The 7 Ps of Orthodontic Marketing

If you’ve ever taken a marketing class, you’ve likely heard of the 4 Ps of marketing – product, price, promotion and place. In recent years, these building blocks have been expanded to add packaging, positioning and people into the mix. As patients and their needs change rapidly, you must continuously revisit these seven Ps to make sure you’re getting the best results possible from your marketing program.

Product

Look at your products and services as if you are an independent marketing consultant. Are your current products and services right for your patients? Do you offer any that no longer make sense? How do you differentiate your products and services to stand out clearly from your competitors?  

Price

To thrive in an ever-changing market, you need to carefully consider your prices. Do they align with today’s market? Is your business profitable? 

Consider the costs and resources that go into making your products available. Can you achieve the same – or even better – results by raising or lowering your prices, or using different providers for the products or services you offer? Special offers or promotions may make your prices far more attractive to existing and potential patients.

Promotion

Companies across the globe frequently try various ways to promote their business. As a smart business owner, you must constantly develop new approaches and strategies to stay ahead of your competition.

However, you often don’t need to completely overhaul your marketing strategy. Sometimes, even the smallest of changes can lead to dramatic results. Simple tactics – like changing the headline in one of your ads – can immediately jumpstart your business!  

Place

There’s a saying about finding people where they are. While you can sell your products or services in so many ways, from direct sales to telemarketing and much, much more, the key is really finding what resonates most with your patients, right where they’re at. That’s why it’s so critical to determine the best mix that makes it simple for your patients to find and choose you. 

Packaging

It takes only 30 seconds to make an impression. Think about every single visual element a patient sees when dealing with your practice, including your waiting room, your office environment, your marketing material or your website. Everything counts, and it all tells the story why a patient should feel confident with you. 

Positioning

 Positioning focuses on how your patients think and feel about you. What specific words would people use to describe you and your services to their friends and family?

Think of where you want to be, then consider what changes you may need to make in the way you interact with your patients. What steps do you need to take to be viewed as the very best choice for your current and future patients?

People

This one may seem easy, but most business owners focus so much on all the other elements of their marketing strategy that they often forget the people at the core of their business. Your ability to select, recruit, hire and retain the right people with the right skills and abilities to do the job is more important than everything else.

 

Does your practice marketing adhere to the 7 Ps orthodontic marketing? If not, Ortho Sales Engine would be happy to help make any necessary changes to grow your new patient list.