Here’s a paradox: Potential dental implant patients who are the most eager to accept treatment are also often some of the hardest to market to.
Why? Because those patients live in retirement communities and may not spend much time online.
Retirees tend to need implants at a higher rate than any other age group. And they also have enough wealth to make treatment accessible.
But if they don’t know you can help them, they’re never going to walk through your doors.
How do you square this circle?
Try Old-School Tactics Like Events
One of the best ways to reach retirees is by augmenting your digital marketing campaign with something much more old-fashioned: in-person events.
If this sounds like a strategy that died in the 90s, yes. But so often, what seems outdated eventually comes back around, one way or another.
Here, the strategy is simple. Reach out to local retirement communities near your practice and ask if you can lead an educational seminar about the benefits of dental implants.
You’ll probably have to pay a fee for the event room and we also suggest offering a raffle for a free implant to encourage people to attend. But get 30 potential implant patients in a room and you might end up with five or more starts — a major return for a few hours of your time.
Boost Your Attendance With Print Ads
Of course, you’ll need to get people to show up to your seminar. Building it doesn’t mean they’ll automatically come.
The solution? Try placing an ad in the retirement community’s own newspaper.
Many retirement homes have their own in-house paper or newsletter. And they sell ad space!
Take out a full-pager to promote your implant event. Mention your raffle (if you’re offering one) and otherwise focus your ad on the benefits and quality of life improvements implants can provide.
Never Forget the Importance of Relationships
Finally, we’ll end with a bit of general life advice that is especially relevant to implant dentistry: everything comes down to relationships.
Even well-heeled seniors who could genuinely benefit from implants may not jump on board immediately. While you might get some consults and starts quickly following a seminar, you may also need to take time to nurture your relationships with other leads.
Ideally, get interested leads on the phone within a week or two of meeting them at an event. If they’re hesitant to come into a consult, put them in a drip email campaign and check back every 20-30 days.
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