Aligning an Orthodontics Practice with Its Target Customers

Overview

Socius helped Coastline Orthodontics rise to the top of local search results. They doubled their website traffic and nearly tripled their number of new patients per month since 2016 when they started working with Socius Marketing.

Background

Coastline Orthodontics, a Jacksonville, Florida practice, currently has four locations. It has successfully treated more than 30,000 patients since 1985. Dr. Brad Mokris and his team provide patients with metal and clear braces, Invisalign, and other orthodontic treatments.

The Problem: A Marketing Strategy That Was Perfect—for the 1990s

Before partnering with Socius, Coastline Orthodontics had a website, Yellow Pages digital ads, and an SEO consultant. The SEO consultant didn’t even provide reporting. As a result, most of their marketing happened offline. Referrals from other dentists and community event appearances were the only real outreach they had. The situation frustrated Dr. Mokris.

He wanted the practice to reach its full potential. Mokris explained, “I had just joined the practice and saw that they weren’t really doing any marketing in the digital realm. It was frustrating to see because I knew they were only hitting a small fraction of the potential that they could be getting if they started doing digital marketing.”

Since most of its new patients came from referrals, the practice depended heavily on local goodwill. Before Socius came on board, many of those referrals dried up. That signaled it was time for a change.

In his previous solo practice, Dr. Mokris had consulted with a Socius representative. Though he didn’t have the budget for digital marketing services then, the meeting impressed him. When a colleague mentioned Socius, Mokris remembered that encounter. He knew Coastline’s challenges gave him the perfect chance to bring Socius on board.

It took Mokris some time to convince his colleagues of digital marketing’s advantages. However, Coastline finally took the plunge. Then, the Socius team got to work. First, Socius’ experts hunted for the right keywords to optimize Coastline’s website for local searches. Then, they made the practice’s website easier for patients to navigate.

They also provided the practice with a referral-building course. With the tips in the course, the Coastline team quickly learned to expand their reach. 

The Results: Skyrocketing Patient Numbers Led the Way to Success

The strategy paid off in huge ways. The practice saw significant increases in key metrics as their new digital marketing partner helped them find and seize new opportunities.

As Mokris put it, “First and foremost, our new patient numbers have skyrocketed over the years of working with you guys.” So did the practice’s ROI from digital leads, now up to an amazing ratio of 33 to 1.

The practice’s missed call percentage also plunged. New monthly reporting from Socius showed how many calls they were missing. Critically, they learned when these missed calls happened. That empowered them to make strategic changes.

Additionally, their new website drove new patients to Coastline, boosting overall conversions.

New online leads nearly tripled. Web traffic more than doubled. That’s not surprising. Their search rankings on Google improved by 93 overall—145 on local searches and 106 on mobile.

Also, Socius introduced Coastline to CallRail. They are now using it to train new employees. Those new employees include its first-ever remote worker.

According to Mokris, the support the practice receives from Socius is “awesome and helped us with … everything we have ever needed … quickly and without question.”

He adds, “There have never been any downsides. It has always been amazing.”

The Future: Continued Growth Through an Evolving Digital Marketing Strategy

Fueled by its success, the practice plans to open another location. To support that move, the practice will revamp its website and digital marketing strategy.

Above all, Mokris says the practice can now focus on providing people with dazzling smiles. With Socius Marketing providing the lion’s share of the marketing, Coastline can pursue its passion.

In Mokris’ words, “I love that I can be very hands-off. … I am very confident having you all as partners, and that’s a great feeling!”