Analysis of the use of digital marketing in dentistry: implementation issues and stages of the development

Background. Amid the onrush of information technology and better competitive environment in the dental services market, the effective use of digital marketing as a tool for promoting and developing dental clinics is gaining in popularity. Given the current trends in customer behavior, which increasingly depend on online resources when choosing healthcare services, research of the impact of digital tools on the development of dental clinics in Ukraine is especially interesting. Purpose – is to analyze the key challenges and limitations that dental clinics face when using digital marketing, and to formulate proposals to clear these obstacles for further development. Materials and methods. The research was conducted using sociological analysis – a questionnaire-based survey of heads of dental clinics (54 doctors) using questionnaires. Analysis, synthesis and generalization were also used. Results. The research has shown that dental clinics use limited digital marketing tools (website, social media); there is no systematic way of using digital marketing; there is no performance efficacy analysis. Heads see a lot of potential of digital marketing in building the institution awareness, attracting new patients, improving patient communication, and driving the institution loyalty. The obstacles to the full use of digital marketing are the lack of time and resources, skilled professionals, and the complex monitoring of the performance of digital marketing campaigns. Based on the research results, practical recommendations were formulated to improve the effectiveness of the use of digital marketing in dental clinics. Conclusions. The research showed that heads of dental clinics realized the importance of using digital marketing, but struggled with its effective use. The implementation of the recommendations developed in the context of the article based on the questionnaire-based analysis will allow institutions to reach the best of the potential of digital marketing strategies to improve the performance efficacy.