How are you promoting your dental team online?

Dental technologies represent a big industry. Grand View Research projects this $11.2 billion market will grow 6.3% annually, worldwide between 2024 and 2030¹. The global research and consulting firm credits keen expansion to a growing need for services, driven by an aging population, as well as evolving medical tourism and the launch of myriad government programs to support oral health care.

You have likely invested in some of the technologies that fall under this industry umbrella. It is vital for practices to stay on top of authentically valuable technological innovations. This does not mean we chase after every bright, shiny technology that presents itself. It does, however, mean that our teams are ideally able to accomplish more with the same (or less) legwork.

Happy employees generally drive quality care and eventually lead to satisfied patients. The technologies further drive patient satisfaction by presenting potentially fast (convenient), painless (gentle), and precise (excellent treatment outcomes) alternatives to historical or “earlier-generation” ways of doing things.

Ultimately, the technology cannot accomplish this on its own. It requires the human element, top-notch staff, and professionals who are willing and even enthusiastic about learning new methods to treat and care for your valuable patients.

But how are you marketing the human element? Is content around “your people” keeping pace with the communications crafted and distributed when you launch a new, advanced service or update a “standard” x-ray or older laser? If you are not promoting your people online, you are missing out on key opportunities to attract new patients and build loyalty among existing ones, partners, and members of your community.

Arguably, the biggest missed opportunity relates to your team itself. By regularly acknowledging your associates and staff in the digital universe, you send an important message to them – that they are greatly valued, appreciated, and matter, and are essential to operations, regardless of whether they work the front desk or chairside.

Considerations associated with employee and workplace morale have never been more crucial; Fitch Ratings described health care’s labour shortages as a “labourdemic².” More pointedly to our labour of love, dentistry personnel shortfalls have prompted recent recommendations by the CDA for mental health, wellness, and HR training to office staff, and the development of online-based curriculum to bring more professionals into the fold³.

For many of you, these issues hit home. If you have recently filled a position, you intimately understand these challenges. It is ultimately necessary to be in a position whereby growth necessitates hires. However, if hires are being driven by high turnover and attrition, these circumstances can be avoided by taking a close look at how you inspire, motivate, support, reward, and appreciate your team members.

The intersection of marketing and employee morale

You can only treat what you know. The same goes for improvements to marketing and communications. If you do not know where you stand concerning the “health” of your online presence, you cannot “treat” or improve upon it. So, with an assessment of your employees’ presence on your website or other channels in hand, you acquire a better sense as to weaknesses to mitigate and strengths to build upon. Rarely are websites and marketing collateral black and white. There is often a lot of grey. Of particular interest to communications related to your employees are the following:

Biographies – Naturally, this presents the best opportunity to showcase your team. Think beyond the rote and the obvious: a series of credentials, qualifications, and other professional distinctions. Your team bios shine and resonate with patients when they feature unique personal touches. Now, your team members may be reticent about sharing personal beyond the office. Presenting a series of fun questions to your employees can be helpful. They can choose the queries they wish to respond to because we appreciate that some individuals are more private than others about specific topics.

Pro tip: A few starter questions may include …

What is your favourite place to visit in [insert your respective town or neighbourhood here]?

What makes this place so special?

What did you want to “be” when you grew up? And why?

What book, movie, or TV show is most like your life? And why do you relate to it so much?

It may be revealing to have employees answer a few questions about each other as long as those employees have a good rapport/know each other relatively well. This latter approach may result in the types of insights that would otherwise not be gleaned with pure introspection; for instance, you may end up with a tidbit that goes something like this: “Jane’s workmates often model how she explains treatments when conveying information to their patients because she does such a good job of clearly comparing what to expect at the office to aspects of their everyday lives. They will also tell you that she is a mean salsa dancer outside of work!” Be sure to consult with the employee beforehand. Often, they get a great lift out of their coworkers’ praise, especially if those observations involve taking actual notice of their work and care when engaging with patients and visitors.

Mentions in articles, newsletters, and posts – Are you, as the dentist, the only person mentioned in articles about services and other content on your website and other digital and social channels? Is someone missing, perhaps a new associate who takes a special interest or has particular expertise in a given service? Or, depending on the nature of the content, you may want to include other non-clinician professionals in your articles. By weaving these individuals – from hygienists to treatment coordinators – into your content, you heighten that all-important “human touch.” Employees will be touched by this, and, for patients, this approach can go far to build trust and get beyond your practice as an unfamiliar, impersonal business.

Think: Multimedia – Numerous researchers who conduct studies on marketing-related topics have hailed the dominance of video marketing in recent years, with Wyzowl noting that 92% of marketers experienced “positive ROI” in 2023 as the result of related strategies – a record high since the firm began tracking video-centric results on an annual basis in 2016⁴. As you dip your toes or make a bigger splash in video efforts, be sure to highlight your most effervescent and valued associates and staff in YouTube videos, procedure and technology spots on your website, reels on Instagram, streaming on Facebook, and on and on. Podcasts and other audio spots, too, present ripe opportunities to showcase what truly makes your practice go around – your people.

We are pretty proud of our people, too, and look forward to sharing their talents as an extension of your team.

References

About the Author

Naren Arulrajah, President and CEO of Ekwa Marketing, has been a leader in medical marketing for over a decade. Ekwa provides comprehensive marketing solutions for busy dentists, with a team of more than 180 full time professionals, providing web design, hosting, content creation, social media, reputation management, SEO, and more. If you’re looking for ways to boost your marketing results, call 855-598-3320 for a free strategy session with Naren. You may also schedule a session at your convenience with the Senior Director of Marketing – Lila, by clicking https://www.ekwa.com/msm/ or simply send a text to 313-777-8494.

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