead generation campaigns These promotional efforts may be deployed across different channels such as Google search results and display network Facebook Instagram and their affiliates Bing search results if required Other channels such as LinkedIn Pinterest Twitter if required 2020 all rights reserved

Digital Advertising Digital advertising is done via several channels and each channel has specific requirements and considerations Optimizing across the appropriate channels leads to higher conversion rates Channel identification connect blog and website to social media create social media channels post scheduling and promote posts Google Adwords account creation send traffic to landing pages create one landing page per ad group optimize daily Email platform content branded template educational content segment and create lists A B testing Search Engine Marketing SEM Social Media Marketing SMM Pay per click advertising PPC Offer content to gather emails answer questions on platforms create lead gen campaigns Our suggested approach for a new brand and website that has proven results and up to 700 patient appointment increase Create informational ebook educational infographics content bank and editorial calendar provide knowledge and advice Link building keyword research content creation blog themes tag website elements page descriptions Setup google analytics and tag manager submit sitemap create listings establish conversion goals and set google conversions 2020 all rights reserved Create landing pages for campaigns segment inbound traffic sources feedback widgets live chat for user insights

Summary Dental practice growth today can only be achieved digitally because the patient journey is online Word of mouth recommendations referrals reviews and provider comparison all take place on various digital platforms A robust digital presence starts with the patient persona definition a list of patient attributes that will enable you to locate them in the vast digital space and laser target them with promotional efforts that will bring them to your dental practice One size fits all digital marketing is prone to failure individualizing your dental practice growth plan and anchoring every action to your specific goals will yield incomparably better results conversions and will ensure that your spending budget reaches high ROI An all around holistic approach to dental practice growth will maximize your conversions and requires actions and considerations across all of the following dental patient journey dental branding intelligent website practice listings social media outreach digital promotion We hope that you found this guide helpful and that you gained valuable insights that will enable you to make the right choices related to your dental practice growth Click on this button to get in touch with PHARMED today for a free consultation and to find out how we can move your practice to the next level 2020 all rights reserved