Dental industry marketing 2.0: 3 ways online marketing improves exposure and boosts ROI while simplifying implementation

Dental companies can acquire marketing leads on demand—thanks to new technology

One of the defining characteristics of modern life is our ability to get nearly instantaneous and effective results in a highly efficient manner. Your smartphone puts a camera, computer, and a multitude of ways to communicate with the outside world at your fingertips. You can have your groceries delivered within an hour and order a taxi or car service to pull up to your exact location within minutes. So why can't a dental company order up marketing results on demand?

Take trade shows, for example. They've long been a tried and true staple in the dental world. Yet when a marketing manager considers the real costs of attending a trade show, they add up: exhibit fees, shipping fees, setup fees, giveaway items, travel and accommodations, and not to mention time away from the office. Plus, results are often hit or miss depending on attendance and exhibit hall foot traffic. What if there was an easier way to generate the same level of exposure?

The same can be said for direct mail. At first glance it seems like a simple, turnkey marketing effort. That is, until it comes to designing the piece, paying for printing and postage, obtaining the mailing lists, and addressing or mail merging thousands of mailers. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that direct mail is neither simple nor hands off.

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Traditional offline tactics like these continue to serve a purpose for dental marketers, but they shouldn't be the only tools in their kits. Today's digital solutions are incredibly effective for building awareness and generating trackable, predictable, and sustainable inbound leads for any dental company.

More and more dental marketers are turning to online tools including:

- Pay per click advertising (PPC)

- Display and retargeting ads

- Social media advertising

- E-mail marketing and marketing automation

Each of these is designed not only to achieve a measurable return on investment but to do so in ways that can often be less expensive, are simpler to implement, and require less of the marketing manager's time and focus. Online advertising provides real benefits that can help streamline a company's marketing plan and boost the results of marketing efforts from day one. Here are three things online marketing can provide.

A consistent flow of high-quality leads

One of the major drawbacks of offline marketing is the inherent spikiness of new leads. Would it not be more effective to have a steady stream of business prospects flowing through the sales funnel? What if the leads generated were ongoing and consistently delivered? The beauty of online marketing is that you can turn the lead faucet on or off as your budget, your goals, and even the season requires. Even better, you now have the ability to target any campaign's scope based on data such as location of the targeted dentist audience, demographics, and even certain behaviors, which makes the quality of each lead even higher.

Real-time access to your ROI

Invest in PPC ads and you'll see instant results: how many users have seen the ad, how many users clicked through the ad, and what your cost per click is. Start an e-mail marketing campaign using marketing automation software, and as soon as you've hit the send button, you'll be able to see how many e-mails were received, opened, and clicked through.

Metrics like these give you a firm grasp of what tactics are performing or not, allowing you to make tweaks mid-campaign. Best of all, this data is available and updated in real time so that you can stay on top of, and out in front of, your marketing spend.

More effective use of your time and marketing dollars

With online marketing, there's no need to worry about travel expenses, shipping costs, or even graphic design services, giving you more time to focus on the more pressing items on your never-ending to-do list. Gain peace of mind knowing that your marketing budget is being spent most effectively, generating a consistent stream of new leads without requiring complicated logistics, day-to-day management, or hands-on supervision.

When you are considering online marketing agencies, consider the strengths and weaknesses of each. My company, Doctor Distillery, positions itself as having the unique ability to reach dentists wherever they travel across the Internet. A proprietary filtering algorithm lets us filter thousands of the most popular websites across the Internet and display our clients' messages to an audience made of purely of dentists browsing those sites.

Whether your goal is to raise awareness about your brand or to generate sales-qualified leads, hiring a cutting-edge partner can streamline your marketing strategy, maximize your marketing dollars, and fill your sales pipeline with inbound leads.

Naomi Cooper is the CEO of Doctor Distillery. After serving as vice president of marketing for 1-800-DENTIST for nearly a decade, she cofounded Doctor Distillery in 2015 to consistently deliver qualified business-to-business leads via a unique mix of online marketing methods. Dental companies seeking more information about reaching dentists and generating dentist leads online through Doctor Distillery's advertising network may contact her at (310) 878-2399 or [email protected].

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