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Direct Mail Marketing for Dentists: 3 Tips on Acquiring New Patients Using Postcards

Successful dental practice marketing plans seek to promote brand recognition and acquire new patients. One of the most effective marketing methods that dental care professionals use is direct mail. By teaming up with the right marketing agency and producing a high-quality postcard campaign, dentists can quickly see an incredible return on their investment. Here are three dental direct mail tips to help you get more calls and fill out your appointment book.

Targeted Mailing List

Before you start writing copy or designing your postcard, think about your target audience‒ your ideal patient. The image of your ideal patient will be the guiding force behind the rest of the decisions you make in the design process. Some campaigns target families with young children, others target the 50+ age demographic. Some target households within a certain income range or in a specific neighborhood. A direct mail marketing agency can help you assemble a targeted list of homes in your area that fit the demographic you wish to market to. Precise targeting always leads to higher ROI. Don’t waste money advertising dentures to millennials and braces to the elderly… put proper time and money into your mailing list and you’re guaranteed to get better results.

Engaging Content

The content of your mailer- the copy and graphics -is what captures prospects’ attention and persuades them to call. A rule of thumb for direct mail copy is, “less is more”. Don’t cram your mailer with text or recipients won’t even bother to start reading it. Make use of large headlines and bullet points to help organize your content and make it easy to scan at a glance. Make sure to speak on the benefits of your practice; whether that be flexible hours, affordability, convenient location, or capability of doing specific procedures, make sure your readers know why they should choose you. Also, don’t forget to speak to your prospective patients’ pain points and motivations; headlines like “Professional Teeth Whitening” and “Emergency Dental Care” don’t work nearly as well as “Be Confident in a Whiter Smile” and “Mouth pain? Get emergency dental attention now!” Most direct mail campaigns also include an offer. By offering a discount for first-time patients, you’ll get a much higher response and you’ll most likely end up retaining most of them as long-term patients.

Obvious Call-To-Action

Tell your recipients the exact action you want them to take after reading your mailer. Your call-to-action may be a simple, “Call now to schedule your appointment” or “Looking for a new dentist? Visit our website to see why XYZ Dental is the best in the area!” It depends on the goal of your campaign. The important thing to remember is that you need to include all of your contact information and it has to be prominent on the postcard. Always include your address, phone number, website, and social media accounts. Even if what you really want is a call, include your website for those who want more information before setting up an appointment.

Keeping these tips in mind, you can use direct mail to make your presence known in your community and start booking appointments like never before. It’s important that once your mail goes out, you have a way of measuring your ROI. This is another reason you should work with a marketing agency that specializes in direct mail. Plum can help you every step of the way, from developing your mailing list to creating your design to sending the mail to tracking the results! Contact us today to get started on a direct mail campaign that will boost your dental practice’s growth: call 1-800-992-9663 or visit our website for more information.

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