The True Value of PPC Marketing

I have worked in a number of dental offices since 1995.  My “neck of the woods” here in Indiana is unique.  Your particular demographic ... well, it too ... bears its own unique brand of local market attitudes.  I can guarantee that my northern Indiana market exhibits far different demands than your particular market.  Each and every demographic sample is “stamped” with its own custom signature (common threads may exist but the commonalities of varying markets should never be the thrust and focus of any given marketing venture).  We want to craft a fitting message that is wholly focused on the unique desires of our own local area.  Bottom Line: Message trumps medium in every single instance.

The Real Question is This:  What should my message be?

The Wrong Question is This:  What kinds of marketing mediums have worked well for you?

Here's Something to Ponder:  All mediums ... yes ... will successfully engage certain segments of your local market if (and I do mean if) the message is wholly aligned with current market demands.  It is messaging that matters (medium, by far, is secondary and should never be the focus until messaging is wholly aligned with the sentiments of your very unique and local market).

1st Step:  Know your market. If you don’t know your market then ... you must ... yes, you must ... research it (pure and simple).  If you skip this step (and many dentists do) then all marketing endeavors are “hit and miss” at best.

Something Else to Ponder:  If something has worked for someone else then it was their message that had the greatest impact (the method or medium was a distant second in terms of impact … every single time this is the case … no exceptions).

Can I Throw a Message Out There and Be Successful:  Yes (this is possible but not very probable).  The timing of your message is also very critical.  The "right message at the right time" can be a “gold mine” of sorts.  You might get lucky (luck rarely, if ever, dictates our long-term success with anything in life).

One Other Item to Consider:  Specific messages can “fade” or die out as the need, wants, and desires of your local market begin to change (mainly impacted by shifting demographics).  Some dental messages are best suited for a particular season and/or location while other messages will serve you well for an indefinite period of time across a broad geographic spectrum (it all depends on your local market profile).

Real and substantial marketing endeavors don’t concern themselves with “hit and miss” ventures.  They also don’t concern themselves with the medium (remember: all mediums are valid in any given market if the message is sufficiently refined and wholly aligned with that of current market sentiment).  A little clarification is in order:  Some mediums serve dental practices very well (internal and/or referral marketing, online, direct mail, radio, and tv) but only in the sense that these mediums will best engage dental service seekers if/when the message is wholly refined and tuned to their immediate needs.  None of these mediums, on the other hand, would prove to be a worthwhile investment if the message were haphazardly crafted and deployed without sufficient polling of local market attitudes (again … it is the message that matters).

PPC Marketing Involves Far More Than Advertising:  I would never deploy a PPC campaign for the shallow purpose of promoting something.  Projecting my message to my little world via online advertising is wholly short-sighted and sorely lacking in strategy and scope. My pet message may or may not be what my little world is seeking (most likely not!).

The real value of PPC marketing lies in the polling capabilities of this very modern medium.  It has the very unique capability of gathering and capturing the response of your local dental seeker.  At the same time, it is also able to project a constantly evolving message that resonates with current market sentiment (this is the essence of any vital or credible marketing effort).  Your ultimate message is one that will project itself and, most importantly, adapt itself to the constantly changing demands of any given geographic region (adaptability is a key component).

Advertising vs Marketing:  Advertising is an exercise of the mouth (it shouts it’s message; this is the entire thrust of advertising ... and ... hopefully some of our shouted-at recipients will respond to our hyped-up soapbox).  Marketing, on the other hand, is an exercise of the ear (it listens and adapts its message accordingly).  Good businesses are constantly listening and adapting (there are lots of tools available for listening but I find that the polling features of PPC marketing are second to none).  Proper PPC deployment will listen and adapt its message accordingly.  A mature message is one that has fully engaged its audience (in fact, this same mature message might be deployed across a full spectrum of various mediums to broaden engagement value). This is the true sum of PPC marketing.

Bottom Line:  Get to know your local market thru modern PPC strategies.  Build your brand via solid marketing concepts that wholly include that “listening” component.  Build your message (and, ultimately, your brand) around that of current market demands.  Watch your business grow over time.

I hope this helps!

Wishing You the Best!
Steve

The Killing of Two Birds with One, Singular Stone

Please don't advertise.  Advertising is shotgun.  Advertising is shrapnel.  Advertising is guesswork.  It may hit something but, more often than not, the highly valued target is missed.  Meanwhile, additional resources must be mobilized in the desperate hope that something finally "hits" and justifies our foolish, hodgepodge adventure.

Instead, do marketing.  Marketing is a high-powered scope.  Marketing is a guided missile.  Marketing is high-level precision.  Marketing is strategy.  More often than not, a strategic marketing effort will isolate and capture your highly valued target (little, if any, collateral waste).

Marketing is also planning.  Strategic planning.  It is strategy (wholly based upon the value of strategic intelligence).  Real-time intelligence.  Intelligence compiled and organized so as to identify that which is "in demand" (again ... actionable data that is organized and systematized on a real-time platform).  That platform is the Google Ads platform (the king of local market data collection).

Google Ads, when properly systematized, is powerful.  It not only drives traffic but it also collects a wide variety of actionable intelligence.  More importantly, it's local intelligence.  It does two things very effectively.  Drives traffic (number one).  Collects data (number two).

Dentists need good, local intelligence.  Google Ads can be structured and organized so as to properly capture needed market data.  It is this kind of local market insight that can then be used for local market branding and local market messaging.  Again ... Google Ads does two things at once (when properly structured and properly organized).

Look no further than the Google Ads platform when trying to optimize your local prospecting efforts.  It's a powerful weapon and, yes, it "kills two birds with one stone."

Wishing You the Best!

Steve

Dental Marketing (The Gathering of Intelligence)

Many dentists believe that Google Ads are singularly and narrowly purposed.  Let's drive some traffic to my website (or, so they say).  Hopefully, in the end, some of this traffic will actually place a call to my office and all will be well.  Google Ads, quite honestly, is capable of a whole lot more!  Yes ... a well-written ad can drive a whole lot of traffic but, in the end, traffic is only the beginning!!

So then .... what "icing on the cake" benefits are available with a structured and properly organized Google Ads Account?  Please consider this next paragraph (and, keep in mind, these things are only the beginning):

Google Ads can also drive phone calls.  Google Ads can also drive data.  Google Ads can also drive strategy.  Google Ads can also drive references.  And ... Google Ads can also drive "intelligence" (again ... a properly structured account will systematically compile multiple "buckets" of data ... all of which can be studied and/or interpreted).  Actionable patterns emerge, of course (actionable intelligence is rendered).

Bottom Line:  Google Ads can be the foundation for an entire marketing strategy (local, actionable intelligence is by far the dominant feature of a well-rounded Google Ads campaign).  So ... are you beginning to see? ... it's not just the traffic!  Traffic is only the beginning!!

What is the key to all of this?  It all starts with proper structure, sound organization, and reliable systems.  These things are key!  Structure refers to geography (a physical location whereby your Google broadcast signal is disseminated into).  Organization refers to "stacking" (the hierarchical organization of various broadcast elements within a certain geographic context).  Systems are the "scoring" formulas (the rules by which all broadcast elements are either deemed viable/sustainable or impracticable/unsustainable).  This is the framework.  This is the foundational platform from which a Google Ads broadcast can ultimately survey or poll your captivated public.

That's it!  It's not rocket science (but there is a lot of science that governs and moderates the development of any given broadcast).  It's also not an auto-pilot consideration (there is a lot of involvement required).  Anyone can learn it!  Anyone can do it!!  But not everyone is predisposed toward patience and perseverance (invaluable traits when dealing with local market volatility and the added mix of stiff competition).

If local dental marketing is something that you feel might work for you (please don't hesitate to consider the myriad benefits of Google Ads Marketing).  A traffic enhancement ... yes ... and so much more!!

Wishing You the Best!
Steve

Google Ads and Local Market Surveillance

We do local dental marketing.  A prominent tool in our overall strategic arsenal has been the disciplined use of a Google Ads account.  Did you know that a properly structured Google Ads account is the best local surveillance tool ever invented?  Well ... yes ... I have to say ... without a doubt ... and once again I say emphatically yes ... Google Ads accounts are a marketing intelligence treasure (when properly structured so that data is strategically captured and organized).

Many dentists believe that Google Ads are primarily designed for a traffic boost to their website (and, yes, this is absolutely true).  Google Ads do, indeed, drive traffic (but this is only the beginning).  Google Ads can also drive phone calls.  Google Ads can drive data.  Google Ads can drive strategy.  Google Ads can drive references.  And ... Google Ads can do so much more (again ... when properly structured so that data is observantly captured and strategically organized).  Google Ads can be the foundation for an entire marketing strategy (if and when it is properly utilized).

If local dental marketing is something that you feel might work for you (please don't hesitate to consider the myriad benefits of Google Ads Marketing).  A traffic enhancement ... yes ... and so much more!!

Wishing You the Best in 2019
Steve