BrightSmiles Dental
BrightSmiles Dental had been running their own Facebook and Google ads for nearly a year, but results had plateaued. They relied heavily on word-of-mouth and sporadic referrals, and while their loyal patients loved them, new patient flow was unpredictable.
Problem
Inconsistent new patient bookings
They’d see a rush some months, then gaps on the calendar the next.
Generic ad campaigns
Their Google Ads were built with broad keywords like “dentist near me,” but without proper targeting or retargeting, they were wasting ad spend on people outside their service area.
Weak follow-up system
Patients would inquire through forms or DMs but never book because no one followed up quickly. There was no automation or email sequence in place.
Lack of recall reminders
Patients weren’t getting gentle nudges to come in for their 6-month cleanings, leading to a slow drift of inactive patients.
DIY overload
The office manager was juggling front-desk work and trying to run their marketing tools, and she was burnt out.
Solution
Audit of Competition Marketing Efforts
The inconsistent patient bookings and the marketing plateau make me think that one the messaging needs to be clearer and varied to not get stale, and that it’s possible competitors are straight up outmarketing them
With that being said, I’d want to see what the competitors marketing strategy looks like and compare it to how we want the brand messaging to stand out amongst them
Clear messaging and CTA (call to action) across digital ads
The budget for these would depend on how aggressive the office wanted to be. My recommendations are:
Minimum: $500–$1,000/month
Healthy: $1,500–$3,000/month
Aggressive: $3,000–$5,000/month
Ads would include…
General Appointment Scheduling
Promotional Sales
Lifestyle (feeling good in your smile)
Nurture Past Patients & SMS/Email Automation appointment reminders & follow ups
With issues around rescheduling appointments, the main thing that needs to be addressed is the lack of automation including SMS and email
With the follow ups being addressed, we would still need to focus on getting the past patient back in for their 6 month cleanings. That requires nurturing the patient while they are gone with other content to fuel the relationship and keep dental top of mind when the time comes. This would mainly be focused on email.
Nurturing emails would include…
At home care
General whitening appointment promotion
Healthy Habits for Kids
Back to school cleaning, New Years cleaning/whitening, etc.
Community connection & events
Office updates
Promotional emails for gaining appointments
There is also a great referral system already in place, so we can use that strength to expand the patient base even more with email and SMS promotions of the system.
