We asked CAB member Dr. Lee Brown — practitioner and partner at Brown & Gettings, DDS in West Chester, OH — to talk about his experience since his practice started working with MDA for digital dental marketing. He kindly made a video to share his thoughts, namely about ROI, or return on investment, and indirect marketing.
Tracking Metrics
Since his dental practice began partnering with MDA for digital marketing, Dr. Brown has noticed a consistent positive trend in the metrics. He firmly believes, as do we, in tracking metrics to understand the overall picture, get an idea of what is working, and know where to concentrate marketing efforts. For us, tracking is indispensable. It is the best and most straightforward way to keep tabs on the results of our actions for our clients.
Tracking has given Dr. Brown the ability to see the increase in ROI every month and every year. And while ROI can fluctuate depending on outside factors, such as the economy, he has seen anywhere from three to seven times ROI on a monthly basis, including through the most recent closures in 2020. In any environment, that is a great return on investment.
Indirect Marketing & ROI
One of the concepts Dr. Brown credits as being a big part of the success he has seen over the years is indirect marketing, that is the activities that may not be overtly aimed at driving in patients, such as consistently updating the website with fresh content, creating a monthly blog, email campaigns to existing patients, being active on social media, and making videos to post online. While the return on these activities is more difficult to track, they are certainly a large contributing factor to ROI.
Indirect marketing creates rapport, builds confidence, and reinforces direct marketing activities, or those explicitly geared towards generating revenue. What a new patient sees when searching a practice online creates an impression, good or bad, which has a profound influence on their decision to make contact or not. What Dr. Brown emphasizes in his video is the confidence and trust that comes from having a solid, positive online presence that includes consistent indirect marketing. These activities create more opportunities for patients to engage with the practice, learn about it, and understand its personality.
According to Dr. Brown — and we also agree — direct and indirect marketing working together is the formula for success. With a good marketing partner like MDA, you can team up to map out a strong strategy that will generate interest in your practice and lead to positive ROI month to month and year over year.
