Dental practices with a streamlined direct mail strategy attract new customers and provide a valuable resource for patients who need to schedule overdue cleanings.
While dentistry school prepares you to administer high-quality care to patients, leading a dental practice comes with its own set of challenges. As a small business owner, you are tasked with patient retention and acquisition, keeping abreast of the latest technology and advancements, staff management, and administrative tasks. For many dentists, patient care can take a back seat to managing their practice.
Having a robust direct mail marketing strategy can help cut down on your workload. Direct mail marketing can result in a healthy return on investment and provide a tangible touchpoint that helps keep your dentistry business top-of-mind for customers. For every $167 a business spends on direct mail marketing, they sell an average of $2,095 in goods and services.
Here are the top reasons direct mail marketing can help your dental practice thrive.
High Response Rate.
Direct mail marketing delivers results for your small business and is a low-cost, high-reward strategy. The average response rate for a direct mail marketing campaign is 9 percent, according to the Data & Marketing Association, a trade organization for marketers. A recent survey from the U.S. Postal Service showed 54 percent of those surveyed tried a new product or business within a 6-month period of receiving a piece of mail. As many businesses solely focus on e-mail marketing and social media campaigns, customers appreciate receiving a tangible reminder to schedule a dental appointment in their mailbox.
One option for a dental direct mail strategy is to create a postcard campaign that suits your particular needs. If you want to add new customers, Every Door Direct Mail is an affordable option. EDDM allows you to send saturation postcards to certain demographics and areas of your local community.
Direct Mail Improves Multichannel Approach.
It’s essential to implement a multichannel approach to achieve the best marketing results. Multichannel marketing allows you to improve connections and increase leads. If you only advertise through social media, you limit the number of people who will see your message. Direct mail is a great way to introduce customers to your business and lead them to your website, where they can learn more about the practice or book an appointment. Many businesses add a QR code on their direct mail postcard for ease of website visits directly from mobile devices.
Roll Out the Welcome Mat.
Direct mail marketing gives you the opportunity to welcome new residents by implementing a new mover marketing campaign. At least 31 million people move each year, and an increasing ability to work remotely is prompting more people to consider relocating.
My company, Our Town America, has more than 49 years of experience helping small businesses introduce themselves to new residents before they form loyalties to competitors. We mail an upscale welcome package filled with proven offers from local businesses, which commonly receives a high response rate.
Once you get the new customers through your doors, it is your job to greet them with a smile and deliver stellar service, but you can’t just hope they walk through those doors – you need something to entice them. That’s what we’re here for and, if I can say so myself, we have a very successful method of doing so with thousands of exceptional case studies to show for it.
When patients redeem an offer from our welcome package, we send an optional follow-up postcard thanking them for their visit. New mover marketing is easy to track and an excellent method for adding new patients to your practice.
Combat Dental Anxiety.
People skip dental visits for a variety of reasons, including cost and the inability to find appointment times that fit with their work schedule. In addition, many people put off visiting the dentist out of fear. Nearly 36 percent of people have dental anxiety, and 12 percent suffer from dentophobia, or fear of the dentist. Dentists take steps to provide patients with positive experiences by carefully explaining their actions and allowing patients to take a break if necessary. Direct mail can help provide the encouragement people may need to get an appointment by serving as a reminder when they are overdue for a visit.
Dental practices that make direct mail marketing a key component of their marketing strategy will achieve a solid return on their investment. We’d say it’s definitely something to sink your teeth into.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After serving our country as a US Army Medic, Michael Plummer, Jr. returned to the family business (Our Town America – the nation’s premier New Mover Marketing franchise started by his father in 1972) in 2001 to work in the IT department. 15+ years later, Plummer now leads the business as its CEO and CTO – using his extensive technology/data experience to make Our Town America the savviest analytical player in the industry.
A technology expert with more than 15 years of leadership experience, Michael Plummer, Jr. has helped Our Town America establish itself as the nation’s fastest-growing and most successful New Mover Marketing franchise. With dozens of franchise partners located from coast to coast, Our Town America helps thousands of local business spark long-term, loyal relationships with countless new movers each and every year.
