You’ve just spent two-thirds of your monthly advertising budget on 6,000 vibrant postcards that will be sent to every person living in a 10-mile radius of your office. The postcards feature a coupon for one of your most popular treatments. You also made sure to use a fun but legible font, included lots of color, and were succinct with your wording. You can’t wait to see how many patients this brings in.
About a week after the cards are mailed, though, you realize something. How are you supposed to know which patients learned about you from the postcard unless they actually bring it with them? What if you’re a high-end practice that doesn’t want to use a coupon campaign but you’re still trying to get more exposure for your business? This is where digital marketing comes in.
There is still a place for traditional marketing methods. In both of these cases, whether your mailer includes a coupon or not, using digital to enhance the traditional is what will deliver the best results.
The Best of Both Worlds
If you’re curious about how to merge traditional with digital, the key idea is tracking. This is just one of the many perks of using digital, but it can work well in concert with traditional.
There’s nothing wrong with sending postcards to potential patients. But if you don’t know how effective they were, you won’t know whether or not to make the investment again. Instead of sending plain old postcards, send postcards that can be tracked. How?
Use a specific tracking number on the postcard so you know exactly where each came from and which postcard has been most effective. You can also direct recipients to a specific landing page on your website. The number of people who fill out a form on that particular landing page or pick up the phone and call using a tracking number will be a good indication of how beneficial your postcard campaign was.
These same tricks can be used for billboards, radio spots, television ads, or any other type of traditional marketing you chose to use. Just be sure to use a different landing page for each campaign so you can determine which ones worked and which didn’t.
What Will They See?
Whether you use traditional marketing or digital, you need to be mindful of what your prospective patients will see when they visit the page you’ve directed them to. Since you’re sending people to a landing page on your website, it’s important to double and triple check that everything is up to date. Your website checklist should include:
- A straightforward message about what makes you unique. Do you offer a service that others around you don’t? Are you well known for your cozy, family-like office vibe and demeanor? Details such as these will help you stand out in the crowd.
- A landing page that matches the message from your marketing efforts and provides all of the information patients will need to make an informed decision about treatment. This includes symptoms, pain points, and benefits of treatment. It’s your job to let these patients know how you can improve the quality of their lives.
- Correct hours and locations. If you’ve started offering weekend hours but your landing page fails to mention it, you stand the chance of losing potential patients who need flexible hours from their dentist.
- A clear call to action. What do you want your prospective patients to do? Call a certain number? Fill out a digital form? Your landing page should specifically suggest what you’d like them to do.
And before you buy that ad space on a bus bench, you want to make sure your overall online presence is solid. People will research you before they commit to your call to action. They’ll definitely check out your Facebook presence and online reviews. No matter how up-to-date your website is, negative reviews or even too few reviews is all it takes to lose business.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Digital marketing is the most effective method available. If traditional marketing has worked for you, though, there’s no reason to give it up completely. Simply add the digital component to get the most out of your efforts.
With more than a decade of experience in corporate dental laboratory marketing and brand development, Ms. Ulasewich decided to take her passion for the dental business and marketing to the next level by founding My Dental Agency. Since starting her company, she and her team have helped a wide variety of business owners all over the nation focus their message, reach their target audience, and increase their sales through effective marketing campaigns. She can be reached at (800) 689-6434 or via email at jackie@mydentalagency.com.
Related Articles
Why Your Practice Is Worth an Investment in Marketing
Jazz Up Your Marketing With Contests
Avoid These Three Website Mistakes
