Working on the local consumer advertising side of the dental implant industry, I understand the barrier of finding financially qualified leads. This procedure is still young, and consumers are simply uneducated on the cost parameters. Once they see the high out-of-pocket cost, they have to ask themselves how much they would pay to smile proudly again, eat apples and steak, speak confidently, and eliminate the stigma of dentures going in the sock drawer at night. What is the price tag on quality of life?

The New York Times posted a good article on this topic on July 29 - read it here.

As Lesley Alderman writes in this story, insurance typically only covers up to $1,500. When a single implant procedure runs $3,000 minimum and full-arch implants start at $20,000, you can imagine the sticker shock experience for a consumer who just wants to eat steak again.

Based on our experience, the best prospect-to-patient conversion rates in dental implant marketing happen as a result of public education seminars and our local media buying experts have given clients great results by recommending advertising in newspapers. It turns out to be a key medium for the target of this specific marketing campaign with these demographics (female in house, 55+, household income of $75,000+).

We worked with a dental implant center in Boise that ran their third public education seminar last night. They had 21 attendees, of whom 17 had missing teeth (the other 4 were supportive spouses). Not bad for two hours of the surgeons' evening! These were These attendees scheduled personal consultations on the spot, and when they walk into their appointments, they will have a solid understanding of the benefits and costs of available procedures.

If you are interested to learn how Balihoo's dental marketing arm can provide local marketing ideas to benefit your business, contact us: www.dentalmarketing.balihoo.com.