You may have heard that word-of-mouth is one of the most effective marketing tactics. Think about it — are you more likely to choose a business that a friend recommended or one that you stumbled across in an online search? 

Unfortunately, dentistry isn't a topic that often comes up naturally in conversation, so if you want to get people talking about your dental practice, you need to encourage that conversation strategically. 

Follow these word-of-mouth marketing tips to spread the word about your dental practice and benefit from the power of social proof to grow your practice. 

Why Is Word-of-Mouth Marketing So Effective? 

People naturally look to others to gauge how they should act and what decisions they should make about a brand or product. This concept, known as social proof, is the foundation of word-of-mouth marketing. 

Social proof encourages people to choose your dental clinic over the competition. When they see that people are talking about your dental practice, that you have positive reviews, or that even one of their friends or family members has shared their experience with your practice, they'll be more likely to choose your practice over others.

For dental practices, word-of-mouth marketing goes a step further by building a reliable, trustworthy image of your company. The dental industry often comes with a notion of fear and anxiety for patients, so they're looking for a practice they can trust to provide a friendly, comfortable experience. Hearing about your customer service from a friend or even someone who left an online review can instill that trust in your patient base. 

In the digital age, word-of-mouth isn't just having a conversation about a business. It also includes sharing about the product or service on digital platforms. Harnessing the power of word-of-mouth marketing can send your dental practice's patient load soaring and improve your profitability. 

Top Word-of-Mouth Marketing Tips for Dentists

Using these tips, you can encourage word-of-mouth marketing within your dental practice. 

Incentivize Patient Referrals

Patient referrals are a prime example of using word-of-mouth marketing to the fullest. When patients recommend your practice to their friends and family, they create a connection that strongly encourages their referrals to book with your practice. 

You can incentivize patient referrals through a referral program. While the structure of your program can vary, you'll want to reward the patient who refers their friend and offer some sort of incentive to the friend. For example, you could offer the existing patient a discount on their next cleaning and a discount on the new patient's first appointment. You could also create a Patient Loyalty Program and reward them with points they can use to redeem for prizes.

Encourage Online Reviews

Positive reviews are highly influential marketing tools that don't cost you a penny. But often, patients don't leave reviews of a practice unless they are specifically asked to do so, which is why having a review management solution in place is so important for your word-of-mouth marketing strategy. 

With Dental Intelligence, you can send automatic texts and emails to patients right after their appointments inviting them to leave Online Reviews of your practice on platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp. Patients who weren't satisfied with their service will have the option to send feedback directly to your practice rather than posting it online, reducing your potential for negative reviews. 

Boost Your Social Media Presence

Social media is the digital version of a town hall meeting and a gossip club in one. If you want to get people talking about your dental practice, you'll need to build a solid social media presence that encourages discussion. 

At the very least, your practice should have a presence on Facebook and Instagram to build connections with your patient base, invite feedback, and encourage referrals. You can use social media for word-of-mouth marketing in several ways, such as:

• Hosting giveaways that invite your customers to share your practice with friends
• Engaging with patients in the comments of your social media posts
• Offering fun activities, like coloring contests for kids
• Creating funny TikTok videos or Instagram Reels to keep your practice top of mind.

All of these actions can get people talking about your dental practice.

Provide Great Dental Care

Of course, providing exceptional dental care to patients can improve the chances of them sharing their experiences with others. But some patients just won't naturally want to talk about their dental appointment, even if they had amazing service. That's why the other strategies above are important for successful brand building and word-of-mouth marketing. 

Are you ready to get people talking about your dental practice? Request your Dental Intelligence demo today to learn how our practice management and digital marketing solutions can make encouraging customer reviews a breeze.