Your clear aligner patients are out there. How do they know you are too?
Practices with big marketing budgets are becoming the norm now… but you don’t need to spend a fortune to let your potential patients know how amazing you are.
Patients in your existing database are likely to be more loyal to you, but others are going to be researching and looking for the best (and maybe cheapest) person for the job!
Let’s look at the different ways you can market yourself so those patients find you.
Here at 32Co, we know there are lots of people looking for their new smile. Our Practice Growth team understands the dental market inside out, so rest assured - we know this stuff! We want to help you provide these beautiful new smiles. A great way to get those patients in is by marketing yourself properly.
Building a brand and increasing patient confidence are two things that accelerate the growth of your practice, and you personally as a dentist.
If your practice is already brilliant at finding patients who are interested in a new smile, this article probably isn’t for you! We don’t want to teach you to suck eggs. But if you’re looking for some quick, actionable tips to get started with proactive marketing and structured sales, you’re in the right place.
It's our mission to support our dentists, so we work hand-in-hand with them and our practice owners to help them compete in marketing and sales. In this article we are sharing three messages:
- 👋Social media is still the best shortcut to brand awareness
- 📞 Follow up, follow up, follow up
- 🦸 Build a Clear Aligner super team in your practice
We’ll also share some key learnings from 32Co Clear Aligner superstar Dr Rachel White - one of our regular Clear Aligner Providers who is happy to share her ideas.
Social media is still the best shortcut to brand awareness
“I mostly use Instagram to post photos of things that I have been up to at work, including before and afters. I like to include photos with patients starting their smile journeys as well as those coming to the end of treatment. Featuring the brands used is important to me because I know patients will just go out and do their own research as well! (I know I would!!). It’s always really nice to see patients who’ve spotted my work on social media.” - Rachel White
Whilst this is the most obvious piece of advice we can give, it’s also the most important, as many Dentists haven’t capitalised on this. And when we speak to them, they often don’t know where to start. However, patients are used to making purchasing decisions based on brand and personality - and this is no different in dentistry.
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Posting your work online doesn’t only increase your number of potential patients over time, it also helps those patients over the line. Many patients want to know that their Dentist has worked on previous cases successfully, and your Instagram page is a portfolio you can share with patients as you speak to them about their plan.
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If you’ve only done one or two cases, set your Instagram to private and start adding images until you have nine or more. As above, these don’t need to be before and afters - they can be images of the practice, patient… and yourself!
To support our ever-growing community of 32Co Providers, we’ve created several Instagram posts for our Providers and practice partners to use. These cover promotional events as well as general awareness, and they’re crucial in getting your name out there to new and existing patients. Just ask us!
Follow up, follow up, follow up
“My TCO and receptionist routinely contact the patients before and after their visits to find out what their interests are, and what treatments they might be looking for so that can be a good ice breaker. Sometimes people can feel a bit shy telling the Dentist their concerns, so it’s relaxing if they have a chat to someone non-clinical first.” -Rachel White
Rachel is lucky enough to have a TCO and receptionist to support her - but Dentists themselves can help get their patient new smile journey started.
The best time to get the patient to invest in their new beautiful smile is in the chair, when they come back to discuss the treatment plan - there’s nothing like being face to face with the patient to help them decide on treatment.
But if they don’t agree on the day, don’t give up! There’s lots of reasons patients don’t immediately go ahead - they might not be good at making decisions on the spot! They may want to talk about it with friends, or do some more research.
Your next step is running a simple (but highly effective) follow-up programme. We’ve created a post-consult playbook for 32Co clinicians or receptionists to implement.
However, simply put - contact your patient in every way you can, at set times after your consult - you’ll soon reap the rewards.
Build a clear aligner super team in your practice
“One clinic I work at is a large, predominantly NHS, surgery. At this practice I tend to get referrals from my colleagues for tooth straightening or smile makeovers. The patients like that they are being seen in the same practice.
“I’ve been explaining the differing tooth straightening options to the staff (Dentists, nurses, receptionists and hygienists) so they can all make suggestions to the patients. Handing over a leaflet at the time works really well, or they get shown examples on my Instagram, haha!” - Rachel White
Rachel’s tip won’t apply to every practice and Dentist, however, it’s a good example of the type of initiative required to become a super-successful Clear Aligner Provider.
Your patients are in your database… but how will your team book patients in for you, if they don’t have a clue what you are offering? For the wider team to be able to contribute to the practice’s overall success, they need to be incentivised and educated. Talk to them at team meetings, show them the 32Co Portal, and get them on the phone with us for a chat. Tell everyone why you love 32Co and how it is making a difference to your dentistry and your patients’ smiles. Don’t underestimate the power of an educated team. Patients can be primed before they enter the chair by competent receptionists and nurses that can build rapport before the patient steps through the door
Make sure posters are up, leaflets are available, and other Dentists are referring into you. Send an email to your entire database introducing yourself as the new Clear Aligner Provider at the practice? Offer them a discount. Put your photo on the email - properly introduce yourself to your patients.
As mentioned above, we produce and send marketing assets to Practices and work with Dentists on implementing them in-practice. Additionally, we help set a culture of referral and engagement within Practices - it really is a team effort that pays off - just ask us for help.
Working with 32Co gives you access to the best people to support you. This is what we do! We can get you going with some basic marketing and sales quickly and easily and help you find those new patients just waiting for their new smile!
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