Direct Mail Postcards Can Still Work For Dental Practices

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I know what you’re thinking when you read the title of this article!

“It’s 2020 and I throw-away all the ‘junk mail’ that I get!” And we are just getting out of Covid-19.

I have had dozens of calls with dentists who have tried direct mail (postcards) and many have felt it didn’t work. There are a couple of important elements to remember when it comes to any form of marketing (including direct mail). And, when you understand this, you might look at it differently.

Affordable Postcard Marketing

Can you imagine getting in the home of 5,000 residents in your city for the cost of a little more than a crown? What would that do for your revenues every month? Our postcard costs are the most competitive in the US for direct mail marketing.

Result: One of our dental clients got a 4:1 return on investment by the third month and now scaled it up to a much bigger drop each month. He’s a believer now.

Contact Us Today To Explore This For Your Office

Direct Mail Statistics

I’m a numbers guy. I don’t like to state anything without data to back it up. If you go to the Small Business Trends you’ll find some interesting numbers that may have you looking at direct mail for your dental practice differently.

According to Small Business Trends:

U.S. advertisers spend $167 per person on direct mail to earn $2,095 worth of goods sold; a 1,300 percent return.
One study, “The neuroscience behind the response-driving power of direct mail” found that:
Direct mail generates a motivation score that is 20 percent higher than digital media.
Direct mail was found to require 21 percent less cognitive effort. That means your message is absorbed more quickly and effectively.
Brand recall was 70 percent higher among participants who were exposed to direct mail ads rather than to digital ones.
The average ROI for direct mail campaigns is between 18 and 20 percent.
56 percent of consumers who responded to direct mail went online or visited the physical store.
62 percent of consumers who responded to direct mail in the past three months made a purchase.

What’s The Offer?

I have analyzed hundreds of dental marketing postcards and can say confidently, I can see why they were not as effective as they could have been.

It’s unfortunate, but many of these companies put together stock creative on the postcard, with over-used verbiage that most people ignore the minute they see it.

Like in all marketing, there has to be some form of offer to get them to take action. A postcard that says you do implants, invisalign cosmetic and are accepting new patients will get you nothing.

I’m not saying, be the Walmart of dentistry, as many of the postcards I’ve seen position the dentist just like that. The dentist doesn’t feel good, and if you get results, you’ll be attracting “coupon” people that will not be long-term patients.

This is where I apply my 30 years of marketing and consumer psychology to your postcards for a much higher ROI.

Smooth Transition From Postcard To The Website

This is where there is a huge disconnect in traditional dental postcard mailings.

Contact us today to discuss in more detail, including our very competitive pricing and strategic approach.

As mentioned in the above statistics over 50% of respondents visit the website or physical store.

So knowing these numbers, do not have your homepage URL on the postcard. Have a simple URL that goes to a landing page on your website specific to the topic of the mailer. Which maybe be Implants. Cosmetic. Invisalign. Or whatever you want to attract from the mailer.

This will make the mailer much more effective and conversions higher.

No Stock Images Please

This is rampant with postcard mailing for dentists. Same with dental websites. People do not resonate with stock images of beautiful models. It does not differentiate you from all the other dentists in your area.

Look at this very standard mailer that will fail miserably:

Try to use real patient images, images of you and even your family. This will make an instant connection and great for branding. People want to see who the dentist is, so don’t hide behind your business. Stand out in front.

If you are sending a dental implant postcard out, do not have an image of a young family. That is not your market. The images you use on your postcards should match the demographic you are going after. So implants for example is most likely people 45 and above. Even 60+.

Call Tracking Numbers Are Essential

This specific strategy is used by most of the credible marketing companies, so no surprise to have it in here. But if you are not using a specific call tracking number you’ll never have an accurate ROI number from that marketing investment.

Each mailer if possible, should have its own tracking number, so you can determine which one they took action on. This is valuable data to have to further improve your direct mail campaigns moving forward.

In closing, as a marketing professional of over 30 years, you are getting your business in the household of a targeted person for under 50 cents! I want you to really grasp this. Yes…we know it’s a numbers game, but at that low of cost per household, it can be a very profitable approach to attracting specific patients to your practice for many years to come.