By Joy Gendusa
As a dentist, you probably don’t have an extensive marketing background. But you almost need one to keep up these days! The truth is, every business owner can benefit from solid marketing data. PostcardMania has worked with 2,400 dental practices, and we have been able to compile the most accurate, up-to-date data to help dentists grow their practices.
I worked with my results manager to whittle down the five most successful actions dentists took with their marketing campaigns. Read them, implement them, and GROW!
Successful actions
1. Campaign success VERY sensitive to offer.
The biggest factor in a successful dental marketing campaign is the offer. Unless your offer knocks their socks off, your card will be lining the trashcan. See below for examples of offers that performed spectacularly.
2. Offer printed on front and back of card.
Since your offer is of paramount importance — make it easy to find! We found that cards with the offer printed on both sides performed better. That way they can’t miss it!
3. Picture of dentist and bio.
People want to feel comfortable with their dentist. Cards with a picture of the dentist and a short bio outperformed those without them.
4. Three-step communication layout.
What I mean by that is to lay out your card in such a way that the prospect is led through the copy in the following order:
- I’m a dentist!
- Here is my offer.
- Here is my picture and bio.
5. Bigger is better.
The best campaigns use 6x8 postcards or larger. Our clients who have mailed 4x6 postcards generally didn’t get as high of a response even though the design and offer may have remained the same.
When it comes to mailing lists, there are two successful paths:
- Target your area.
- Target high-end customers.
The best option is the first one. We recommend targeting every address within a 10-mile radius with an income of over $35,000. This brings in a lot more patients due to the larger audience size.
The other option is to target high-end work. To do this, get a list of homes valued at $400,000 or more where the residents are 55 years old or older. This is good if you are just looking for a few big-money patients.
Here is a list of the nine most successful offers we’ve tracked. Pick one that fits your practice and watch people respond. It’s a beautiful thing!
- FREE Whitening for New Patients
- Complimentary Exam
- $25 Children’s Cleaning & Exam
- $250 off Laser Whitening
- FREE Consultation & X-rays
- FREE Children’s Cleaning + Check-up
- $59 Exam, Full Set of X-rays and Cleaning
- FREE Sonicare Electric Toothbrush with New Patient Exam, Cleaning + X-rays.
- $150 off Any Restorative Procedure (fillings, crowns, root canals, etc.)
So there you have it — solid, tested marketing data that is sure to help your practice grow. Testing and tracking is of paramount importance to me; it’s how I decide what marketing to use with PostcardMania. So you can be sure this data is ready to apply to your campaigns. Let me know how it goes!
Author bio
Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998 with a phone, computer, and no capital investment. Since then, she has grown the company into one of the nation’s most effective direct mail marketing firms, specializing in postcard marketing for small to large-sized businesses. Over the years, she expanded to offer mailing list acquisition, website development, and email marketing — all while continuing to educate clients with free marketing advice. She has been named Tampa Bay CEO of the Year, Business Woman of the Year in Tampa Bay, and has been featured on MSNBC’s “Your Business.” PostcardMania is an Inc. 500 and 5000 company and has won awards for creativity, best business practices, and leadership. Visit her website for more information about direct mail and dental marketing.
