Digital Marketing Strategy to Attract New Customer for Dental Clinic (Case Study: Bandung Dental Center)

: Recently, there has been a growing interest in online marketing within the healthcare industry, including dental care. Utilizing the internet and social media platforms has become crucial for reaching the target audience effectively. While positive word-of-mouth remains significant for dental clinics, having a strong online presence and an appealing website can greatly contribute to attracting new patients. Bandung Dental Centre aims to enhance its services and compete with other clinics through digital marketing. The general manager of Bandung Dental Centre expressed dissatisfaction with the clinic's performance, observing a decline in the number of patients which has resulted in stagnant revenue growth. The author conducted a survey among 52 customers to evaluate the influence of the internet and social media on their decision to visit dental clinics. The survey results highlight customer service as the most influential variable, while the clinic's reputation and dentists had a negative impact on customers. Therefore, these aspects require evaluation and improvement. The author provides recommendations to enhance Bandung Dental Centre’s digital marketing strategy, including Instagram Optimization, SEO improvement, Google Maps optimization, and the possibility of hiring a digital marketing agency. Furthermore, an implementation plan was developed to guide BDC staff in executing these strategies, even without a specific budget for hiring a digital marketing agency.

influence customers. Subramanian (2022) identified seven major challenges encountered by dental businesses, with the primary challenge being the competition from other dental practices [6]. The abundant presence of dental businesses in Bandung presents a considerable hurdle. To overcome this competition, it is crucial for dental professionals to be motivated and strive for improvement. When faced with intense competition, enhancing the marketing strategies and quality of services provided can prove instrumental in attracting a larger patient base. According to the manager of Bandung Dental Center, they promote their clinic by leveraging existing resources, specifically their staff. They do not employ a dedicated marketing team to carry out digital marketing, thus they have not been able to focus on managing digital platforms such as their website, social media, email, and digital advertising. The manager also mentioned that BDC Instagram account was hacked in early 2023 and was not successfully recovered due to the difficult and timeconsuming process involved. As a result, they created a new account in late April 2023. The figure above shows the number of customer visits at Bandung Dental Center over a 4-month period from January to April 2023. The range is taken from the time when BDC's Instagram account was hacked until the present. The data was provided as secondary data to analyze the influx of both new and existing patients. Based on an in-depth interview with the BDC manager, the number of visiting patients has decreased for both new patients and existing ones. This certainly affects BDC's revenue growth, which remains relatively stagnant. The author analyzes factors influencing the matter, one of which is in their digital marketing.  From the presented figure above about Instagram insights, the highest reach was observed in early May when the BDC Instagram account was heavily promoted by stakeholders and involved individuals. During that period, the BDC Instagram account received high reach and engagement numbers, but after that, the number of insights declined drastically. It means that after that, there was no compelling presence to attract the audience to visit the account. This can be improved by creating more engaging content that can involve users to provide reactions. Therefore, the author attempts to assist in addressing this issue so that social media platforms can function as an effective digital marketing strategy for Bandung Dental Center as expected. An effective social media presence is anticipated to serve as a good marketing platform to enhance brand awareness among potential patients and attract new customers to seek dental treatment at Bandung Dental Centre.

METHODOLOGY A. Study Participants
This study employed a descriptive verification approach, and the research methodology adopted was quantitative. As this research is quantitative, it enables the extension of data analysis to broader populations beyond the sample size. The study applies the central limit theorem, which asserts that if a study gathers random samples of considerable size from a population (with replacement), the distribution of the sample will approximate a normal distribution [7]. This theorem remains valid regardless of whether the source population follows a normal distribution or exhibits skewness, as long as the sample size is sufficiently large (n≥ 30). Therefore, the final sample size was 52 patients who visited Bandung Dental Centre, collected by the author over a period of 5 days within a specific timeframe from June 5th to June 10th, 2023.

B. Survey Instruments
The survey method is used to collect primary data by presenting a series of questions to each respondent. The survey primarily focuses on assessing brand awareness and decision-making processes based on customer experience and their considerations of the clinic's digital presence. The instrument used is an online questionnaire via Google Forms, which contains 55 observed variables and 10 latent variables (9 exogeneous variables and 1 endogeneous variables). The exogenous variables included clinic reputation, dentist, technology, customer service, facilities, social media use, brand awareness, website presence, and Instagram presence, while the endogenous variables included impact to customer. The indicators (items) were assessed using a Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The questions presented in the questionnaire are adapted from various journal sources, as outlined below. The dentist's concern or sensitivity to the patient (responding to your pain and fear) DN3 Dentists have a good reputation (Jaapar et al, 2017) DN4 The professional attitude is shown by the dentist DN5 Dentist's attention for initial diagnosis and after treatment ( Using social media to search for dentists/dental clinics (Saadeh et al, 2022) with an improvement by author SMU2 Dentists/dental clinics with a good social media presence demonstrate good clinic credibility SMU3 Dentists/dental clinics with a strong social media presence make you feel confident about receiving dental treatment SMU4 Using social media to market dental practices has been proven effective SMU5 Dental clinic marketing will be successful through social media and enhance the credibility of dentists in the future 7.
Brand  [17]. For the validity test in PLS-SEM, two methods were used: convergent validity and discriminant validity. Convergent validity is determined by a set of indicators that represent a single latent variable. In this study, Average Variance Extracted (AVE) was used to measure convergent validity, with a minimum criterion of 0.7 [17]. Discriminant validity requires meaningful differences between the two measured concepts. Cross-loading is used as a criterion for assessing discriminant validity. If each indicator's loading is higher than its respective cross-loading, discriminant validity is achieved.  Table 2 shows the characteristics of the respondents, including gender, age, occupation, types of dental treatment usually received, social media used, and referral source. It can be observed that the majority are female totaling 29 people (55.77%). In terms of age, it is evident that the majority of respondents fall within the 26-40 age range, comprising 24 individuals (46.15%). Regarding occupation, it is notable that the majority of respondents are private sector employees, amounting to 17 individuals (32.69%). Among the respondents, the most commonly used social media platform is Instagram, with 37.40%, while only a few of them use LinkedIn, with 5.34%. When asked about how they find out about dental clinics, the majority indicated that they know about them through recommendations from others, with 69.2%, while only a few of them found out through websites and advertisements, which accounts for 3.8%.  Based on the data analysis results, the discriminant validity was obtained using the Fornell-Larcker criteria as shown in Table 4. The criteria states that the square root of the AVE value for each construct or variable should be greater than the correlation between two or more indicator variables in the model. Therefore, based on this criteria, the variables in this study can be considered to have achieved discriminant validity.   The second testing was conducted through inner model testing. The inner model testing examines the relationships between constructs. In the second testing through inner model testing, several tests were conducted, including R-square, Q-square, and path coefficient. Table 6 shows that the obtained R-square value is 0.968. An R-square value > 0.67 for the latent endogenous variables in the structural model indicates a significant influence of the exogenous variables on the endogenous variables, falling under the category of good influence. Approximately 96.8% of the contribution from the exogenous latent variables, such as clinic reputation, dentist, technology, customer service, facilities, social media use, brand awareness, website presence, and Instagram presence, can be attributed to the endogenous latent variable, "impact to customer," at Bandung Dental Center. Q-square measures how well the model's estimated parameters align with the observed data. Q-square value greater than 0 indicates good predictive relevance, while a Q-square value less than 0 suggests a lack of predictive relevance. Here are the calculated Qsquare values: Based on the calculation results, the obtained Q-square value is 96.8%, which falls under the category of good/strong. This indicates that the amount of data variability used in this research is 96.8%. Next, the hypotheses in this study can be understood through the calculation of the model using the PLS (Partial Least Squares) technique with bootstrapping. The bootstrapping calculation provides values for each relationship or path. Hypothesis testing is conducted at a significance level of 0.05. A hypothesis is accepted if the significance (p-value) is less than 0.05.  Table 7 shows that the factors that can have an impact on customers at Bandung Dental Center are technology, customer service, facilities, social media use, brand awareness, website presence, and Instagram presence. However, clinic reputation and dentist are not factors that have an impact on customers' decision to visit Bandung Dental Center. Additionally, when considering the provided customer service, it is observed that it is the most dominant factor influencing customers to visit Bandung Dental Center.

DISCUSSION
The research findings reveal that out of the nine variables studied, only seven have a significant influence on patients' purchasing decisions at Bandung Dental Center. Customer service emerges as the dominant factor impact to customers (Table 7). Moreover, demographic data from the respondents indicates that a majority of them (69.2%) visited BDC based on recommendations from others ( Table 2). This aligns with previous research highlighting the significance of word-of-mouth (WOM) in influencing customer purchasing decisions [18]. Customer satisfaction also plays a vital role in recommendations and is shaped by the customer's perception of high-quality service performance [19]. Service quality, as an indicator of customer satisfaction, can contribute to positive WOM [20]. However, two variables, namely clinic reputation and dentist, yield negative results in terms of their impact on customers, indicating the need for evaluation. Previous studies emphasize that the reputation of a healthcare business, including dental practices, is a crucial factor for consumers when choosing services [21]. The reputation can be shaped through market signals such as advertising and word-of-mouth [22]. Online reviews also hold significant influence and can contribute to building trust [23]. Dental practitioners should actively participate in online conversations, address misunderstandings, and incorporate positive patient comments to counteract the effects of negative reviews [23]. Moreover, dentists should adapt to modern dentistry, changing demographics, and consumer preferences to enhance their reputation, and social media can serve as an effective marketing strategy [16].

CONCLUSION
Improving performance in the realm of social media is crucial for dental clinics and dentists, especially in today's era, considering the influence of customer service and online reputation on customers' decisions.

RECOMMENDATION A. Instagram optimization
Creating a new attention among the audience about the new Instagram account to receive the latest updates regarding BDC is important. When searching for BDC's Instagram account, the hacked old account appears first, so it is important to inform the audience that the BDC account has moved from the old one to the new one. And then, setting a consistent posting schedule is essential for engaging your Instagram followers. By maintaining a consistent presence on Instagram, you will increase familiarity with your clinic among the audience. Also you have to create more engaging content that can involve users to provide reactions. By B. Put your website on the first page Improving SEO is key to making your website appear on the first page of search engine results. There are two approaches to achieve this: technical SEO and non-technical SEO. Technical SEO involves optimizing code, metadata, and link profiles to improve search results. Non-technical SEO focuses on content, user experience, and promotion strategies. Enhancing content, such as blog posts, and providing relevant and valuable links are important aspects. Adding engaging media like images, videos, and infographics can also increase audience interest. Strategic placement of keywords in titles, section titles, meta descriptions, and sparingly within the content is crucial. It is important to maintain natural keyword usage that doesn't compromise readability. Both technical and nontechnical SEO strategies work together to improve your website's ranking in search engine results, particularly on Google.

C. Google maps optimization
Optimizing Google Maps is essential for businesses to improve brand visibility. When users search for local keywords, Google's algorithm displays Google Maps as an option in the search results, attracting traffic to your business. Google Maps provides a review section where potential customers can access comprehensive information and read about the experiences of previous visitors. This serves as a valuable reference for those planning to visit. Additionally, the presence of Google Maps enhances the clinic's credibility and instills trust among customers, contributing to a good reputation and overall integrity. To maximize the benefits, it is important to update and revise the information on Google Maps, including adding the latest clinic photos and details about the new Instagram BDC account.

D. Hire a digital marketing agency
A digital marketing agency can assist clinics in expanding their reach to potential patients by implementing effective online marketing strategies. Their expertise includes developing and managing SEO campaigns, optimizing website content for search engines and user experience, and executing and monitoring social media campaigns. Additionally, they provide analytics services to track campaign performance and offer recommendations for improvement. Collaborating with a digital marketing agency ensures that clinics and healthcare providers have a strong online presence and effectively reach their target audience.