Direct mail is helpful when announcing a new business or new service offerings. It tends to "work" to generate about 3 new patients per 5,000 pieces until it tapers off and stops working after about 5-6 mailers.
Direct mail works best when paired with aggressive offers. This is because the potential patient isn't actively seeking your service offerings when they encounter your message. This is the opposite with a method such as Google ads, which will allow you to show value at the exact moment when a patient is searching for a dentist or dental specialist like you.
What direct mail lacks in its ability to target the right people at the right time (affordably), it can make up in brand recognition. If you're going into a direct mail campaign with the hopes that you'll get the most bang for your marketing buck, you'll likely be disappointed in it, even with the strongest message and the most appropriate targeting. Most of our clients agree that the predictable and longstanding ROI from digital marketing is more powerful than direct mail, however some still choose to run this type of campaign to enhance brand recognition and to have a diversified marketing approach - both of which have an intangible value.
When it comes time to print your marketing, you can mention us to postcard mania for special pricing or work with a local printer who is EDDM certified. Every Door Direct Mail by the United States Postal Service will get you the best value and allow you to blanket your community with your message.
If you're wanting to run a highly targeted direct mail campaign (i.e. only show my message to families with children under 10 years of age), you're going to spend more on the list and printing than you would to "hit" the whole community through EDDM. Financially, extremely targeted lists don't make sense because the cost to attain and leverage them is higher than the cost to bulk print and hit all homes.