Dental Advertising: What Are You Trying to Sell? Part Two

Every point of contact with the public is an opportunity to “sell” your business.  Whether you sell tires, hamburgers, carpet cleaning or dental service – you have to tell people who you are, what your sell, and why they should purchase it from you.

In a dental practice this means from your first point of advertising to the moment the patient walks out of your office they need to see your brand, hear your name, and “feel” your practice.  The feel of your practice refers back to our previous article Pitching the Practice (http://jointherevo.blogspot.com/2014/04/pitching-practice.html) and discusses making your dental team cheerleaders for your practice versus just employees.  This article will review advertising.

Your Advertising

Direct Mail remains a very effective way to reach your prospective audience.  But you cannot rely on a single mailing to miraculously double your new patients.  Unlike the offer for the new pizza restaurant, your prospects are not “hungry” all the time.  For a dental practice, you have several factors that will contribute to a successful advertising campaign:

• Does the prospect need your services at this time?
• Do they have a current dental provider?
• What services do you offer that are elective AND wallet-friendly?
• How much do your services cost?
• Why should they choose you?
• And, who ARE you?

You need to have your offer in front of the prospect when they need your services.  This is why a consistent advertising campaign is very important to your practice’s success.  In addition, you need to make your practice a household name.  When a prospect needs dental work, you need to make sure your practice is the first one they remember.  And if you’re not getting the response rate you want from your mailer, it may be your creative and your ad copy.  Let’s review an example and how it can be improved upon.

The Mailer

1.  The Header

“There’s a story behind every smile . . .,” could be a tagline for anything from cupcakes to a photography studio.  Nothing in the header tells your prospect this is for a dental practice or who sent it.  A simple change can make a huge difference.

                “There’s a story behind every Smith Dental smile . . .”

Simply adding the name of the practice focuses the narrative in the header.

2.  The Copy

“ . . . and everyone wants to have a smile they feel good about, no matter their age. [Sic] gender, profession, or circumstance.”

First, two paragraphs break the “10-words or less” rule of copy.  Unless you have a compelling story, keep it simple.

Second, the copy sounds like the opening of a speech.  There is not a call to action or a reason why there is a story behind every smile.  A better approach:

                “ . . . and that’s why we want to help you find yours again.”

 The second paragraph:

“Understanding that simple fact has allowed us to provide not only exceptional results, but a pleasing experience as well.”

This paragraph is unnecessary, but can be written to provide a more compelling reason to visit this practice.

“At Smith Dental, we respect your reason to improve your smile.  Whether you want to improve your career, are dating again, have an upcoming reunion, or simply want to feel better about yourself – we will give you excellent results.”

This copy gives the prospect pain points to consider even if they have not been thinking about dental work.  The suggestions may trigger the prospect to choose an elective dental procedure.

The third paragraph:

                “So whatever the story may be . . .”

This paragraph is simply unnecessary and does not add to the “conversation”.

3.  The Tag Line

“ . . . we’d like to be a part of yours”

This line is frighteningly passive, like a shy 8^th grader asking for a dance in junior high.  The tag line should be confident and assertive:

                “At Smith Dental, we will help you restore your smile.”

4.  The Image

The picture should tell a story about what you will receive at the dental practice.  The smiling dentist and his family is a well-staged photograph, but does not show an example of the services.  With a few small changes in layout this mailer could have shown two services, like professional teeth whitening or veneers, to support the header.  This was a missed opportunity to show results of making an appointment.

5.  The Identifier

This section had the name of the doctors larger than the contact information.  This was a missed opportunity to put a large contact telephone number and a call to action:

                “Make your appointment today.”

This may seem like a simple statement, but it tells the recipient what they should do if they want a restored smile.

Direct Mail Does Work

A direct mailer doesn't require printing 25k pieces at once – nor should a dentist do so to get “a better price”.  The value of direct mail is the ability to change your message and offer based upon impact and the needs of the practice.  The look and feel of the mailer should maintain a theme, but the offers and images should rotate in order to keep the mailer fresh.

Remember, if you’re not getting the response you want, it’s time to change the mailer.

For more information about owning your dental practice that comes with professional marketing and operational support, visit www.jointherevo.com.

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