Stay Ahead Of The Competition With New Patients

Are you looking for more quality new patients? These effective acquisition strategies can help.

1. Increase Direct Mail Frequency.

Mail frequency matters. To build awareness of your practice and develop a RECOGNIZABLE brand, your practice communications should hit area mailboxes monthly. We encourage you to mail monthly, because we know the tactic is proven to work with visible, tracked results. Twice a month would be overkill, but if you space mailings out too long and aren’t making your monthly house call, residents may forget about you when they have a dental need or are ready to make a buying decision.

Of course, it’s important that your direct mail is high-quality, highlights your unique value proposition, and differentiates you from the competition. Newsletters attract more quality patients than postcards, have a longer shelf life (17 days vs. 3 to 7 days for a postcard), and drive more positive responses in 99% of markets. But for a consistent new-patient flow, it’s vital that you send newsletters to specifically targeted homes every month.

2. Increase Your Direct Mail Quantity.

Frequency rules, but a critical consideration is quantity or “reach.” If you’re already consistently targeting 5,000 households each month but want more new-patient activity, consider expanding to 7,500 or 10,000 households.

For most dental offices, we find that, generally, reaching anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 households monthly delivers excellent results, with around a 6:1 ROI in the first 6 to 12 months. However, if you’re looking for increased growth, you’re supporting more than one dentist, and/or the market is competitive, a further investment in quantity (combined with frequency) should be considered. By strategically building relationships with your market area and nurturing them over time, you will ramp up the number of new patients who choose your practice.

3. Answer More Calls Live.

When you pick up the phone and provide a level of service, you offer patients a better experience, the trusted relationship begins, and the entire patient journey is positively impacted. Every touchpoint matters.

• • Clients who get better results and higher marketing ROI answer more calls live. In today’s AI-driven chat and messaging world, just picking up the phone adds value.
  • The average dental practice answers 72% of calls live, converting 56% to appointments. Say you answer the phone more and add two or three new patients per week. That could contribute an extra $20,000 to the top line each month.
  • With a slight focus, you can add hundreds of thousands in production annually just by taking a small step each day. That’s with the same team, facing the same objections, and converting at a pace of 56%.

Looking for help with the above? Get in touch with our Patient NEWS® experts and learn how to take your online presence to the next level with a FREE CONSULTATION. With 30 years of experience in helping dental practices and DSOs stand out and grow, we can help you succeed!