As a dental practitioner, do you know who the ideal patient is for your dental practice? Without knowing this personally, it is hard for your marketing agency to choose the perfect marketing solution to drive the growth of your practice. Let’s look at defining target markets so you can choose your niche.

The Dental Patient Market

The global dental patient market is segmented into many sectors, but the top three that the USA dental industry benefits from are:

• Baby Boomers
• Millennials
• Moms 

Each sector has its own attributes and needs which require tailored marketing approaches and nurturing.

The Baby Boomers

This segment is traditionally retired but is not as sedentary as their ancestors. Health and aesthetics are important and disposable income is available, albeit more cautiously spent. They are interested in elective and cosmetic procedures, but their conservative financial attitude means that a payment option plan will send their engagement soaring. 

Note: Baby Boomers are not Luddites. Their generation is online more than in front of a TV and is the fastest growing demographic on Facebook. 

The Millennials

This market segment will soon outnumber the Baby Boomers, and while you might think of them as pimpled, disinterested teenagers, you might be wrong. In fact, you might be a Millennial dentist practitioner reading this article right now because the earliest Millennials are celebrating their 36th birthday now. 

Millennials are a very attractive market segment, but you need to be digitally astute. They will make sweeping judgments based on your ‘digital office’ online. Have a mobile-friendly website with online appointment features and a chatbot. Automate review requests for after bookings as reviews will fill your sales funnel and the lack thereof will make it hard to fill that funnel.

The Moms (And Dads)

Moms are usually the homefront healthcare managers, even if they are high-powered executives (and many are millennials). Whoever is the lead healthcare parent in the family will monitor the family’s dental health and run a tight schedule, so convenience is very important.

Online booking, waiting room Wi-Fi, no appointment delays, and after-hour appointment times will be very attractive to this rich source of income. Standard dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, and value-add products will all be on their priority list.

Conclusion

Each person is different from the next, so the above overviews are only guidelines but help you narrow down quickly from the entire market size. By focusing on developing strong verbal skills, in-practice technology & automation, payment plan options, and superior customer service, you will be ahead of the market immediately.

Read about our commitment to growing the dental industry and contact eLaunchers for a free first consultation!