Marketing for dental and medical practices
A private practice has two marketing jobs that most businesses only have one of: winning new patients, and keeping the ones it has coming back on schedule. The second is worth more and costs less, and it is the one most practices leave to chance.
Covers Dentists, orthodontists, physical therapy, chiropractic, dermatology, optometry, med spas.
How customers find you
The first job is decided on Google Maps and in the reviews. Someone new to town types "dentist near me", looks at three listings, reads the most recent reviews, and books with the one that looks finished and answers the phone. The second job is a recall system: reminders, reactivation and a reason to come back that arrives before the patient forgets you.
- 01Google Maps
"Dentist near me" and "physical therapy [city]" are map searches first. Category, reviews and photos decide the click.
- 02Insurance directories and referrals from other providers
Still a large share of new patients; the referred patient checks reviews before booking.
- 03Recall and reactivation
Existing patients who fell off the schedule are the cheapest "new" appointments a practice can book.
- 04Google search ads
Works for specific, higher-value services (implants, Invisalign, med-spa treatments) with a landing page per service.
- 05Word of mouth and social proof
Families and coworkers; a real photo of the team and an easy booking link convert them.
What to fix first
They cost almost nothing, they work within weeks, and every later decision gets easier once they are in place.
Finish the profile and get reviews flowing
The right primary category, every service listed, real photos of the office and team, and a review ask at checkout with a direct link. Answer every review without confirming anyone is a patient.
Make booking take one tap
Online scheduling or a text-back for missed calls. A practice that answers within minutes fills the chair that another practice's voicemail lost.
Build the recall system
Reminders on a schedule, a reactivation sequence for anyone 60 days overdue, and a reason to return that is about the patient, not the practice.
Numbers to know
Only the figures an article on this site cites a source for. Your own numbers beat any of them, which is what the tools are for.
Firms that replied within an hour were about seven times as likely to qualify a lead as those that waited an hour longer (Harvard Business Review).
Return per dollar spent on email across industries (Litmus). Recall and reactivation are where a practice sees it.
No category benchmark on this site fits every practice. Use the calculator with your case value and close rate.
What works
- A Google Business Profile that is truly finished, with weekly photos and answered reviews
- A service page per treatment people search for, with price ranges where you can state them
- Recall and reactivation sequences by text and email, written like a person
- A review system at checkout with a direct link, handled within privacy rules
- Search ads for a small number of high-value services, each with its own landing page and tracked number
What to skip
- Generic health-tips blog posts that nobody in your town searched for
- Boosted posts and awareness spend with no booking to trace back to them
- Discount-led new-patient offers that fill the schedule with patients who never return
- Replying to reviews with anything that confirms a patient relationship or a treatment
The system
Build them in this order, one at a time, and automate only after the manual version works.
- 01
Capture
Every inquiry and booking recorded with its source; tracked numbers on the profile, the ads and each directory.
- 02
Book
Online scheduling, a text-back for missed calls, and a same-hour reply to every form.
- 03
Prove
The review ask at checkout, a direct link, a careful reply to every review within a week.
- 04
Recall
Reminders, reactivation and a yearly note to every patient, on a schedule nobody has to remember.
Run your numbers
Free, no email, and every result has a link you can send.
Asked by owners like you
The short versions. Anything else, put it in the message.
Yes. Asking every patient is fine; what you cannot do is reply in a way that confirms someone is a patient or discusses their care, offer incentives that review platforms prohibit, or select only happy patients to ask. Ask everyone at checkout with a direct link, and keep every reply generic and warm.
The review systemGo deeper
Other businesses
Let's talk
Tell me what's going on with your marketing. I'll reply within a business day, and we'll find the constraint together on a 30-minute call. No pitch, no deck.