Is Direct Mail a Viable Option for Dental Practices?

January 19, 2015
by Keith Gilleard

With the advent of the Post Office’s Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) program in late 2011, direct mail became a feasible marketing alternative once again.

Before the Internet, the most successful direct mail method was the information packet: an envelope containing minimally a letter, a flyer or brochure, an offer and an order form.

Most pro direct mail companies moved over to the Internet, and direct mail in recent years has become synonymous with postcards and catalogues. Postcards are an inexpensive way to get your message out, but as space is limited, they rely heavily on a good offer.

Our premium direct mail piece is our custom magazine. With 12 to 16 pages of letter-size glossy paper, it has the space to provide enough information to engage the reader and motive him or her to call the office. Our magazines can be distributed via EDDM or Red Plum, and we also have a targeted in-store program.

Each magazine is crafted using proven marketing techniques to create high interest in the practice’s services.

Doesn’t internet marketing supplant direct mail?

Direct mail is “interceptive” marketing, unlike Internet marketing, which relies on people searching for a product or service. A well-constructed direct mail piece can create the impetus for a person to do dental services and to choose your practice. Direct mail items, especially our magazines, are often kept for the time a person is ready to move forward with dental work.

We consider direct mail as an additional form of marketing to Internet marketing that can bring new patients to the practice in its own right. In fact, a good website definitely helps a direct mail program, especially postcards where space is limited. The reader can obtain more information about the practice from the office website.

For more information about our magazines, or a free marketing consultation, please call [phone] or click here to request an appointment online.

About the Author

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Keith Gilleard
Keith Gilleard is President of Gilleard Dental Marketing. Gilleard has been providing effective and unique marketing programs for dentists since 2007.

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