We all agree that every dental practice is unique. On top of that, every dental market is unique. Is your dental practice using the best marketing techniques to attract the younger demographic? Millennials are growing up and having families. They can turn into lifetime patients, so why not start bringing them in as new patients now?

 

Think Differently About Your Marketing Approach

Changes in technology have directly influenced how the millennial generation responds to marketing and sees the world in general. Reaching millennials through marketing can be challenging and different from what previous generations responded to.

What Exactly Is A Millennial?

• The generation that came after “Generation X”
• Someone born between 1982 and 2004
• The generation that will replace the “Baby Boomers” as they retire

 

If you search “what is the millennial generation” on Google, there are over 12 million results. That’s a lot of conversations taking place concerning this generation! According to market research, millennials generally have a love of new technology and are less affected by traditional marketing methods than previous generations...so how can you get them in the door of your dental practice as new patients?

Even more importantly, how can you keep them as patients for a lifetime?

 

5 Ways To Reach Millennials Using Dental Marketing

Use technology thoughtfully. Smartphones have officially taken over desktop computers as the #1 way to search online. Phones display information in a differently than traditional screens, so test your website to see if it measures up on mobile.

Action Step: Make your website mobile-friendly! The majority of millennials (and other generations too) will be viewing your site on their phone. If it doesn’t work well on a mobile device or just doesn’t look good in that format, the odds of attracting a new patient greatly decrease.

Post regularly on your practice’s social media accounts. Even just one quick Tweet or Facebook post per day will keep your followers engaged without overwhelming them with constant information. It has the added benefit of showing potential patients that you care about your overall online presence.

Statistic Of The Week: According to a study reported by Dental Economics, “90% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 say that they would trust medical information shared by people on their social media networks. Furthermore, 60% of social media users are more likely to trust posts by medical professionals than posts made by any other group.”

Be visual with social media. Don’t just tell potential patients you’re the best dental practice in your area, show them! Millennials are incredibly visual-oriented and respond to photo and graphic-enhanced posts more than just simple text.

Be authentic! Millennials are hungry for businesses that add value to their lives. They can see through cookie-cutter advertisements with dental terms they don’t understand.

Pro Tip: Focus on education when attracting millennials to your dental office. Use your online advertising to tell them why visiting your office for preventative care is important. Use blogs, videos and social media content to do the job and provide resources positioning yourself as an expert.

Engage with your community. The millennial generation is generally very community-focused and making sure your practice is a trusted part of your community is vital.

Action Step: Look into community events where your practice could take part and directly connect with millennials. Are there any local race for charity events that are important to your community? What about having staff participate in a monthly volunteer day at a local shelter or other worthy cause?

Find out exactly how Dr. Adrian Huang was able to market directly to millennials and increase his practice’s new patient flow rate by 58% in just 4 months!!

CLICK HERE For The FREE Case Study

A common concern among millennials is the cost of dental work. Many are students, don’t have dental insurance or have young families and are worried about how to handle the expense of dental procedures they see as optional.

There are several ways to speak to those concerns, the first is by offering creative financing options.

 

The second way to address financial concerns millennials have is through education. Clearly communicating the value of preventative exams and procedures to this demographic is vital. Using simple infographics can help this generation grasp the importance of investing in their dental health over time.

Building trust within your local community through online reviews, community participation, and providing sound financial options for services will help establish you as an expert millennials can trust. By building on that foundation, you lay the groundwork to keep new millennial patients for life and turn them into those high-quality patients your practice needs.

It won’t happen immediately, but your dental practice needs to think about ways to attract millennials, even if your in-house specialties are geared toward older patients. Millennials will be those older patients before we know it and by showing them you “speak their language” now, you’ll set your practice up to serve their generation for decades to come.

Find out exactly how Dr. Adrian Huang with Ninth East Dental was able to connect with their millennial population and increase their number of new patients from 69 to 109 per month!

CLICK HERE For The FREE Case Study