Dental health services help every individual protect and improve their oral and dental health by offering various treatment options aimed at different age groups and needs. In that context, defining the audiences is critically important for developing effective marketing strategy around their interests, problems, needs and expectations. Collecting and analysing the audience's feedback also plays an important role in continuous improvement and in increasing customer satisfaction in dental hospital marketing. In this article we will look at the characteristics and needs of different audiences for dental treatment — children, teenagers, middle-aged and older people — and, based on that information, explore effective marketing and communication methods.
What is in this article?
- What Could an Example Audience for Dental Hospital Advertising Be?
- What Are the Audience's Characteristics?
- What Are the Audience's Interests?
- What Are the Audience's Problems?
- What Could the Audience's Needs and Expectations Be?
- What Could the Audience's Communication Channels Be?
- The Stage of Collecting and Analysing Feedback From the Audience
What Could an Example Audience for Dental Hospital Advertising Be?
Children (aged 6–12):
Audience: parents, mothers and fathers in particular. Primary focus: dental health education, care of milk teeth, regular dentist visits and orthodontic assessments.
Teenagers (aged 13–18):
Teenagers and their parents. Primary focus: orthodontic treatment, regular dentist visits, dental health education and teeth whitening services.
Middle-aged (aged 19–59):
Audience: adult individuals and families. Primary focus: dental cleaning, teeth whitening, filling and crown treatment, cosmetic dental treatment, dental implants, periodontal care and regular dentist visits.
Older people (aged 60 and over):
Audience: older individuals and care providers. Primary focus: dentures, dental implants, periodontal care, regular dentist visits and dental care at home.
What Are the Audience's Characteristics?
Children (aged 6–12):
Demographic: parents (aged 25–45), generally at middle and upper income levels. Geographic: the city and surrounding areas where the clinic or dental practice is located. Psychographic: parents who value their children's dental health, who are informed and open to health education. Behavioural: parents who make regular dentist visits, invest in dental health products and take care over their children's dental care.
Teenagers (aged 13–18):
Demographic: teenagers and their parents (aged 35–55), at middle and upper income levels. Geographic: the city and surrounding areas where the clinic or dental practice is located. Psychographic: teenagers and parents who give weight to aesthetics and dental health, who are informed and open to health education. Behavioural: teenagers and their parents who make regular dentist visits, show interest in orthodontic treatment and take care over dental care.
Middle-aged (aged 19–59):
Demographic: adult individuals and families, generally at middle and upper income levels. Geographic: the city and surrounding areas where the clinic or dental practice is located. Psychographic: adults who give weight to dental health and aesthetics, who are informed and open to health education. Behavioural: adults who make regular dentist visits, invest in dental health products and take care over dental care.
Older people (aged 60 and over):
Demographic: older individuals, generally retired or working part time and at middle and upper income levels. Geographic: the city and surrounding areas where the clinic or dental practice is located. Psychographic: older individuals who give weight to dental health and quality of life, who are informed and open to health education. Behavioural: regular dentist visits, investing in dental health products.
What Are the Audience's Interests?
Parents (with children aged 6–12):
- Children's education and development
- Family activities and quality time
- Children's health and nutrition
- Hobbies and sports activities suitable for children
- Parenting and family relationships
- Work and family life balance
- The family budget and ways of saving
Teenagers (aged 13–18):
- Social media and digital platforms
- Music, film and television
- Fashion and beauty
- Sport and social events
- Friends and social relationships
Parents (with children aged 13–18):
- Adolescence and child development
- Teenagers' education and academic success
- Communication within the family and strategies for coping with adolescence
- Hobbies and sports activities suitable for teenagers
- Teenagers' health, nutrition and lifestyle habits
- Quality time with teenagers and family activities
- University and career planning
Middle-aged (aged 19–59):
- Work and career
- Family and children
- Travel and holidays
- Home and lifestyle
- Health and fitness
- Cultural and arts events
Older people (aged 60 and over):
- Retirement and leisure activities
- Travel and trips
- Family and grandchildren
- Health and quality of life
- Hobbies and handicrafts
- Social events and clubs
What Are the Audience's Problems?
- Struggling to develop their children's dental health habits
- A lack of information about the eruption of milk teeth and permanent teeth
- Difficulty managing children's fears and anxieties
- Uncertainty about finding the right dentist and treatment
- Changes and neglect in teenagers' dental health habits during adolescence
- A lack of information about the right timing and options for orthodontic treatment
- Aesthetic concerns and demand for teeth whitening services
- Teenagers' reluctance and fear towards dentist visits
Middle-aged (aged 19–59):
- Common dental health problems such as tooth sensitivity, decay and gum problems
- Aesthetic concerns: teeth whitening, filling and crown treatment
- A lack of information about tooth loss and implant options
- A tendency to overlook the importance of regular dentist visits
Older people (aged 60 and over):
- A lack of information about tooth loss and denture options
- Gum disease and the need for periodontal care
- A lack of awareness about the relationship between dental health and general health
- Dental care at home and the special care requirements of older people
What Could the Audience's Needs and Expectations Be?
As you build your digital marketing strategy you can communicate with the audience more effectively by offering solutions and informative content aimed at these needs. By taking the audience's needs into account and offering services that meet them, you can become a trusted, preferred dental health provider.
- A child-friendly dentist and clinic environment
- Dental health education and awareness-building for children
- Preventing and treating dental problems that start at an early age
- A low-stress dentist experience that is comfortable for children
- Orthodontic treatment options suitable for teenagers
- Education and awareness on dental health and aesthetics
- Methods that will protect and encourage teenagers' dental health habits
- A low-stress dentist experience that is comfortable for teenagers
Middle-aged (aged 19–59):
- Regular dental check-ups and professional cleaning services
- Education and awareness on good oral hygiene
- Cosmetic dental treatment, filling and crown options
- Prevention of dental health problems and early diagnosis
Older people (aged 60 and over):
- Information and support about tooth loss and denture options
- Dental care and periodontal treatment suitable for older people
- Education on the relationship between dental health and general health
- A dentist offering special care and services suited to older people's needs
What Could the Audience's Communication Channels Be?
Parents (with children aged 6–12 and 13–18):
- Social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn
- Email marketing: regular newsletters containing content and promotions
- Blogs and educational content: articles focusing on children's dental health and parenting
- Your website: a well-designed, user-friendly and informative website
- WhatsApp and SMS: appointment reminders and special offers
- Community events and sponsorships: school and family-focused events
Middle-aged (aged 19–59):
- Social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn
- Blogs and educational content: articles on dental health and cosmetic treatment
- Local events and sponsorships: health and fitness events, business and networking events
Older people (aged 60 and over):
- Social media platforms: Facebook and LinkedIn
- Blogs and educational content: articles focusing on dental health and care for older people
- Community events and sponsorships: health and social events run for older people
The Stage of Collecting and Analysing Feedback From the Audience
Decide on your feedback collection methods:
- Customer satisfaction surveys
- Social media comments and messages
- Online review platforms such as Google and Yelp
- Feedback received by email or phone
- Interviews or surveys carried out after clinic visits
Collect feedback regularly:
- Make the feedback collection process part of your business
- Decide on the right timing for asking customers for feedback (e.g. after treatment, before they leave the clinic)
Analyse the feedback collected:
- Identify the common points and tendencies in the feedback
- Separate positive and negative feedback and evaluate your strengths and weaknesses
- Prioritise the critical feedback that offers opportunities for improvement
Build and apply action plans:
- Produce solutions to the problems that emerge from the feedback analysis
- Build a process for following the actions identified for improvement and measuring their results
- As improvement is delivered, track the increase in customer satisfaction
Keep the feedback loop going:
- Keep collecting feedback and continuing the improvement process
- Set KPIs (key performance indicators) to measure and track customer satisfaction
- If you want to attract more patients, generate more leads and increase your profit, paid social media advertising should be an indispensable part of your health industry advertising programme. Work with a healthcare marketing agency like DijitalPi to make your life easier and more profitable.
