If you’re thinking about starting a direct mail marketing campaign, you may be wondering whether or not the return on investment (ROI) will be worth the hassle of creating and maintaining a direct mail campaign. When done right, direct mail marketing campaigns can be an extremely effective method of getting new patients, selling a new service, or bringing old patients back to the dental office.
1 – Know the Costs
The first step to determining your direct mail ROI is tracking the cost of the program. This will determine how much money you will need to make in order to break even. Set a direct mail marketing budget that makes sense for you and stick with it.
2 – Know the Profit Margin
Once you know the cost of your campaign, you need to know how many new dental patients you need to bring in to pay for the ads. Say your campaign budget is $2,000. If you make $100 from each patient who responds to your mailer, you’ll need to have 20 responses to break even. Most practices want to at least double the money they spend on their campaign. In the above example, that would mean 40 responses.
Keep in mind that this first visit will hopefully not be the new patient’s last, so you should also consider the lifetime value of bringing in a new client, meaning your total profit is actually much higher. We recommend tracking both immediate and long-term ROI, so you truly understand the value of your investment.
3 – Track Your Responses
The only way to know the value of your direct mail campaign for sure is to track your responses. You may want to use a call tracking number on the post cards, ask new patients why they called, or ask people to bring in their postcard to receive a discount. There are many ways to keep track of which clients found your through your direct mail campaign. Whichever you decide on, be consistent!
Meet the Strategic Marketing Solutions Team
At Strategic Marketing Solutions, all we do is marketing for dental offices. That means we know the industry, understand the ins and out of successful campaigns, and we have experience creating and maintaining effective marketing strategies for dental offices of all sizes across the US. When you’re ready to get started with your direct mail marketing campaign, call our team today. We’ll walk you through our marketing solutions to create a custom plan to meet your practice’s needs.