Monday Dental Practice Optimization

Dental direct mail marketing reimagined.
Traditional direct is defined as advertising sent directly to prospective customers via the U.S. Postal Service. 

To use a colloquialism, direct mail aint what it used to be. 

Direct mail has undergone a resurgence in popularity and effectiveness with 66% of respondents to the Vericast Consumer Intel Report* redeeming offers received in the mail. Another Vericast study conducted also found that 72% of millennials routinely read direct mail ads.  In addition to the potential value direct mail offers, its intrinsic value lay in its ability to actually put something in your audience’s hand which, depending on the format and offer, possesses a shelf life, serving as an ongoing reminder to your prospective patient.

Digital and print technology have also made available cost-effective opportunities to customize print and fulfillment to even the smallest business.  With the advent of I.P. address appending, hypertargeting, print on demand, personalization, and demographic customization, direct mail is now more than simply printing a post card, affixing a postage stamp and sending it to people in your service area. 

A direct mail campaign is a tangible call to action, which goes directly into consumers’ homes. Direct mail also places you in touch with prospective patients whose privacy concerns might make them resistant to digital outreach (email, internet banner ads, Q.R. codes, etc.).

Success with direct mail entails several elements among which are: identification of objectives, setting a reasonable budget, performing benefit/cost and return on investment calculations, establishing your target audience(s), effective design of your mailer, efficient implementation, and establishing a complete and accurate tracking protocol. 

The value of direct mail for your dental practice
To be sure, direct mail can help your dental practice grow by attracting new patients.  By utilizing market segmentation technology, direct mail can also give you the power to change the composition of your patient base by, for example, targeting elderly individuals with the disposable income, need, and desire for big case dentistry, or attracting fee for service paying patients.

The seven steps to success with dental direct mail

Your first step on the path to success with direct mail is to Identify Your Objectives. There are two general categories of objective that are appropriate for your dental practice. The first category is an increase the volume of new patients. For example, if your office is presently generating an average of 40 new patients per month and, based on your available capacity and other considerations, you could comfortably absorb an additional 20 per month, your objective would be to “Increase the number of new patients by an average of 50% per month.” The actual increase will probably vary from month to month: it is the average increase over time that is the relevant measure. 

The second category of objective is a change in the composition of your patient base.  For instance, you may want to change the patient mix from 60% fee-for-service and 40% insurance-based to 80% and 20% respectively. Or, you may want to attract more patients desiring a specific procedure, such as cosmetic dentistry, dental implants, etc. Whatever objective you choose, make it as specific as possible, and commit it to writing.

Successfully connecting with your audience requires a recognition of, and appreciation for, the different ways in which prospective dental patients choose to interact with you and your various marketing messages. Baby Boomers tend to be more responsive to direct mail, while Millennials and other ‘digital natives’ are more responsive to electronic media. 

Remember:

When you do not know where you are going,

any road will take you there.

Determine Your Budget

Once you have agreed on your objective, you’ll next want to come up with a budget for your direct mail campaign.  One quick and dirty way to do this is to simply apply the following results-based rule of thumb: multiply your annual collections by: 2-3% to simply stem attrition, 5-7% for moderate growth, and 10-12% for aggressive growth.  To calculate a budget based on your practice situation for a specific tactic under consideration (in this case, direct mail), you’ll want to estimate how many mailers are necessary to achieve your objective, then calculate your cost per mailer and multiply the two.

Let’s say you want to add 10 new patients per month to your practice. A reasonable expected response rate for a new patient mailing campaign is about .25% to .5%. Therefore, choosing the conservative response rate, the number of mailers per month you will need to send is 10/.0025 or 4,000. This assumes your team has the telephone communication skill set to convert 100% of new patient inquiries which, even for the best trained team, is optimistic.  A more realistic figure is 80%. Accordingly, you may want to increase your mailing quantity as a function of the actual ‘conversion ratio’ that is, percentage of new patient inquiries your team is currently converting into kept appointments (what we call your Team Batting Average).

Let’s, therefore, assume for this example a mailing quantity of 5,000 (4,000/.80). You’ll then want calculate your cost per mailing. To do this, determine the cost of your mailing list, design, printing, fulfillment (letter shop), postage, and any tracking technology such as unique telephone numbers, website landing pages, etc., then divide by the anticipated mailing quantity.  Depending on what, how, and how much you mail, your total cost per mailing can range anywhere from $.50 to well over $1.00. Let’s assume it is $.50. In this example then, your monthly budget is $2,500 (5,000 mailers times $.50).

Stay tuned for part 2.

Daniel A. 'Danny' Bobrow (BOB roe) is President of AIM Dental Marketing which, since 1989, has served clients
throughout North America, making it the oldest full service dental marketing firm in existence.

He is also the Founding Executive Committee Chair and Treasurer of The American Academy for Oral Systemic
Health (AAOSH).

Danny is the executive director of Climb For A Cause™, and The SmileTree™ the former organizing and promoting
participation in outdoor events, the latter allowing practices to ‘adopt’ one or more dental education and treatment projects overseas.

He is host of the acclaimed web based educational Series PracticePerfection.™ and the LinkedIn oral systemic
health group (Keyword: AAOSH).

Mr. Bobrow lectures nationwide, and has been published in: DPR World (as The Marketing Insider), New Dentist,
Dental Angle, CDS Review, Dental Compare (Compare Networks), Dental Practice Management, My Dental
Channel, Strategies For Success, Modern Hygienist, New Docs, Office Magic, Pink Tooth, Solutions Quarterly,
Dentistry Today, AGD Impact, DentalEDU.tv, and as the What's Working in Dental Marketing Today columnist for
Dental Economics.

He is one of 12 Charter Members of the Speaking Consulting Network (SCN).

In 2020, Daniel received the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) Award from Toastmasters International. Fewer than
1% of Toastmasters Members received this prestigious Award.

Daniel is also a Certified Dental Practice Consultant, and chaired the Website Committee of The Academy of Dental
Management Consultants

In 2010 he was inducted into the American Academy of Dental Practice Administrators (AADPA) for whom he has
delivered numerous presentations and, in 2011 the American Academy of Private Physicians and Academy of
General Dentistry where to date he has delivered presentations on telephone skills mastery.

He is a certified personal trainer, health coach, outdoor emergency care technician, Alpine Patroller r in the National
Ski Patrol, patrols for the National Mountain Bike Association, and is a certified Level I Instructor with the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA).

Mr. Bobrow holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from The University of Illinois, and Masters of Business Administration Degrees (MBAs) in finance and marketing from The University of Chicago and The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, respectively. He also holds various Certifications ranging from Insurance and Real Estate to Wilderness First Aid.

He is author of The State of The Art In Dentistry Marketing and contributing author to Powerful Practice Vol. II. He
is also the creator, in collaboration with Dr. Bill Blatchford, of The Art of First Impressions (TAFI)©.

Mr. Bobrow has a passion for rock and ice climbing, alpine and nordic skiing, mountaineering, and adventure racing. His mountaineering and racing exploits have been chronicled by Windy City Sports (now Competitor), Private Clubs, Red Book, Vertical Jones, Daily Herald, The Chicago Tribune, and other publications.

By soliciting pledges and corporate sponsorship, he has used many of these climbs as vehicles to raise both awareness and funds for a number of philanthropic organizations.

Mr. Bobrow is also a Certified mediator and arbitrator, and has worked pro bono for several agencies including; the Better Business Bureau, Youth Justice Institute, Center For Conflict Resolution, Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Circuit Court System of the City of Chicago, Center For Conflict Resolution, and Loyola University School of Law. He is a certified Professional Selling Skills II sales trainer and coach, and has passed the real estate
professional's licensing exam.. He is also Member of the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business (Booth School) CEO Roundtable.

Danny resides with his wife Virginia near Chicago. 

Unlocking the Secrets of Dental Marketing Success in 2024!

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Challenges may include managing finances effectively, staying updated with technological advancements, attracting and retaining patients, dealing with insurance complexities, and maintaining a skilled and motivated staff.