How does dental SEO help with patient retention?
Most people assume that when it comes to SEO aimed at dental surgeries, it is all about getting new patients.
And while that is an important part of it, it is all for nothing if you do not try to retain your current patients, which will require a different approach entirely.
When you come to our team at Dental Focus Marketing for help with dental SEO, we will take a 2-pronged approach. We will try to help you get as many new dental patients as possible while also dedicating time and money towards your surgery, holding onto the ones that you currently have for as long as possible. Great!
So, how does a good dental SEO plan help with patient retention?
Use appointment reminders
Firstly, when a patient signs up for your clinic, you should always take their phone number and/or email address. Then, you can send out appointment reminders via email, text, or phone call to reduce the number of missed appointments; this will help to keep them coming back to your surgery. As well as this, as part of basic dental SEO, you can send them targeted emails about offers you have going on at your dental surgery, which will, once again, keep them coming back to your team for their check-ups and treatment. Great!
Offer a loyalty program
Consider offering a loyalty program to incentivise patients to continue coming to your practice; this will need to be thought through, as you will still need to make money! You could implement something that means patients can earn points for their appointments, referrals, and other actions and redeem them for rewards such as free dental treatments, discounts, or special promotions. Or, patients can sign up for a membership program that provides exclusive benefits, such as discounted treatments, priority booking, or special promotions.
Keep your patients informed
You will always need to provide your patients with educational materials and keep them informed about new treatments and procedures and, of course, what is going on at your surgery. As mentioned earlier, this can be done via email marketing but can also be on your surgery website and your social media page, both of which are part of your basic SEO plan.
This will show your patients that you care about them knowing what is going on; thus, it will prompt them to come back.
Online bookings
Most people can now book hair appointments with their local salon online, so why not offer the same facility to your dental patients?
We can make it easy for patients to schedule appointments on your dental website, and we can implement a way for them to cancel and reschedule, thus allowing them to access your dental surgery on the go. Great!
Remember, our team at Dental Focus Marketing will work with you to ensure that the methods implemented to help you retain patients are in-line with your clinic’s ethos. We will also include you as much as possible in the process. So, call us today for more information!