Marketing doesn’t work. At least, not on its own.

Time and again, we’ll hear dentists say, ‘I’ve tried marketing – it doesn’t work.’ We’ve also seen many, many practices jump into marketing with high hopes, expecting instant results. But a new website or a few ads on social media or Google will never generate a tidal wave of new patients immediately. Those tools are powerful, but they can only be one side of the equation.

The truth? Marketing is only as good as the partnership behind it.

Really, this is a matter of culture. If a practice team isn’t engaged, responsive, and aligned with your marketing strategy and tactics, even the best campaigns will underperform. In contrast, when both sides – your marketing agency and your team – commit to working together, something powerful happens: growth that’s steady, measurable, and sustainable.

The myth of a “plug and play” service

There’s a common misconception that marketing is a convenient plug-and-play service – that once you hire an agency, the hard work is over and the results will effortlessly roll in (presumably, while you sit back with a cocktail and count your stacks of money).

But real growth doesn’t come from handing over your marketing and hoping for the best. It comes from collaboration, feedback, and a shared commitment to the same goals.

Because here’s the reality:

• No campaign can fix poor follow-up or a lack of communication;
• And no ad will work long-term without testing, tweaking, and honest input from your team.

Successful marketing doesn’t come about through magic; it’s a matter of chemistry. Or, to put it more plainly: teamwork.

Marketing isn’t a product – it’s a partnership

This teamwork underpins everything else that follows. When a partnership works, your chosen agency will add strategy, tactics, creative direction, and performance optimisation, while your practice brings industry knowledge, responsiveness, and a finger on the pulse of what patients need. Together, these elements make a recipe for growth.

Here’s what we’ve seen work best:

• Timely input on creative, ad copy, and landing pages;
• A commitment to contributing bespoke photography, sourced reviews and testimonials;
• A speedy response to patient enquiries, especially for high-intent services like implants or Invisalign, where patients are less keen to wait;
• A plan for following up if you’re not able to reach the enquirer at the first attempt. This may involve testing different formats to find which work best (for instance, email, voice notes, WhatsApp, calling);
• Active communication between agency and team, so that everyone knows what’s working, what’s not, and what’s changing in the business.

Success isn’t just about budget – it’s about commitment

Of course, budget matters. After all, you’re never going to create the Blackpool Illuminations with 50p in the meter. But what matters more is your willingness to engage in the process.

We’ve worked with practices that started out with small budgets but were able to grow steadily through being hands-on, proactive, and collaborative. As they converted more leads, they invested more money, and so they continued on a healthy track. Yet we’ve also seen well-funded campaigns stall because the internal team didn’t respond to leads or failed to follow up with patients properly.

So… Marketing momentum builds with consistency, alignment, and trust.

Is your practice ready to sell itself?

If you think you’re ready to invest – both money and time – in your marketing, start by asking yourself:

• Are you (and your team) prepared to follow up on leads quickly?
• Can someone respond to an agency’s questions or approvals in a timely way?
• Are you willing to give and take feedback, even when it’s constructive?
• Do you see your agency as a partner, not just a service provider?

If the answer is yes, marketing can absolutely deliver real, lasting growth for your practice.

Build a plan, incorporating the right channels

When you’re ready to commit, you can start building a clear, focused plan that aligns with your business goals, your patient base, and your capacity.

With these things in mind, not every channel can be “the one”. We often see dental practices mistakenly gambling everything on just one channel, or scattering their efforts across too many platforms without understanding what’s driving results. Equally, we’ll see practices stating that they simply want to increase patient numbers, when what they actually want is more patients of a specific type.

Instead, effective marketing starts by asking:

• What are we trying to achieve? For instance, are we looking for more Invisalign leads, do we want to increase new general patients, or are we seeking to boost visibility for implants?
• Who are we trying to reach? Where do they live, and what do we know about them (target audience insights)?
• Where are they spending their time online?
• What is the competition doing? Can we find gaps to focus on, or learn from their successes?

From this, we can select the right channels to target these goals, audiences and areas. For example:

• Google Ads is ideal for high-intent services – where people are actively searching for solutions and are often ready to take action like looking for a new dentist, seeking emergency dental care, implants, or Invisalign.
• Local SEO ensures you show up in map packs and nearby searches, building credibility and driving foot traffic.
• Paid social campaigns (on Facebook or Instagram) work well for raising awareness of your brand, offers, targeting interest-based audiences, or retargeting warm leads.
• Email marketing helps nurture enquiries and re-engage existing patients when they’re ready.
• Landing pages convert traffic more effectively by focusing on one clear message and call to action.

With the right mix – and a strong foundation of tracking and reporting – you can start building and making data-led decisions.

Could this be the start of something?

Despite the myths and misconceptions, marketing really isn’t magic – it’s strategy, execution, and most importantly, partnership.

So, don’t market your dental practice unless you’re ready to commit. But if you are, we’d love to help you do it the right way. Request a free marketing review call and let’s talk about how we can help your practice grow – together.