Direct mail marketing as we know it has been around for more than a century, and it’s still one of the most effective ways to generate new patients, even in the digital age. Look at these numbers:
- 39% of consumers try a business for the first time because of direct mail advertising.1
- 60% of direct mail recipients were influenced to visit a promoted website.1
- Direct mail delivers the strongest return on investment (ROI) of all marketing channels: 1,300%.2
Even among young people, direct mail gets results: 92% of Millennials’ (Millennials!) purchasing decisions are influenced by direct mail (compared to 78% for email).3
Postcards are how I built my business from a one-woman startup to a $45 million enterprise.
When I first started PostcardMania, I sent out 1,000 postcards a week—religiously—to my prospects to promote my company. As it grew, so did my budget. Today I send out 180,000 postcards promoting PostcardMania every single week.
I have never missed a week. Ever.
You get my point. Direct mail postcards are a valuable marketing tool. That’s why dentists still use them. However, if you’re not also marketing your practice online, you’re missing a huge opportunity. To wit:
- 73% of Americans go online every day.4
- 72% of Millennials (ages 18-34) research their options online before buying.5
- 24% of consumers 65 and older go online multiple times per day.4
To reach the most prospective patients and get the best possible marketing results, you really need to do both. One of my clients, Amit Khanna, DMD, of Hollywood, Md, was sending out 12,000 postcards per month and getting a great response. But when he added geo-targeted Google ads to his campaign, his new patient numbers shot up by 81%:
- Monthly new patients sending out 12,000 postcards per month: 94;
- Monthly new patients sending out 12,000 postcards per month with Google ads: 170.
And here’s the thing. Dr. Khanna is a busy (obviously!) dentist who doesn’t have a dedicated marketing professional on his staff. How does he manage multiple marketing channels and still take care of his patients and his practice?
With a fully integrated marketing program that does it automatically. It’s called DirectMail2.0.
Here’s how it works. Your postcards go out to prospective patients in your area. Just like with traditional direct mail, you can do a saturation or targeted mailing.
At the same time, people in those same areas—those who received your postcard and those who didn’t—start seeing your coordinating online banner ads (that look just like your postcards) all across the Google network (literally millions of websites).
As your prospects spend time online, they continue to see your ad, increasing your branding and exposure and keeping you fresh in their minds. When those prospects need a dentist, you’re the one they call!
DirectMail2.0 also takes all of the guesswork out of your marketing with an easy-to-use online dashboard that shows you your results in real time. It includes:
- Mail tracking, which tells you exactly when your postcards hit mailboxes (this helps you prepare your front staff for the influx of calls);
- Call tracking, so you can see exactly how many calls are generated by your campaign (the calls are also recorded, so you can listen to them and make improvements to your reception process as needed);
- Online tracking, which shows you how many times your banner ad has been shown and how many times people click on it to visit your website.
A quick story about call tracking: Jason Monroe, DDS, of Aurora, Ill, is another client of mine who uses DirectMail2.0. His postcards were generating lots of phone calls, but he was horrified when he learned that only 18% of callers were booking appointments.
He listened to his tracked calls and realized that his front desk needed help converting callers into patients. So he focused his energy on training his staff, and now his conversion rate is 47%!
At my company, we track every single call that comes in so we never miss a lead.
We currently have 32 dental marketing case studies available for you to check out and steal genius ideas from so you can start building a more profitable practice today!
References
- “10 Mind-Blowing Direct Mail Statistics,” Henry Adaso, DMN3
- “Direct Mail Stats That Can’t Be Ignored” Denny Dee, Epsilon
- “Millennials Prefer Direct Mail,” Justin Restaino, National Mortgage Professional Magazine
- “One-Fifth of Americans Report Going Online ‘Almost Constantly,’” Andrew Perrin, Pew Research Center
- “Retail’s Main Event: Brick & Mortar Vs. Online,” Ray Hartjen, RetailNext
Joy Gendusa is the founder and CEO of PostcardMania, a marketing firm in Clearwater, Fla, that specializes in lead generation. She can be reached at Joy.Gendusa@PostcardMania.com or by calling 855-549-1313.
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