To say dental practices are bombarded with marketing and sales ideas is an understatement. Use this. Try that. This works. That doesn’t. Everyone has a point of view and believes their idea is better than the next. Who do you believe, and how do you choose?
Patient News, a dental marketing solutions company, conducted the studies in 300 unique demographic target markets across the U.S. The study proved that overall, newsletters generate a higher response rate than postcards. The research showed that, on average, newsletters drive 17 calls for every 10 generated from a postcard, 70% higher than postcards.
“Since our company sells both postcards and newsletters, we have nothing to gain from one or the other,” said Joanne Bishop, vice president of Patient News. “As we headed into the test we suspected that newsletters were the vehicle that was driving better results, and sure enough, the results have proven it.”
As Patient News expanded into offering direct mail, newsletters, postcards, brochures, and digital solutions during its 21 years in business, they recently determined that they needed to collect some firm data. In March they decided to split test newsletters versus postcards.
“Two years ago we enhanced our direct mail product by adding call tracking and scoring – it’s the age of big data – and we have access to clear and visible marketing results like we’ve never had before,” said Bishop. “We assigned unique numbers to each product. The comparative test included essentially the same product messaging, imagery, and offers, and these tests were conducted across the country with various degrees of competitiveness and practice services.”
In most markets, the high-quality customized branded newsletter generated 70% more response than the postcard.
The staff at Patient News was not too surprised by the results.Dentists aren’t selling “stuff,” and therefore consumers are responding to the more professional presentation. They appreciate the value-added content. A customized newsletter campaign is like a strong PR campaign – it helps build relationships outside of the practice.
The study also revealed that 92% of health-care decisions are made by women, who want high-quality and educational information to help them make good decisions for their families. Seventy-three percent of people prefer to get information about a business in a collection of articles (such as a newsletter) rather than in a traditional ad, while 98% of top campaigns used a newsletter. Overall, Patient News campaigns generated close to double its expected response.
“Newsletters work, and they work better than postcards,” said Bishop. “Now we can more effectively coach our clients to create more successful direct mail campaigns.”
For more information about dental marketing experts Patient News, contact them at 800-667-0268 or patientnews.com. They offer a free no obligation consultation that includes a detailed demographic report on your area plus information about how newsletters might work in your market – a $450 FREE value.
