Better Together. Physical + Digital Works Best For Dental Clinics

In the competitive world of dental care, attracting quality new patients is the top priority for dentists who want growth. While some dental offices moved solely to digital marketing due to perceived ease and cost savings, successful offices continued to embrace print marketing for its tangibility and localized impact. Now digital-only practices are realizing that this approach has caused a drop in new patient flow and market share, driving a resurgence in print marketing. Business owners who are focused on growth don’t choose one over the other; they harness the power of both physical and digital marketing. 

A 2024 study by the Direct Marketing Association reveals that campaigns combining physical and digital elements see a 24% higher conversion rate compared to digital-only campaigns. Direct mail gets the message across quicker, it’s easier to understand, and it drives action. In fact, multiple studies show that more than two-thirds of direct mail recipients visit a website after receiving mail, and for dentists, repetition builds recognition and trust, which are critical elements for attracting and converting new patients. This underscores the importance of leveraging multiple touchpoints to reach prospective patients. 

So, what makes the combination of physical and digital marketing so effective? And how can dentists use this to grow their practices? 

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The Science Behind "Better Together” & Why Integrated Marketing Works  

1. Multi-Channel Exposure Builds Trust  

Consumers are more likely to trust a brand – or, in this case, a dental practice – that they encounter multiple times across various channels. Research shows that it takes 7 to 13 touchpoints for a prospect to convert into a client. When physical and digital marketing are integrated, they create cohesive brand messaging across these touchpoints, making it easier to build familiarity and trust.   

For example, imagine a prospective patient receiving a beautifully designed newsletter highlighting your clinic’s friendly care, expertise, and special offer for new patients. Later, they drive by your office and notice your name, and then they see your clinic’s Google Ad reinforcing the same message. This multi-layered exposure strengthens the likelihood of your target audience getting comfortable with your brand and scheduling an appointment. We see this meandering patient journey often as we track results through Practice ZEBRA®. 

2. Tangibility Meets Accessibility   

While digital ads are efficient and cost-effective, they can be fleeting as users scroll past quickly, and messages are often forgotten. In contrast, physical marketing materials, such as direct mail newsletters, have a tangible quality that demands attention. A 2024 Postal Marketing Survey found that 72% of consumers are more likely to read and recall physical mail compared to digital ads.   

And today, physical marketing isn’t limited to phone engagement. This is where digital marketing bridges the gap. A newsletter with a QR code that directs users to your website ensures that your message stays both memorable and actionable.   

3. Enhanced Targeting & Personalization   

They’re geo-centric. When digital and physical campaigns work together, data collected from one channel can inform the other, leading to more effective targeting. For example, we can identify high-value neighborhoods for your direct mail and digital campaigns using advanced demographic and psychographic insights. And, digital retargeting can follow prospects who have interacted with your neighborhood newsletter and subsequently visited your website.   

This geo-centric synergy between direct mail and digital marketing campaigns creates a system where leads don’t slip through the cracks, ensuring your marketing investments work smarter.   

Get data-driven for 2025 success. 

For dentists seeking to maximize the potential of integrated campaigns, Patient NEWS is an industry leader. With over three decades of expertise in dental marketing, we provide cutting-edge solutions that seamlessly combine physical and digital strategies.   

Use a next-level, data-driven approach. 

Data-driven marketing is the gold standard for 2025 because it allows dental offices to make smarter, more informed decisions that drive better results. 

When we say that our campaigns are data-driven, here’s what we mean: 

1. Using advanced analytics, we look at each dental practice uniquely to determine exactly where the practice is pulling market share and which households are driving the best revenue. This allows us to create like audiences, identify households most likely to respond to the practice, and geo-fence the hot core area for precisely targeted marketing investments.
   
   
2. Digital retargeting to close the loop. By integrating your direct mail and website, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and email campaigns, prospective patients gain trust due to consistent branding and messaging. This ensures new patients who receive and act from your newsletter or visit your website see your ads across the web and have an improved likelihood of booking an appointment. 
    
3. Data-driven neuroscience with unbelievable customization. How we construct each dental marketing campaign – whether a print newsletter or dental website – from copy to imagery to placement of CTA (call to action) text has been neuro-analyzed to ensure that the content positively impacts the human brain and the user experience. This not only ensures the message is memorable and positive but that it resonates with the target audience and triggers action. Every word written and layout designed uses this science to create custom campaigns that highlight the unique value proposition of each dental practice. 
   
   
4. Our analytics are next generation. This allows dental offices to make smart decisions that lead to growth. By measuring the success of your campaigns in real-time, your practice gets valuable insights to continually optimize marketing results. With address, phone, and email attribution, dental offices can see the patient journey and how all the various touchpoints work in conjunction to lead to more new patients. Call scoring and analytics help drive operational and training decisions to support new patient growth. The data provides complete transparency to results, providing dental practices with next-generation results. 
    
5. Local “neighborhood” marketing expertise. With hyper-local targeting capabilities, we ensure that campaigns reach the right audience – families and individuals most likely to become loyal patients at your clinic. One of the most significant advantages of using an integrated approach is the ability to resonate with your ideal patients. 

By combining the tangible warmth of physical marketing with the convenience and reach of digital, you communicate in a way that reflects your dedication to care, quality, and trustworthiness. This also leads to production growth and new patient success. Users of our systems generated 25% more new patients than industry average, with production that is 2X that of industry average. 

For dental clinics, marketing strategies are no longer “either-or” decisions. The best results come from combining the enduring impact of physical marketing with the precision and scalability of digital campaigns. Dentists and dental marketing managers who embrace a “better together” approach will attract more patients and position their practices as modern, approachable, and trustworthy in an increasingly competitive market. 

With Patient NEWS, you don’t have to figure it out alone. Our integrated marketing solutions provide the tools and expertise you need to drive real results, helping your practice thrive in 2025! Yes, I said it! 😂 

Here’s a snippet of a powerhouse practice combining all the arts of physical and digital marketing with Patient NEWS. This is an actual screenshot from Practice ZEBRA for the last 365 days. Neighborhood newsletters, websites and SEO, and Google Ads. A spend of $72,000 with projected new-patient revenue in the first year alone of almost $2 million. Not bad!

Better together. Physical and digital marketing. If you’d like to grow your practice market share, gain more new patients, and increase production for 2025, book a consult and talk to one of our experts regarding your situation and goals. We can help you take a data-driven approach to physical and digital marketing, and we think you’d be “better together” with us!