Frequent Asked Questions

Direct-Mail-questions-and-concerns

Q.) What should I expect for a response when using a direct mail system?
A.) The industry standard response rate for direct mail advertising is approximately 1%. Our mailings have a proven track record for generating higher response rates - but don't expect to get 80%. You need to look at what the lifetime value of just 1 new patient will bring in.
Some patients will come in and only need a cleaning and get a filling. However, they may be worth $5,000 or more over a period of a few years. If you understand that by doing direct mail, you are priming the pump with quality patients. Some will accept high value care instantly, while some don’t want veneers yet, but in a year or two do.

Q.) What do we do once the phones start to ring?
A.) Conversion of calls to appointments is your office's responsibility. Train your front desk to make that appointment. Contact the Scheduling Institute for help with this at (770) 518-7575. At the time of the appointment is when your office will "wow" the patient with your warm and friendly demeanor combined with your dental knowledge and talent. They will not want to go elsewhere for their dental needs.

Q.) What kind of return should I see on my investment?
A.) You must have the patience to judge results over at least a 3-4 month period: You will most likely make ALL your money back and start making 10:1 ROI within the first month, however, some times by the time you get a patient in and get paid it takes a few months to see the true pay off. Plus, if you add up the referrals you will be getting that usually takes an extra month or so to see that Revenue, which are all very good things, however, I need to make sure that you have the proper perspective when doing this program. It all goes back to understanding of what the "Lifetime Value" of just one good patient really means.

Q.) What do I do if we get some of these pieces returned back in the mail?
A.) It is standard in all direct mail systems to have a 10%-12% in return mail. No list is 100% accurate in an ever changing world. Errors, bad addresses, duplicates, wrong information will occur. Also no one can control the delivery efforts of the United States Post Office computers and handlers. Many of our offices reuse those pieces and start a referral program within the office with a reward system.