Many dentists think the marketing process ends when the prospective patient shows up for their first appointment. Getting a new patient in your office is undoubtedly a win, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the marketing story. While seated in your waiting room, the new patient becomes a captive audience to learn more about your practice, your reputation, and your services. Don’t underestimate the value of having strategic print material in the waiting room for patients to see while waiting to be seated.
Do you have a referral program you want to highlight at your checkout desk? How about a table tent with a QR code so they can easily follow you on social media?
These are subtle but powerful ways to build patient loyalty and increase patient retention.
Print products are available in many forms, from business cards to table tents and more, to help market your business. Dental clinics often rely on print marketing for several reasons, such as:
Proactivity: Print products such as appointment cards can quickly remind your patients about their next appointment.
Distributing: Creating custom fliers with coupons or loyalty cards is a great way to use print products to spread the word about your practice.
Connecting with patients: Print pieces can also include sending a birthday postcard informing patients of a new service or advertising a promotion on teeth whitening.
Here are three dental print marketing pieces to consider using to make a significant impact on your current and future patients:
Business Cards / Appointment Cards
A business card is an essential and powerful networking tool. Business cards are great for handing out to new potential patients who haven’t used your services before. Your business card also has basic contact information, which is helpful for patients to refer to.
Patients will reference your card for information they need to make appointments or for further inquiries.
A business card can also double as an appointment card or loyalty program card. You’ll find that these cards can be written on and stamped to hand your patients a personalized reminder of their next appointment as they leave the office.
Business cards are essential for offices that rely on provider referrals, such as orthodontists, periodontists, implant specialists, and endodontists. They allow you to quickly and simply share referral information for these services with your patients.
Brochures
Many clinics hand out brochures or pamphlets to patients before a scheduled procedure to give them an idea of what to expect during the operation. Brochures are meant to be informative, provide insight into the procedure's importance, and provide aftercare tips.
Brochures are great for sharing:
in-house membership plans
provider bios and specialties
new services
case studies with before and after photos
In addition to business cards, brochures are helpful print for offices that rely on provider referrals. Brochures are a great way for offices to share their practice information and the benefits of choosing a specialist. This is a significant purpose for offering brochures because when a general dentist refers a patient to a specialist, giving the brochure and business card combo to the patient goes a long way.
Direct Mail Marketing / Postcards
Postcards are a popular option for direct mail advertising. They are affordable and effective, and the best part is that some print companies offer services to help you sort them and send them to the post office.
Postcards offer a variety of uses:
Hand-signed birthday postcards - would be great for any office, but especially pediatric offices
Review request postcards (a postcard with a QR code to Yelp, Google, and FB) are great things to drop into the post-appointment goody bags or to give to a patient at check-out
New resident direct mail campaigns for existing practices
Promo postcard sharing “now open” for start-up practices
Anything else you can think of (promoting contests, b2b marketing for referral-based practices, etc.)
Print marketing materials can give your practice a professional and personalized touch that can help capture and retain patients. If you are considering trying print marketing, contact the professionals at Edify Dental Marketing. Edify Dental Marketing provides print marketing services for any project your dental practice may have in mind.
Jared Allen, co-founder of Edify Dental Marketing, offers clients years of experience in practice consulting and business growth. He is dedicated to assisting dental practices in improving their efficiency, achieving greater success, and drawing in new patients.