Maximizing Your Reach and Focusing Your Message – Digital Marketing Strategies for Dentists with Cancer Patients

This week, we continue our conversation with VBOSS founder and cancer survivor Lena Stoots about how dentists could most effectively communicate with their patients who need dental services but who are also undergoing cancer treatment. 

Specifically, I wondered if the right marketing plan for cosmetic dentists would be to direct messaging about available resources to a family member or caregiver, rather than to the patient themselves. 

LENA: I think it’s a great idea because how much do you ingest information on your own at a time like this? There’s so much to absorb and so much going on. Maybe there’s a spouse, or a sister, or a best friend who is helping them keep everything straight. As we talked about before, your doctor wants you to have your dental health in good shape before you start treatment, so there may be a cleaning or a crown or whatever that you need to take care of.  

That leads me to think about all the avenues where that kind of messaging might take place. The first thing that comes to mind is some sort of sponsored event, like a health fair, where a dentist could have a presence or a booth to share information. 

Another avenue might be a blog on your website that talks about any relevant experience you’ve had with your patients or something that details resources. A dentist might consider wellness check-in calls depending on the situation or relationship. I can imagine that some people would miss their dental appointments because they think it’s kind of a superfluous thing with so much else on their plate.

A lot of people don’t realize that a lot of dentists do screenings for oral cancer. It’s part of the treatment package. But certainly, dentists can help keep your teeth healthy in many other situations.

Certainly, a dentist’s general signage and website should be sure to include any appropriate messaging. I’ve talked about this before, but a dentist’s website is another member of their team. It also never has to take a sick day. Websites can and should be leveraged as communication mechanisms with the help of marketing plans for cosmetic dentists. 

The last thing dentists need to think about is giveaways. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, so that’s one time when many women are going for their annual mammogram and thinking about their health.

Something useful like a tote or branded chapstick is a way to let people know that you care and that you have a service to offer when needed. Donations to appropriate cancer non-profits, or maybe to the patient themselves, are a really impactful way to show your solidarity.

LENA: Maybe send a care basket with the miniature toothpaste and some other odds and ends. They very likely have sensitive teeth at the time of treatment. And I think fundraisers are a great idea if there’s a way to do a little bit of that because a lot of times we know that unfortunately, people will avoid going to the dentist because of a financial burden. It’s not something you want to avoid doing. If there’s like a scholarship or fundraisers that go towards helping cancer patients or even pointing their clientele in the direction of resources that could help a friend or family member. A little can go a long way. 

The phone call would be an amazing way to show you care. “How is it going? How are you doing? You know we didn’t, we didn’t see today. How are you feeling? Are you okay?” Knowing you are not a number but a person is really valuable to a cancer patient. 

I asked Lena if there was anything else from her experience that might teach others how to best approach those going through the cancer treatment journey. 

LENA: I would just say, you know, cancer is not the end of the world. It rocks your world as many other life-threatening things can. But we all have to push forward and everything can’t just be about the disease. We are a person, not a disease.

Mindset is so important during this journey. On the other side of it, I will say I’m more thankful on a regular basis than I ever have been. I got to get up today. That’s a good way to start off any day, you know?

Thank you to Lena for sharing more of your wisdom with us today on this important topic. There’s a lot for dentists to learn here, but there’s also a lot for us to learn as human beings.

As a dentist, if you want to get more dental clients, you can go for a cosmetic dentist marketing agency that can provide the best services.