Ask Amy: Maximize your marketing

Maximize your marketing

I want to send a mailing to market our clinic's dental promotion. Our area of influence is about 2 miles, and that encompasses a population of about 200,000. How can I get the addresses of the households in a certain area or city? Do you know how to focus a mailing to a certain demographic to target people who might own pets?

—Marketing Maven

Dear Maven:

That's an awesome idea. Marketing is so important and so underdone in most practices today. You can target a particular demographic within a certain radius of your clinic by purchasing a mailing list for the zip code or scoping out demographic list options from online marketing databases that serve your area.

Amy

Here's another point to consider: Consistently increasing the contact with your current client base can increase income by up to 34 percent. After all, these pet owners already know you and are more likely to be interested in your dental program. Imagine the revenue you'd generate if you increase clients' average number of visits from two to three times a year. That's a great improvement.

To get the information you want, search your client database for clients you've seen in the last 18 months. Now look for clients who've spent more than $100. This cuts out some people who've used your practice transiently. If your list is still too long, search for clients with pets older than 1 year.

Once you have your list, you're ready to get personal. Send a letter that's addressed to the pet, include a beautiful, professional, high-quality brochure about your services, and tell clients they need to respond by a certain date. A call to action, such as a time-sensitive offer for a free bag of food or goodies, will motivate clients to respond. Make your brochure memorable, with pictures that demonstrate the benefits of your program.

Now, it's time to focus your energy on preparing your team to market the program when clients visit or call. And make sure you have information on your Web site and the on-hold message to support your education efforts.

Want to be sure you can market to the right clients next time? Create recommendation codes for your computer and record your recommendations in the patient file. The codes will trigger your software to remind you to send follow-up information within 24 hours of the client's visit. How's that for getting the most out of your marketing program?

—Amy