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Archive for Marketing – Page 7

November 10, 2015

Marketing Tips for Dentists and Orthodontists

Marketing Tips for our Favorite Teeth Techs

Competition among dentists and orthodontists in Denver is becoming fiercer in many communities. New offices are popping up all the time and every dentist needs a steady flow of new patients in order to replace patients moving out of the area and to be able to grow their practice.

As is the case with most other professionals with stiff competition, it’s often the operation with the best marketing programs that draws the most attention, gets the most leads, and generates the most business.

You worked hard to be able to provide great services. Now put some thought and effort into telling people about yourself and your practice so you can do the most good for the most people.

To help you in your efforts, here are our top marketing tips for our favorite tooth technicians.

Who in the world are you?

The internet knows something about everyone. Take a minute to Google yourself. What did you find? Do you see a link to your dental or orthodontic website? Are you being called the “Butcher of Bicuspids?” Research and look for patient reviews that already exist. And yes, they probably do already exist. What you find out there will greatly affect your strategy going forward.

Develop a plan

Don’t just throw money at the problem. Marketing without a plan will lead you nowhere. Develop a budget and a realistic set of offers and objectives that will set your dental or orthodontic practice apart from your competitors. Then put together a calendar of activities to support these initiatives. You’re good at being a dentist or orthodontist. Consider hiring a marketing agency whose job it is to help you market your business.

Be creative

You’re in the first impression business. You work on people’s smiles. Now it’s time to work on yours. Get yourself some graphic design and copywriting services to produce effective and compelling print, direct mail and digital materials that make you not only look good, but make you stand out in the crowded field. The more you stand out, the more you will be noticed.

Go digital

Direct mail is still a key marketing element for dental offices. It works really well. But it’s not the only thing that works. We live in a connected world. A clean and responsive website is critical, and email marketing, online appointments, and social media marketing are needed to round out a modern dental or orthodontic marketing plan. Hire a website design specialist and build social media channels. Connect them all and make sure the look is consistent with your other marketing materials.

Be social and engage

Simply broadcasting your message and asking for customers doesn’t work. You need to get your audience involved. Master a 360 Degree social media marketing program by engaging, asking questions, listening, and commenting. Learn what patients and others say about you, share, and reply to reviews! Produce content that makes your audience think about their needs and allows them to engage and share their thoughts. Spread the word and build an audience.

Calls-to-Action

Marketing is nothing if it doesn’t inspire people to contact your office. One of the biggest mistakes dental offices make with their marketing is there is simply no “call to action,” nothing telling the audience to pick up the phone or click on a website to make an appointment. Whatever you do, and whatever marketing materials you produce, make sure you include “calls to action.” Believe it or not, a simple “What are you waiting for, call us today for a free consultation,” with a phone number goes a long way. It might seem obvious, but your audience is waiting for you to tell them what to do.

Thinking of improving your marketing? Click here to learn more. Set up a free, 15 minute conversation with one of our marketing experts to talk about ideas that will help you remain competitive in today’s market.

Categories : BRANDING, INTERNET MARKETING, Marketing, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, STRATEGY

Tags : dentists, marketing tips, marketing tips for dentists, orthodontists

Posted by Greg Sherwood on

September 21, 2015

Top 10 List for Truly Ruthless Marketing

The Top 10 List for Truly Ruthless Marketing

You see these types of lists all over the place. Why?

Because marketing is important for all businesses, but sometimes it’s hard to grasp.

These lists are actually meant to help and be comforting. But this one will be a bit different. You’re not running a marketing agency. It’s okay. You are, however, in a business that needs to be marketed.

So finally, here is a marketing list that actually assumes you’re already good at what you do, but simply need to be better at telling people about it.

So, if you want to be a ruthless marketer of your business, then here’s the list that was developed specifically for you.

Know who you are and what you want to say

Effective marketing is all about telling your public who you are and what you do. Before you can do that, you have to know it yourself. Work the elevator speech. “We are the best [what] that provides [what] for [who] because [why].”

Once you know it, you can tell others about it.

Plan, plan, and plan

Operating by the skin of your teeth can be fun and exciting, but it’s no way to market your business.

Successful marketers don’t even go to the restroom without a plan (well, actually, they don’t always have a plan for that, but you get the point). Know that effective marketing takes time and money, and develop a flexible plan that will grow with the resulting business opportunities.

Networking

We’re guessing you didn’t get into your business just because you love to network. But, making new friends and colleagues through networking is the best way to spread your message. It’s old-school, but it is still one of the most powerful tools on your marketing tool belt.

Constantly research

The times of simply blasting your message to everyone out there are over. Knowledge is power and you need to know who wants and needs to know about you. Targets and demographics change all the time. The most successful marketing is research-based, knowing exactly what to say and exactly where and how to say it to get the best results.

Engage your audience

Don’t just broadcast. Ruthless marketing engages your audience. Ask questions and provide answers. Give thanks for compliments and respond to complaints. The more you’re engaged, the more your customers see you as a living, breathing part of their community.

Choose quality over quantity

When developing your message, don’t just tell people that you’re awesome. That doesn’t work. Ask yourself, “Does what I have to say provide value to my audience?” If it doesn’t, scrap it. It’s better to say something valuable once than to shout meaningless jibber-jabber a thousand times.

Be ruthlessly creative

The message is key, but delivery is critical. Subtlety is soothing, conservative, and useless. Your design and copywriting has to be fresh and unrelenting. That doesn’t mean loud and tasteless. It simply means your audience has to see it, recall that they’ve seen it, and know exactly that it came from you. Your creative can’t be concerned with anything else.

Don’t be trendy

This might sound a bit counter-intuitive, but time-tested marketing methods are still better than the latest flash in the pan. Sure, you might be inclined to follow the current style, go viral, or catch lightning in a bottle. But styles change quickly—that which goes viral gets buried by the next—and generating consistent power over time is always better.

Use multiple channels

Today, your audience gets information from a variety of resources. You need a solid website design and you have to cook up a mix of digital, social and traditional marketing channels in order to reach and connect.

Measure, analyze, and repeat

Marketing needs to stay flexible and fluid. As fun as it is to be creative, it’s more rewarding to be successful, and success comes from analyzing your results, finding exactly what resonated, tweaking it when and where needed, and refocusing. Analytics may not be sexy, but they simply work.

Develop your plan, be creative, and be smart. That’s how you built your business. That’s how you become a ruthless marketer.

Categories : Marketing

Tags : Denver marketing, marketing

Posted by Greg Sherwood on

August 11, 2015

PR or Advertising? Which is Best for Your Company?

How do you know if your company needs advertising or public relations? Most businesses need a combination of both as part of a well-defined and executed communications program, but they struggle to understand the differences.

Advertising and public relations are similar as they both build awareness of your company in a targeted section of the public. Beyond that, they are actually quite different. So, when pulling your hair out wondering if you should call an advertising agency, marketing agency or public relations firm, keep these basics in mind.

Advertising is paid space. You get to be in control of the message, be creative and build a campaign that shows your product or service. You talk to account executives, who then get graphic designers and copywriters to do some magic. You then, for a fixed price, buy air, or time, or pages, or impressions, all in an attempt to push your ad out there to your carefully targeted public and sell your product or service. Your target audience knows they are seeing an advertisement, and they know you are actively trying to sell them something.

Public relations is all about your relationship with the media, and by extension, their public. Public relations seeks free media attention for your goods and services. You send press releases, talk to editors, and hold events. The goal is to talk to people who talk to people, and to get those people to talk to their people about you. The downside is media types have no obligation to talk about you, and you have little to no control over how your message gets presented, if it gets presented at all. The good side is that when your audience sees you on TV, reads a blog post or article about you, they’re seeing something different than advertising, and they treat it differently than advertising. They trust it more. You didn’t pay for it, and it’s being delivered to them via an unbiased source. Your company, product or service has just been validated without having to be advertised.

So, which is better? Confusing answer actually- it’s both. Study after study shows that, although less quantifiable, public relations is better at building trust and spreading information in a brand or service that has been validated by unbiased sources. But, if done right, nothing is more powerful than owning your consistent message and creating good creative, targeting your specific public, and analyzing the results based on solid proof of performance.

The clear answer is to engage a marketing agency that can build a communications strategy that employs elements of both. You want to own your brand and your message, but you also want to be talked about and trusted. Only when both methods are working can you maximize your marketing.

One last bit to consider when discussing advertising and PR with your marketing agency, and that’s the power of digital marketing and social media. Adding social media to your marketing is not only important for branding, but it can be a powerful tool to bridge the gap between traditional advertising and public relations. A business can advertise on social media channels, then get endorsed and validated by the seemingly unbiased social media community. It’s the brave new world.

Categories : BRANDING, Marketing, PUBLIC RELATIONS, STRATEGY

Tags : advertising, PR, public relations

dbc digital marketing tips for non-profits

Posted by Greg Sherwood on

July 29, 2015

4 Essential Nonprofit Marketing Tips

Nonprofits have unique challenges. “Mission creep,” managing volunteers, dysfunctional boards and the constant pressure to raise funds can give even the most experienced nonprofit directors and officers night terrors. Then there’s the competition. With so many nonprofits out there competing for the donation dollar, how do you set yourself apart, position yourself at front of mind, and do the most good for your cause?

The answer: Do the work and follow these tips. You need to find the right marketing agency and design a cost-effective communications road map that will ensure you deliver the right “pop,” keep to your mission and never settle.

Run your marketing like a for-profit business – It might be a nonprofit, but it’s still a business. The great misconception about running a nonprofit is thinking you’re not in it to make money. You are. You’re just going to use all the money to support the mission you’ve chosen. So, act like a business and market yourself like a business. Make a budget and stick to it. It’s true: You have to spend money to make money. Hire a marketing agency to do market research, learn about your customers’ tendencies, and find key phrases and desires. Remember, you’re still selling a product. Don’t just ask for money.

Build your brand – First impressions are key, especially for non-profits. People only give to organizations that are well-organized and well-run. So, get yourself some graphic design and copywriting services and make yourself look good. Hire a website design specialist, build social media channels and produce elegant printed materials. And, most importantly, connect them all and look consistent. Then, stick to your guns and have discipline. Don’t just follow the money. Be true to your message.

Engage with your public – Simply asking for money doesn’t work. You need to get your audience involved. Master the 360 Degree social media marketing program by engaging, asking questions, listening and commenting. Don’t just broadcast. Share! Produce content and create events that allow your audience to engage and volunteer. Spread the word and build an audience.

Produce your own content – You have to own your message. You can’t rely on press releases anymore, simply pushing info out in hopes others will broadcast it in the right way and with the right enthusiasm. Public relations is important, but get your own photographer and copywriter to build your own portfolio. Post blog entries, make videos and produce newsletters. Build your own consistent content and own your message.

Stop having nightmares. To truly succeed, you must run your nonprofit with ruthlessness in support of your mission. And you must consider the value of proper nonprofit marketing. It’s the only way to make sure you are telling the right story.

Categories : Marketing

Tags : branding, marketing tips, non-profits

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