The Explorer Winter 2018 Explorer_Fall_2018 | Page 16

THE ANATOMY OF PATIENT-PRODUCING
DENTAL DIRECT MAIL (AND WHY NOT ALL
APPROACHES WORK)
By Wendy O'Donovan Phillips, Founder of Big Buzz
“Dental direct mail doesn’t work.”
“That stuff just ends up in the trash.”
“I never read those things.”
Now that we have gotten the thoughts
and feelings out of the way, let’s focus
on the facts: 80% of patients come to
the typical practice from a radius of one
to three miles, and dental direct mail
targets that circle.
As with all marketing, it matters less
what the dentist likes or wants. It
matters most what’s going to make
patients walk through the door, accept
treatment and become loyal, referring
members of the practice community.
There are specific elements of a dental
direct mail piece that will get it noticed,
and that will inspire the recipient to act
upon it. Among them:
Strong positioning. Your practice is
known for something that cannot be
replicated anywhere else. A great sense
of humor. Unmatched compassion.
Attention to detail. Find out what it is
by asking patients, and then make that
the headline right on the front of the
dental direct mail piece. Rope in the
reader so they become eager to learn
more about you.
A good story. Piggyback on your
positioning. Expand into the practice
story. Steer clear of clinical speak about
state-of-the-art equipment and dental
procedures, which can be overwhelming
and even scary to the patient. Share what
your current patients love most about
visiting your practice. Talk about what
keeps members of your community
coming back for years and years. marketing successes back to that piece
for future marketing planning.
Compelling offers. You don’t have to
give away discounts on your services to
make an offer. An offer can be
something as simple as a gift card for
coffee or an entry into a drawing for a
prize. People like excitement. Make an
offer that fits with your positioning and
gets potential patients excited about
coming to see you. We find that three
offers is the magic number to really
draw in patients. Call to action. Tell readers exactly what
you want them to do, when and how.
“Call now for an appointment by dialing
this number.”
Different size. A little postcard won’t do
your practice justice. Invest in an 8.5 x
11 glossy sheet folded once so that it
opens and reads horizontally. It’s a classy
representation of the practice and makes
a great first impression.
Accurate information. Have three people
proofread the address, phone number,
website address, map and any other
contact information. Be sure to include a
phone number on the dental direct mail
piece that can be tracked, preferably with
recorded calls, so that you can attribute
Here’s why most dental direct mail
efforts don’t work:
Amateur effort. There is a true art and
science behind dental direct mail.
Expecting success from an amateur effort
would be like expecting success from a
layperson performing a root canal.
Incomplete effort. Sending one mailer and
stopping is not enough. A dental direct
mail piece must be dropped to households
at least three times to have any effect. Six
or more times would be best.
Sloppy content. Even if the mailer gets
to the right place the right number of
times, it still has to send the right
message. Follow the guidelines above to
be sure your message is on target. 䡲
Los Angeles Dental Society Explorer