Fireside
Marketing Benchmark
A guide, not a report card

How does your marketing stack up against best practice?

A look under the hood at your story, website, findability, reputation, and social, benchmarked against the strongest independent practices.

Before we start

A few quick details

How to read this

The growth scale

Foundational
Basics aren't in place.
Building
Pieces exist, but disconnected.
Developing
Solid base, key gaps remain.
Strong
Doing most of what top practices do.
Benchmark
Matches or leads the category.
The walkthrough

Your brand strategy

Five things patients use to decide.

01
Have you communicated your unique value?
Can a patient tell why you're the right choice, and repeat it to a friend?
02
Does your story create real connection?
Does your copy make the patient the hero, or just talk about your practice?
03
Are you visible where patients look?
Do you show up in search, AI answers, feeds, and reviews at decision time?
1 of 5

What makes you different?

In seconds, can a patient tell why you, not the five other dentists nearby, and repeat that reason to a friend?

Current level
-

Names a clear lane (family, anxiety-focused, same-day, cosmetic) backed by real proof, not adjectives.

Has a genuine reason for being, not a values placeholder.

Passes the dinner-table test: specific enough that a patient repeats it.

Example

“The only practice in town with a sensory-friendly room for kids with anxiety” gets repeated between parents. “Quality care for the whole family” never has.

Recommended next step

Write one line: "We're the [lane] for [patient] who wants [outcome], because [proof]." Test your homepage against it.

+ See the full plan
  1. 2Ask whether a patient would actually say it out loud. If not, sharpen it.
  2. 3Anchor it to something real: a founder story, a philosophy, a community commitment, and make it visible.
  3. 4Attach proof to every claim, then echo the same words on your homepage, About page, and Google profile.
+ Add a note
2 of 5

Are they the hero?

Patients choose with their nerves. They're the hero, and your job is to be the guide who takes them from scared to confident.

Current level
-

Names the real fear underneath: pain, cost, embarrassment, a kid who won't sit still.

Speaks in plain "you" language, not "we" language listing history and awards.

One clear call to action, repeated, plus a simple path from looking to booked.

Example

“20 years of comprehensive dental services” talks about you. “Is your child terrified of the dentist? Gentle, no-tears first visits” talks about them. Only one gets read.

Recommended next step

Open the homepage with the patient's problem.

+ See the full plan
  1. 2Swap "we" for "you" and cut sentences to something a nervous parent can skim.
  2. 3Add a 3-step "how it works" and pick one primary CTA to repeat.
  3. 4Show the after-picture: what changes for their family, and the cost of waiting.
+ Add a note
3 of 5

How easily are you found?

Patients find dentists through Google maps and AI answers, then a slow or clumsy site loses them just as fast.

Current level
-

Appears in map results for "dentist in [city]" and in ChatGPT or Google AI answers.

Loads fast on a phone; hours, insurance, and "book now" are two clicks away.

Meets accessibility basics: contrast, alt text, keyboard-friendly forms.

Example

Same block, two practices. One ranks and books in two seconds. The other is invisible in search and its team photo reads as “image132.jpg”. Both lose the same patient.

Recommended next step

Search "[service] + [city]" on Google and in ChatGPT, then see where you land next to competitors.

+ See the full plan
  1. 2Run a free WCAG checker (WAVE) and fix contrast and alt text first.
  2. 3Make name, address, and phone identical across site, Google profile, and directories.
  3. 4Confirm hours, insurance, and "book now" are two clicks from the homepage on mobile.
+ Add a note
4 of 5

What are they saying?

Reviews are your most visible trust signal, and what patients write tells you whether anything remarkable happens in the chair.

Current level
-

4.4 stars or higher, with 20%+ more reviews than the top 3 local competitors.

Reviews name specifics: a person, a moment. Generic praise means nothing stood out.

Steady new reviews, and every one gets a reply, especially negatives.

Example

34 reviews at 4.2 saying “great service” vs. 118 at 4.7 naming the hygienist and the no-needle numbing. Patients read them, and only one sounds worth going to.

Recommended next step

Compare your rating and review count to the top 3 competitors in map results. That gap is the target.

+ See the full plan
  1. 2Automate a post-visit text or email request, the biggest lever on volume.
  2. 3Ask something specific ("What made your visit easy?") to get specific, persuasive reviews.
  3. 4Complete every Google Business Profile field and reply to the last 90 days of reviews.
+ Add a note
5 of 5

Do they feel part of it?

Sporadic, purely clinical posts never build the community that turns a follower into a patient and a patient into a referral.

Current level
-

Posts 2–3x a week, mixing trust-building content with clear ways to book.

Invites participation: real replies, patients featured, not a one-way feed.

Booking link one tap from the bio, in a voice that sounds like real people.

Example

A 30-second “first cleaning, no tears” Reel every Tuesday, with real replies, builds a community. Stock smile photos with comments off is a brochure.

Recommended next step

Review the last 8 weeks for actual cadence and content mix.

+ See the full plan
  1. 2Set a realistic minimum (2x/week beats sporadic bursts) and build a light calendar.
  2. 3Reply to comments and DMs like a person, not a brand account.
  3. 4Add a booking link to every bio and pick one recurring idea the team can sustain.
+ Add a note
The full picture

How it adds up

Updates as each area gets scored.

Your practice
Add details above to personalize this report.
-
Not scored yet
Overall level
What makes you different?
-
Are they the hero?
-
How easily are you found?
-
What are they saying?
-
Do they feel part of it?
-

Where to focus first

Score the areas above to see the top opportunities here.