Article Written By: barbara_davis2525@yahoo.com
Inasmuch as dental marketing is a reference to the marketing of dental products, it presents no major challenges (since these are products that can be advertised like any other). It does get a little tricky when it gets to the sorts of dental products that are only used by dentists in their clinics. For the others that people can buy 'over the counter and proceed without specialist supervision, ordinary advertising strategies, which target the 'mass markets would work just as well. Dental practitioners (with the exception of those in cosmetic dentistry) are, like all other medical practitioners, not allowed to engage in open advertisement of their services. But, as all properly trained marketers will tell you, there is considerably much more to marketing than advertising – as we will soon see.Generally, the idea is about showing the targeted audience how the dental products in question can be of help to them, and having succeeded in passing that message along, going on to show them why the particular brand being advertised is better than others. It is a common practice for manufacturers of dental products (and equipment) which are only meant for use by the dentists, to send out marketing representatives to the clinics. Sometimes, they may present the dentists with free samples of the products, as well as things like branded pens, branded prescription books, branded coats and so on – the idea being to try and firmly etch their brand names into the dentists minds.What usually needs to be done in a situation like that is look at the wider picture of marketing, beyond advertising. This is like where the four Ps of marketing are deployed. With regard to the first P, which stands for product, the dental practitioner keeps on offering quality service (which is naturally expected of him), but then goes a step further to show genuine concern and kindness to his patients. Done consistently, this breeds a reputation for the said practitioner, as word of mouth about his dedication, care and kindness spread. With regard to placement, we have dental practitioners being advised to ensure that their clinics are located strategically, where people can actually see them. When people experience dental problems, they tend to try and recall where they usually see dental clinics and head there (meaning that if yours is a clinic people see frequently, they will turn to it at the crucial hour of need). Turning to the third P, which is promotion, the dental practitioner may consider organizing and running frequent free dental service clinics and dental health awareness seminars. On those, they can go on to offer simple services such as dental check-ups, and in the process make people aware of their existence and the services they offer. With regard to the fourth P, which is pricing, the dental practitioner would endeavor to ensure that his or her services are reasonably priced; both in absolute terms and relative to other (nearby) practitioners.
This Article Has Been Published on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 and Read 123 Times