In this episode of The Best Practices Show, host Kirk Behrendt sits down with his longtime friend, dental marketing guru, Xana Winans. Xana and Kirk talk all things marketing in 2021—focusing on creating measurable goals that will keep you from being reactionary in your marketing (something we all did way too much of in 2020). Kirk starts out the conversation by asking Xana why a dental practice should have a marketing plan and how much should be spent on said plan. While money spent depends on the practice and that practice’s goals, marketing is essential for dental practices to attract and retain those sought-after patients.

While a lot of what we see in marketing are “shiny objects” like an awesome website or active social media feed, the bread and butter of a good marketing strategy lies in measuring the available data, Xana says. Together, Xana and Kirk take a look at some of the key elements you should be measuring in your dental practice in order to market effectively, while also going over the mix of marketing strategies that will give you maximum bang for your buck.

The episode wraps up as the two uncover some common marketing mistakes practices make—encouraging dentists to not get distracted by the “squirrels” always popping up and instead focus on building a consistent brand. Creating a marketing strategy in 2020 was rough, but with any luck, marketing in 2021, or at the very least having a good plan, will ensure that things go a lot smoother in the new year.

Main Takeaways

Dentists need a marketing plan to have a smooth, not reactionary, year (5:18)

Good marketing begins with measurements and research (8:40)

ROI is everything (11:19)

Be specific about your marketing goals (16:58)

Real money comes from a patient staying in your practice (19:40)

Pick 3-4 KPI’s to track when goal-setting (21:20)

What you spend on marketing depends on what you want to accomplish (29:00)

Look at your marketing in two ways: building assets and recurring costs (32:30)

You need a full mix of marketing strategies to be successful (34:40)

Follow your marketing plan, but measure it (44:15)

Track everything and create a plan (46:23)

Key Quotes

“It you don’t have a plan, all you spend your time doing is reacting. And that’s what we spent the entire year [2020] doing—reacting to the shockwaves that kept hitting the industry.”

“Doctors waste money constantly by not converting the leads.”

“The whole point of marketing is to make the phone ring and then get that patient into the practice. But if you don’t keep them, it’s a complete and utter waste of money that you’ve done in your marketing.”

“Pick your critical few marketing strategies and hit them hard and do them well.”

“Setting a plan for the year—now is the time to do it! We are just on the verge of a brand new year. If you’re not getting your plan together, you’re going to be halfway through the year and going, ‘what happened?’”

Snippets

Getting to know Xana (3:20)

Why you need a marketing plan (4:30)

Marketing research (8:31)

Simple metrics of marketing in dentistry (10:21)

How to set marketing goals (15:52)

How much of your production should come from new patients (18:10)

What KPI’s to track (20:32)

Tracking retention (22:45)

How much to spend on marketing (28:40)

Brand consistency (37:00)

Heat-mapping (38:20)

Biggest mistakes practices make in marketing (41:02)

Bio of Guest

Xaña Winans is Golden Proportions Marketing’s CEO, founder, resident visionary, and lead strategist. As one of the industry’s most sought-after dental marketing consultants, she collaborates with our team on a diverse group of clients to create strategic marketing solutions with measurable results. Her...