{"id":1913,"date":"2021-06-25T16:08:21","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T16:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tntdental.com\/blog\/?p=1913"},"modified":"2021-06-25T16:08:21","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T16:08:21","slug":"how-to-build-a-dental-practice-marketing-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tntdental.com\/blog\/how-to-build-a-dental-practice-marketing-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Secrets of How Top 10% Dental Practices Build Their Marketing Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"The key to a successful dental practice is getting good patients… but that doesn\u2019t just organically happen. You have a role to play, and that often includes a solid marketing strategy.When you\u2019re building your dental practice’s marketing budget, you know your primary goal is to get new patients. Based on TNT Dental’s experience working with the top dental practices in the nation, your practice should ideally average around $100 per patient in marketing dollars<\/strong>. For instance, building your marketing campaign around referrals should cost about $10 a patient, whereas using direct mail runs about $300 per patient. In the end, averaging about $100 spent to get each new patient in the chair.<\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re aiming for about 40 new patients a month and going referral-heavy, your marketing budget will come to about $4,000. According to the ADA, each new patient is worth about $1,800. So, when you consider your ROI and the fact you can get about $72,000 of value at the low cost of $4,000, it\u2019s a no-brainer on how to market for your patients! <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

If you remember from some of our previous articles<\/a>, you have lots of ways you can spend your marketing budget to get new patients.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Existing Dental Patient Referrals<\/h2>\n

\"DentalFrom our experience, about 50% of dentists\u2019 new patients come from referrals<\/strong>, so in our previous example of getting 40 new patients a month, most dentists are averaging 20 new patients from referrals alone.<\/p>\n

Your referrals <\/strong>should be costing you about $10 per patient<\/strong> = $200 out of your marketing budget<\/strong>. You can ask for referrals by offering contests, sending emails, and writing thank you notes to your existing patients. Just remember, the best way to complement these efforts is through offering the best patient experience possible. When your current patients receive top-notch care, it encourages them to bring their friends and family to you!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Organic Search from Google<\/h2>\n

\"\"This is all about landing on the first page of Google search results. Typically, dentists get about six patients out of 40 through organic search<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now, doing what it takes to get on that first page of Google will set you back about $100 to $150 a patient<\/strong>, coming to roughly $600 to $900 out of your marketing budget a month<\/strong>. If you\u2019re in a competitive market of over 100,000 residents or more, you could be looking at investing upwards of $1,000 a month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Community Involvement<\/h2>\n

\"DentistOn average, dentists get about four new patients<\/strong> through community engagement and events. This will run you a little over $300 per patient<\/strong>, so you can assume roughly $1,200 to $1,250 a month<\/strong> out of your marketing budget will go to supporting this effort.<\/p>\n

Remember though, the goal of holding community events is to show support for your community AND get patients. Here are some things to consider when building your community events:<\/p>\n