After what seems like forever, it’s all coming together. You’ve found the perfect location, your office decor provides the exact vibe you’re going for, your equipment is top-notch, and you and your team members have all been trained to treat sleep disorders. So why aren’t the patients storming the doors like you expected? If you didn’t consider marketing when you devised your master plan, then maybe your patients simply aren’t finding you.
What Marketing Will Accomplish
Whether you’re trying to increase the number of sleep patients who come to your existing practice or you’ve started a new practice devoted to sleep alone, you still need a comprehensive marketing plan. Why? Marketing will help you accomplish a number of things, including community awareness and brand awareness.
- Community Awareness — Do the people in your community actually know what sleep apnea is? Do they understand the associated health risks? Are they aware of the role dentistry can play in correcting their OSA? In order to drive new patients, you have to ensure that your community knows all about the condition you’re trying to treat.
- Brand Awareness — Potential patients need to know who you are, what you do, and where to find you. Since your emphasis on sleep is new, you pretty much have to start from scratch. This means unique marketing (including website, Facebook, review solicitations, email, and reputation management) for your sleep services.
Reaching out to local professionals such as doctors and ENT’s is a great place to start, but ultimately you have to reach out to the people who need sleep treatment. Once you do, your community will come to recognize your practice as the one to go to for relief from the sleep apnea symptoms that plague them.
