Want More Cost-Effective Direct Mail Results?
Frequently, dentists new to direct mail in prospecting for patients gravitate to the notion of sending a mailing to every household
in an entire zip code in hopes that this will provoke some sort of response.
It's easy to be lured into a Fire!-Aim-Ready approach in which the steps to an effective
direct mail campaign are exactly backwards.
A more cost-effective and results-oriented approach would be to begin with—not the mailing itself, but—a precise
targeting of the sort of patient your practice wants to attract, and what sort of communication
(letter,
flyer-brochure, postcard,
newsletter) is most likely to get them to pick up the phone and
call you.
If your current patient population is also the demographic you seek for new patients, study them. You may need
statistical information obtained through outside research: a
demographic/psychographic report on households within a realistic radius of your practice. Not a typical practice or a
median practice—your practice.
The demographic component of the report details the number of families in your area and their overall economic,
marital, and type of dwelling patterns. At a minimum, it helps determine whether there are sufficient numbers of households in the
income bracket you want to target—even to warrant a direct mail marketing effort.
The psychographics component—the most important element—tells us what motivates the groups we've
just identified to respond. That is, what print, direct mail, broadcast, and discount incentive (or not!) they're most likely
to be engaged by.
Next, determine what
kind of direct mail communication works best with your target audience. And just because your dentist friend in Tennessee did a
cheesy postcard and it worked for him doesn't mean it will work for you. As Marshall McLuhan famously wrote, "The Medium
Is the Message." A quarterly newsletter,
for instance, is a powerful vehicle for reaching a more upscale patient population: these future patients tend to be readers—more
educated. And they are more appreciative of a subtle, informative complementary publication in place of a sales pitch. Plus if
you're not planning to make an offer don't waste your money. All direct mail pieces should always have some type of incentive
offer.
At the other end of the scale are families most influenced by coupons, discounting or free offers. There might be a personalized
invitational letter direct from your office, on your letterhead
design, with an enclosed incentive coupon, that could be the perfect medium. Even a simple
postcard with your offer can be highly cost-effective for low to
mid-income.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Direct mail can work exceedingly well. Or not. But it's always better to find out as much
as you can about your target group before deciding on the means to reach them and the message to motivate them.
Hycomb's direct mail solutions are individually tailored to each
dental practice, its location, and its specific needs. Give us a toll-free call to discuss pre-planning your own strategy.
Then your campaign becomes a Ready-Aim-Fire! proposition.
Hycomb has been doing direct mail for dentists—exclusively—since 1997. And one size doesn't fit all. Want to chat
about what sort of direct mail campaign would work for you, in your marketplace? Give me a call (800) 523-6961—it's free.