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PUSH Production Back Up Now

I was reading an article in Target Marketing about the power of direct mail and how it can help us break through the “noise” of digital marketing – and this quote resonated with me and it might with you:

“Direct mail provides companies with the commodity of time – time to communicate the message effectively, convey emotions, and convert the customer.”

During this time of crisis, it can be hard to know HOW you should be marketing, so if we think about dentistry moving from a transactional business to a relationship business, then the question of how to market is answered. Direct mail has always been a central vehicle for relationship marketing. It does allow you to tell your story and to communicate honestly and clearly. Direct mail allows you to build relationships with your target audience. Think about that commodity of TIME – as a local dental office, wouldn’t you love to have your name spend more time in area homes?

YES! And I know everyone we’re working with is very focused on ensuring that their marketing campaigns tell the story about what they’re doing to ensure patients understand how safe it is to visit the dental office. We’re creating great supportive content daily to help dentists reassure both existing active patients and new patient prospects.

We’ve been monitoring Patient NEWS client’s dental production throughout the pandemic, and although there was a spike up to 100% of pre-COVID-19 levels in July, average dental production is now floating week-to-week just under that level. That’s FAR better than the ADA report of industry average at 74%! Way to go PNP dentists – this is GREAT to see!

Single high months back to decent levels won’t be enough to make up for the new-patient and appointment losses experienced due to weeks and months of closure – that’s clear from projected schedules. The lack of high-value new patients will hurt for more months to come so it’s time now to implement a proactive approach to building those patients back into the schedule.

Shout out to some of our past clients that have just returned to Patient NEWS for direct mail – woot woot – you know who you are!

So back to direct mail. To get more patients and people to know how you’re going above and beyond with safety protocols and efficient on-time visits, and to encourage patients to schedule not only to maintain their oral care but take advantage of delayed treatments (industry chat is that patients want more treatments at one visit), now is the time to consider a more aggressive new-patient campaign to take advantage of this immediate production opportunity.

Despite the challenging environment we’re in, you have a captive audience. Think about your own household and how much everyone is anticipating the arrival of the daily mail, the packages from Amazon or Apple … and at the same time, they’ll check out all accompanying quality-looking direct mail. Experts state that consumers are actively forming new behaviors and direct mail is one of the most effective relationship starters.

  1. Direct mail has always been the core of our most successful clients’ ability to retain patients, acquire a good flow of new patients and continually grow production
  2. For every 1 piece of mail, we get 36 emails, on average
  3. The lifespan for email is 17 seconds versus 17 days for direct mail (that time commodity)
  4. 73% of consumers like direct mail because they can read when they want
  5. 98% of people check their mail daily (& spend approx. 30 minutes with it)

Direct mail provides not only more time (aka visibility) in the home, but the format that allows you to educate patients and build their trust and confidence in all you are doing. Particularly in our case at Patient NEWS, with a high-quality 4-page customized format. It gets noticed!

My team provides a fantastic direct marketing target report that identifies the specific growth opportunities available at the local level for your dental practice. And these reports reveal several surprising metrics! Start with a quick 10-minute call to find out more.

Because dental direct mail is so noticed and not blurred out by all the digital noise, it is an opportunity to create a competitive advantage for your practice by being the dental office that is seen and noticed.

We’re proud of how we supported our clients through the periods of closure, and now it’s exciting to see hundreds of clients re-engaged in their dental marketing campaigns, paid media, direct mail, and website refreshes. The results are very positive and moving up for those who have returned to active marketing and who are able to expand hours and/or other offer patient conveniences like a dental membership program. (Did you see our case study for Dr. R – her non-insured patient value is $452 and her membership patient value is $2519. Using DMP Booster from Patient NEWS, she doubled her membership count adding over $2,000/year from those patients in just 7 weeks)!

A recent industry survey revealed that almost two-thirds of dentists will be spending the same or more on marketing in the next 6-12 months. Those who shifted to digital only during closure are now working on integrated multi-channel communications to boost online and offline activity.

In this fast-paced, fake-news, crazy situation we find ourselves in, and when looking at dental production levels and considering how to bring them back up to pre-pandemic levels, and to make hay while the sun is shining … now is the time to put a proactive plan in place to connect with prospects in your community in a trustworthy way to attract quality new patients who are interested in good dentistry. Direct mail is the proven way to build trust and drive results.

We’re here for you!

It’s our goal to provide insights, data, and proven systems to support your continued successful reopening. Direct mail, particularly Neighborhood Newsletters, are well positioned to help your dental office successfully attract more new patients and get them into your schedule, to help you reconnect with patients who were overlooked during the transition from open to closed to open again. We will help you boost production back up and keep it at a steady level. We want to work with you over the long-haul and we’re here to help you move through 2020 with an upward J curve into a growth year for 2021. If you recognize that new patients will be your lifeblood, then call for a free consultation and tell us about your situation.

Part of our free consultation service is the completion of the direct marketing target report which supports your successful direct mail campaign with LOCATION INTELLIGENCE. We provide in-depth premiere demographic technologies like Esri and other tools to provide all the intelligence we can to help you identify those specific market segments that are your core draw areas with the most likelihood of choosing your dental practice.

  • Where do you draw the most active patients from?
  • Where are the competing dental offices located in relation to your draw areas?
  • Where do your most valuable patients reside – and are there cluster areas?
  • What is the largest demographic makeup – and what are their buying behaviors?

We can help answer these questions and more before you commit to any campaign. And we provide the direct mail format and account management support that provides the power of a positive educator.

We know that every practice is unique and we use all of our research, experience, data, analytics, and expertise to help guide you.

I hope you’ll give my team a call today! We’re here to help, not sell.

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