How long does it take direct mail to deliver results?

There’s no question about it – direct mail drives patient interest, but conversion hinges on trust. Successful campaigns come when practices are committed to growth. Positive reputation, fresh reviews (without any unresolved patient complaints), a great online presence, fast website, branding alignment across channels, a clear value proposition, a team trained to convert and onboard new patients, and a consistent omnichannel approach are essentials.

REPUTATION

A positive reputation increases the likelihood that direct mail recipients will take the next step. Make sure you have a strong Google presence with plenty of five-star reviews. Our clients average over 250 reviews. And recency matters.

ONLINE PRESENCE

Direct mail is the only channel that reaches 100% of your target audience, which helps you dominate name-based search, extending your brand far beyond your brick-and-mortar location. Successful campaigns will have an optimized web presence as recipients look you up online. A modern, fast-loading website that’s mobile-optimized with custom imagery, clear calls-to-action, and phone number visibility is essential.

CALL HANDLING

A phone call is often the first real interaction a potential patient has with your practice. If the team sounds rushed, distracted, uninterested, or unprofessional, trust and confidence drop immediately. A warm, welcoming tone makes people feel valued. Patients choose offices where they feel cared about. Trained teams can convert 60-80% of calls, while untrained teams average less than 35%. For the average dentist, every missed new patient equates to a loss of $2,000 from annual revenue. Do that once a week, and you’re down by $100,000. Many new patients feel nervous about going to the dentist; a great call handling team can ease worry and motivate action.

Practices that add direct mail differentiate themselves from the average. It’s the difference that generates an extra boost in new patients beyond average. For our clients, that’s 30% MORE new patients than industry average as compared to over 40,000 dental clinics.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

Typically, you’ll see web traffic increase and calls come through within the first three to six weeks of your campaign launch. Consistency is key, though, and through the next three to six months – and as newsletters continue to hit homes monthly – your practice continues to build awareness and credibility within the local community. This brand stacking effect drives more name-based searches, making you the practice people think of first when they need care.

REPETITION

You can do it. You’re trending to $2 million in production. You want growth. You have capacity. Your team is ready.

Repetition builds reputation and trust. On average, our clients will trend to a 6X ROI within the first year of monthly distributions. To put that into context, invest $45,000 and generate around $300,000 in production. That’s a pretty decent return on investment within a year or so!

We are able to share this metric because we track new patients by address and phone calls, following your new patients from your mailing area across the entire patient journey, from address to web visits to calls. This is critical. People who receive your newsletter will look you up online. They check out your website, your reviews, your social pages. And then they access your practice via another channel. Without address-level tracking, you might mistakenly assume your mail isn’t working when it actually is. Especially when these conversions can easily be misattributed to organic search or direct website traffic instead of your direct mail campaign. You want your marketing partner to provide you with complete visibility to the overall patient journey so that you can make good decisions for growth. And be prepared to stay committed over time – or for as long as you want to build visibility within the local market surrounding your location.

THE HALO EFFECT

People need to see your brand, message, and value proposition multiple times before taking action. Some say that can take at least seven to 10 impressions. Direct mail isn’t about quick wins. It’s about creating visibility in your community; it’s a foundation that supports all of your marketing efforts. Dental practices that stick with direct mail for the long term (considering you’re not planning on moving) see the compounding effect of higher patient acquisition rates and improved retention as the campaign establishes your clinic as the trusted local choice. Practices in competitive areas can outperform others by staying top of mind.

PRO TIP:  The best results come when direct mail is combined with a strong online presence and is part of a consistent, process-driven campaign.