Ashley Jorgensen, marketing director, Mailing.com

Print isn't dead yet, and the benefits of marketing with print materials can help bolster your practice.

Many practice owners may not be aware that postal rates increased by an average of 2.5% in January. However, there are several shortcuts that can save dental marketers money, lessening the price hike’s impact.

With prospects for postal reform improving, now is a good time for dental practices to increase their direct mail efforts. By taking advantage of promotions for using mostly new technologies and techniques, marketers can position themselves as a relevant omnichannel business. Allowing them to also save money in the process.

In recent years, the USPS has been providing incentives to companies to use innovative response technologies and printing techniques in their direct mail campaigns. The goal is to engage recipients across both print and online channels, as well as to improve the user experience. Although no promotions were offered for 2018 mail, starting in February, the USPS began offering several different promotions for 2019.

Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Promotion: 

 that print engages our senses in a different way than digital communications, leading to better brand recognition and recall. This promotion is available through July 31 and rewards mail for using sensory elements such as special visual effects, sound, scent, taste, or tactile components.

Emerging and Advanced Technology Promotion: 

This promotion runs through August 31 and encourages integration with technology to boost response rate. To be eligible, the campaign must use one of the following high-tech elements: NFC, Video in Print (ViP), BLE/Beacon, “enhanced” augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, Addressable TV, Integration with Digital Assistants, and Digital to Direct Mail.

Personalized Color Transpromo Promotion: 

This promotion runs through the rest of the year and aims to help spruce up no-frills pieces such as bills and other statements. To qualify, mail needs to use dynamic and variable color print to create personalized marketing messages in transactional mail.

Also available through the end of the year, this builds on past promotions for integrating mobile technology. Features such as expanded QR codes, app-enabled QR code payment options and other barcode formats are included in the promotion.

This brand-new offer from USPS expands upon the Informed Delivery program USPS introduced in 2017. Informed Delivery is a verified, free, password-protected account that acts as a digital mailbox for the direct mail the user receives. So far, 13 million customers have registered for the ability to log in and view a scanned grayscale image of the address side of a letter-sized mail piece. The promotion extends the reach of your direct mail campaign by giving the customer a way to immediately respond to an offer even before receiving the mail. Registration for the promotion opens July 15; the promotion period runs from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30.

These promotions run for anywhere from three to six months each. For more information and to participate, visit the 

 for specific details on each promotion. Outside of these offers, careful planning is key to maximize your direct mail campaign ROI. Mail that looks forward by creating better marketing experiences for consumers is even more crucial for shaping a good future than maximizing the efficiencies now possible.

An experienced mail partner can help qualify your prospect list, create an eye-catching design, and guide you through USPS rules, saving you time and — you guessed it – more money. With individualized, relevant messaging and impressive print techniques in their toolbox, dental marketers can ensure a bright and profitable future for direct mail.

For more practice management insight, read on 

Articles

Marketing by both digital means and print materials can help your practice reach a wider audience and retain that audience. But the price of using the post office has gone up, so here are some ways to keep your print marketing going and your budget down.