2012 will be an exciting year at Sharper Cards!  We’ve recently updated our logo and slogan to reflect our commitment to helping you build strong patient or client relationships to grow your practice or business.  For over 27 years, Sharper Cards has provided they very best selection in personalized healthcare and business -themed card designs.  Don’t forget we also offer practice or business essentials including magnets, tote bags, promotional giveaways and more.

Our mandate to our customers is to help build loyalty and acquire new patients or clients.  Our cost-affordable products take the leg work out of designing effective communication and promotional materials.  If you want to customize any design you see, no problem!

Another new and exciting feature that we care excited to offer to our customers is the ability to fully customize your postcards, front and back! Our NEW Customizable Postcards enables you to choose a design and customize it to your liking.

At Sharper Cards, we understand that prospecting is crucial for success.  Whether you’re looking to grow your practice or business, or simply maintain a constant base, you must bring in new patients or clients to compensate for the natural process of patient  or client attrition.  Not sure where to start?  We will make the whole process easy!

Customizable postcards are powerful marketing tools professionally designed to give you the flexibility to change as little or as many elements as you need.  With no additional fees, it is an easy and affordable way to grow your practice or business.  Here is an example of what you can do with our Customizable Postcards:

For easy ordering, please visit our website at sharpercards.com to shop and personalize all of your favorite products online.

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We are currently overstocked on many of our customer favorites! For a limited time,
get 50% off these popular laser card, standard postcard and standard folding card designs.

Visit sharpercards.com to view the complete selection.

Shop now while quantities last!

*Special offer cannot be combined with any other promotions.  50% off is only applicable on specific designs while quantities last.

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It is never too early to plan ahead for any advertising and marketing you are thinking of doing for next year.  Moreover, by building a strong relationship with your existing patients before the new year starts, you can ensure their return  and a full appointment book in 2012.

If you’re thinking of sending out calendars, Sharper’s 2012 Tri-Fold Calendars are an economical year-round reminder.  Envelopes are included free with your order.  Ask us how you can easily customize designs.  Here’s a great idea…try having a few New Year’s resolutions for improved Oral Health printed on the back.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO PUT A BEAUTIFUL SMILE ON YOUR FACE IN 2012.

1. FLOSS DAILY. Brushing with a toothbrush just won’t completely do the job of removing plaque.
2. CHANGE YOUR TOOTHBRUSH AT LEAST EVERY COUPLE MONTHS.
   A new toothbrush will help build a beautiful new smile.
3. INCLUDE HEALTHY SNACKS IN YOUR DIET EVERY DAY. Choose fruit and veggies over sweets and soda.
4. VISIT YOUR DENTIST FOR REGULAR CLEANINGS AND CHECKUPS. Give us a call. We will be happy to set up appointments for you all at once or throughout the year.

Choose from a wide variety of designs, and if you see something that you would like to change slightly…let use know.  Our very talented Creative Services Team will be happy to set up your artwork just the way you want it.  You can take any of the Sharper™ Designs and add your own copy (front or back)

C-5059 Smile Waterfall

C-5075 Every Smile Is Beautiful

C-5060 Cosmetic - Seasons

And, if you want to remind them of their appointments, we have matching appointment cards for many of our designs.

Get ready for a great 2012. Plan ahead.

Calendars are a great way to keep your practice top-of-mind with patients all year-round.  Check out our Seasonal Collection for more great ideas.

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I can’t believe we are already at the end of October and will soon be approaching the Holidays!

I know one thing on my mind (besides Christmas shopping!) is that my benefits will be expiring and to make sure that I am using everything I can before it’s too late.

Sharper™ 15-2984 Benefit Reminder Postcard

The yearly maximum usually renews every year (on January 1st if the plan is on a calendar year).  If your patients or clients  have unused benefits, these will not rollover.

Possible fee increase is another reason to remind your patients or clients to use their benefits before the end of the year.  Some practices or businesses raise their rates at the beginning of the year due to increased operation, material and equipment costs.

By delaying certain treatments, patients or clients are risking more extensive and expensive treatments down the road.  What may be a simple cavity now, could turn into a root canal or something much worse later!

Please take a moment to look at our selection of Benefit Reminder Postcards and messages today.  You can view all of our designs on our website or in our catalogs.

Don’t hesitate to call 1-800-561-6677 and ask one of our very knowledgeable and friendly Product Consultants for more details!!

Sending postcards is one of direct marketing’s best kept secrets! It’s a simple and economical way to promote your services, stimulate referrals and reach out to patients or clients to keep your appointment book full.

Make sure to maximize your efforts by including some of these great ideas in your message:

• Differentiate your practice or business. Incorporate your logo or a free Sharper™ logo for visual impact.  Include a mission statement or an inspirational quote.
• Engage prospects. Spotlight your message with an exciting offer or coupon.  Include a listing of your unique services, a map of your location, and don’t forget to add your website address if your have one.
• Motivate existing patients or clients. Emphasize the importance of oral health by including an interesting statistic or fact.  Encourage patients or clients to come back in for their regular preventative appointments with an effective recall program.
• Appeal to new and former patients or clients with relevant imagery and message. Sharper’s selection of postcards offers a wide variety of designs to target different groups of patients or clients.
• Generate patient loyalty and keep your practice or business name top of mind. Send birthday greetings, wishes for the holiday season or simple reminders.

Send a postcard today and watch your practice or business grow!  Click here to shop our complete selection of postcards.

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Sharper™ is happy to introduce Terrapin Inc. card designs, one of the latest Artistic Licenses to join our collection of product offerings.  Inky Raccoon, Quincy O’Possum, Timber the Beaver and the rest of the Terrapin critters are drawn by Pacific Northwest cartoonist Terry Morin.

The Terrapin characters first appeared in spring of 1997 featuring a family of raccoons and a couple of mischievous frogs.  Since that time, the line has grown into a collection of woodland creatures that now include various turtle species, dragonflies, newts and other fuzzy forest friends.  These warm,  light-hearted dental scenes make for humorous appointment reminders and are sure to delight all your patients.

Here is a look at some of the card designs available:

Click here to visit e-sharper.com/dental to view the complete selection.

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Sharper’s having another awesome sales event to help you save on recall cards for your business or practice.  Whether it’s recall cards for your dental practice, chiropractic practice, massage therapy business, veterinary practice, pet care business, optometry practice,  audiology practice, or financial, insurance and general business, we’ve got hundreds of designs that will suit your needs.

Recall cards are a great marketing tool to have for any practice or business.  Sending personalized recall postcards to remind patients or clients of upcoming scheduled appointments or return visits is an easy and affordable way to promote your practice or business and ensure that your appointment book is full, all year round.

There are only a few days left to take advantage of this amazing offer!

25% OFF RECALL CARDS

Quote promo code: P811E

Offer expires August 31, 2011.

Ordering is easy! Visit e-sharper.com or call 1-800-561-6677 and one of our friendly Product Consultants will be happy to assist you.

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At Sharper™, we believe that practice success begins with great products.  That is why our new Fall 2011 Dental Catalog is packed with hundreds of  great ideas to successful market your practice.  In this season’s book, we are featuring our new Seasonal Collection line of Thanksgiving and Holiday Cards, 2012 Calendars and much more.  In addition, we’ve got great seasonal savings that you can take advantage of to showcase your practice while saving you money.

Building patient loyalty  and encouraging referrals are the two most important cornerstones for your dental practice success.  At Sharper™, we understand every dental practice is unique.  Which is why we offer a wide selection o f personalized patient communication and promotional products.  You choose what’s right for you and your patients or colleagues from hundreds of popular character and dental-themed designs.  The quality of your dental practice will be reflected in these exceptional and unique products.

Here is a preview at what’s new in our Fall 2011 Dental Catalog:

NEW Holiday Card Designs

NEW Thanksgiving Card Designs

NEW Character Seasonal Card Designs

NEW 2012 Magnet Calendar Designs

To request a copy of our Fall 2011 Dental catalog, click here to order or call 1-800-561-6677 and one of our Product Consultants will be happy to assist you.

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We’ve just wrapped up an amazing Summer Warehouse Sale event, thanks to all of our customers  who took part in making the event such a successful one.  For those who weren’t able to take advantage of all the amazing special offers – don’t fret – we’ve got a great “Sizzling July Sale” event happening right now.  Don’t miss this opportunity to stock up on all your personalized promotional products for the upcoming busy holiday season.

Hurry, these incredible offers expires July 31, 2011.
Special offers cannot be combined.  One offer per order.

Ordering is easy! Visit e-sharper.com or call 1-800-561-6677.

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A question that I often hear from our customers is what makes Sharper™ different from our competitors?  Well, other than an incredible team of product consultants, a 100% satisfaction guarantee to ensure your order is always perfect, and a price match promise that’s designed to meet any competitors’ pricing, we’re the only company that offers exclusive card designs from artistic cartoon licenses such as Pickles™, Baby Blues, Brian Fray, Adam@Home™, Garfield® and many more.

Sharper™ is proud to be the only company that offers a wide range of card designs featuring lovable cartoon characters from many renowned professional artists.

Have you ever wondered what these characters can teach you about marketing and growing your practice or business?  Other than being funny, cheerful and witty,  these characters can provide great marketing tips to keep your practice or business busy and bustling with customer bookings for the summer season.

Without further ado, here’s the marketing tips you’ve been waiting for, delivered by our very own lovable cartoon characters.

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Summer is just around the corner and what a better way to celebrate the warmth and beautiful weather than with bright and colorful personalized products.  To help get your practice busy for the summer season, Sharper™ has just released our new Summer 2011 Dental Catalog!

In this book, we’ve got everything from personalized recall postcards/laser cards to tote bags and peel and stick appointment cards.  Click here to view our new Dental catalog online.  If you prefer to have a catalog mailed to you, click here to order or call 1-800-561-6677 to request a copy.

Sending personalized recall products to remind patients of upcoming scheduled appointments or return visits is an easy and affordable way to promote good oral health and motivate patients to maintain a healthy smile.

Here are some of my favorite recall postcard designs that also comes in a peel and stick, business card and tote bag formats:

Portray a professional image by coordinating designs for all your patient communications. This will help build your brand and also save you money.

Purchase 3 products – 15% OFF – Promo Code MATCH3
Purchase 4 products – 25% OFF – Promo Code MATCH4
Purchase 5 products – 30% OFF – Promo Code MATCH5

Ordering is easy!  Visit e-sharper.com or call 1-800-561-6677.

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At Sharper™, we greatly value the feedback we receive from our customers when they complete our “Would You Recommend Us” survey.  Our customers tell us the things they love about our business, but most importantly they tell us the things that create customer service issues for them.  We also receive a ton of recommendations on how we can improve our business processes to better support our customers and their goals of growing their practice or business successfully.

An important trend with our customers has been the migration of ordering products online at our website www.e-sharper.com.  Since the majority of our products are personalized with contact information and branding like custom logos, we have heard a lot of feedback about how our site did not allow customers to quickly see how their products would look when printed.  They would have to request a proof, which would be sent by email or fax.  Way too labor intensive in this day and age of technology.

So we challenged our IT team to find an easy to use application for our website where customers could enter in the information they wanted to have printed on their product, change fonts, ink colors, logos, etc.  And boy, what they found for us was great!  If you have not been to the Sharper™ site recently, please visit www.e-sharper.com.  Boasting some exciting new features including a revamped look, our website will now allow you to easily search for your products and personalize it with our online personalization tool.

Furthermore, if you create a web account, your name and address information will auto-populate…saving time from manually keying it in.  All of this information is then stored in your account for easy retrieval when you reorder.  You will also see a digital proof which represents how your products will look when printed.  Don’t like the look – then quickly change it.

Needless to say, we love technology and I know our customers will too!  Happy shopping…

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Reactivation Postcards are pretty self-explanatory, but these cards can also be a great way to feature new products and service offerings!  For example, you could have a message that reads:

“Dear:_______________________,

After reviewing your file, we noticed that you may be due for a check-up appointment.  In the best interest of your health it is important that we see you as soon as possible. Your last appointment with us was over ____ year(s) ago.  Please call at your earliest convenience to book your appointment to ensure your health is at its best!

Also, we would love to see you and show you some of the new services our company now offers!

Please join us on June 6, 2011 for an Open-House including beverages and treats!  There will be a guided tour where you can see all the wonderful products and services first hand and ask us any questions you may have.

We hope to see you there!”

At Sharper™, we are able to personalize the cards in any way you like.   Please click here to see some other ideas for reactivation messages, and remember that you can change the wording to suit your needs.  If you have a layout or an idea, please feel free to call Customer Service Center at 1-800-561-6677 to speak to one of our friendly Product Consultants, so they can help make it become a reality!  Your patients will love the personal touch you have put into the cards.  Your effort  will definitely show!

Here are few idea’s for Reactivation Postcards.  Please click here to see our full selection – you can narrow your search to see the specific designs related to your practice or business.

Undoubtedly, many people would rank eyesight as one of the top most valuable human body mechanisms.  However, many of us forget the importance of getting a regular eye exam or even value the health of our eyes.  I’ve got friends who’ve neglected going for an eye exam because it’s the one body function that they don’t seem to think or care about on a daily basis.  The odd thing is, how can someone not think about their eyes when it’s one of the most important bodily functions in their lives?  In my opinion, I think it’s the lack of education on being proactive about keeping your eyes healthy – and this is where optometry practices can benefit.

A lot of people I know don’t have a regular optometrist that they visit, and they don’t know what’s the first step to maintaining healthy eyes.  People don’t realize the importance of preventing eye problems until it develops – especially vision problems.  Like most health related issues, education is the key to prevention.  Optometry practices can take advantage of this opportunity to educate potential and current patients by sending brochures and cards to promote eye health.  Preventive care postcards are a great way to remind patients to appointments  for regular eye exams and educating them on daily eye health maintenance.

Here are some of my favorite eye health preventive care postcards:

Click here to see our complete selection of vision care personalized postcards.

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Let’s get social with Sharper™!

Follow us on Twitter or become a Facebook fan to receive great promotions, news, marketing tips and industry updates that only social media subscribers will receive.

With the New Year sneaking up on us, this is a perfect time to get in contact with your patients you didn’t see this year!  Considering how busy all of our lives are, it’s especially nice to get a fresh reminder on Optometry and Audiology appointments that may have slipped your mind.  Here are a few suggestions on designs that will stand out against all the other mail your patients may receive.

Please also keep in mind that you can custom design the message on the reverse side at no extra charge.   Add a custom logo for a one time $45 fee or use one of our free logos.

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Let’s get social with Sharper™!

Follow us on Twitter or become a Facebook fan to receive great promotions, news, marketing tips and industry updates that only social media subscribers will receive.

Santa’s on his way, in less than a month!

Just imagine…friends and family coming over to celebrate this wonderful time of year and your little four legged friends come to say hello, but a cloud of dust follows them!  Why not send them to get all cleaned up - healthy and happy, so you can be proud of every family member!!

Here are a few ideas of Grooming and Veterinary cards to remind your  loyal customers of how important their critters really are!

The back of the postcards can be customized completely with your companies return address, company logo (one time set up fee of $45), hours of operation, gift certificates available, customized message and a map (one time set up fee of $45).

Please don’t hesitate to call our friendly call center sales consultants if you have any questions or concerns at 1-800-561-6677.

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Let’s get social with Sharper™!

Follow us on Twitter or become a Facebook fan to receive great promotions, news, marketing tips and industry updates that only social media subscribers will receive.

Due to the cold weather, sports injuries and strains can be much more common at this time of year.  A great way to remind your patients of this and the benefits of making an appointment with your office is with our beautifully designed Chiropractic, Physiotherapy and Massage Postcards!

The back of the postcard is completely customizable.  You can explain all the benefits here, along with space to write an upcoming appointment date or anything else you like.  We can also print a coupon or a discount the patient can receive when they bring in this card.  A great promotional tool!

Also, please remember you can add your custom logo to the back of the postcards for a one time set-up fee of $45.00.

Another option you have is to take one of the designs shown in our catalog and change the text on the front for a $60.00 flat fee.  Please contact our call center at 1-800-561-6677 and give the Product Consultant the item number of the card you would like to change and we can let you know if the licensing will permit the change.

When my daughter was little, she loved the Tooth Fairy.  Every time she lost a tooth she would carefully tuck it in an envelope and decorate it with hearts and flowers drawn in brightly colored crayons.  She would include a note each time, explaining that this was her second tooth or her third tooth, and that she wanted the Tooth Fairy to take good care of it.  Sometimes she would ask questions: “How tall are you?  Where do you keep my teeth? What color is your dress?  I wish I could meet you some day. xoxo (and more hearts and flowers).”

I couldn’t let these notes and questions go unacknowledged, so from then on, I became the Tooth Fairy.  I created a special hand writing that my daughter soon came to identify.  I would carefully answers her questions, usually in the form of a poem or rhyme and leave a dollar in the envelope for her to find under her pillow the next morning.  She would say, “Mommy, this must be the Tooth Fairy!  I can tell by her hand writing.”

To this day (and my daughter is now 20), I still think of those times and how special it was to be the Tooth Fairy if only for a moment.  Then, this past Thursday evening some 15 years later, I finally met the person that embodies the heart and soul of all Tooth Fairies around the world, Toothena.  Moreover, I saw first hand just how powerful her magic really is!

I attended the  Tooth Fairy Children’s Foundation Fundraising Gala with a few of my fellow colleagues from Sharper™, as an event sponsor.  It was so inspiring to see the support, hard work and dedication that went into planning the evening.  The Gala was in support of the foundation’s vision “ to provide every child worldwide with a toothbrush and access to dental care.” And finally…yes finally, I really got to meet the Tooth Fairy herself! (My daughter smiled as I showed her the program from the evening event and the photo that you see here.)

“The Tooth Fairy Children’s Foundation is a charitable organization with the mission to provide every child worldwide with a toothbrush, oral hygiene education and access to dental care.  The Foundation will educate and build awareness of the dental needs of children globally.  Funds raised will be allocated to individuals and groups with the intention of providing dental care for children in need.” – http://www.toothfairykids.org/index.html

The Tooth Fairy Children Foundation’s Project Toothbrush can give your patients a choice to make a difference in this world – by donating their toothbrush (or money) for a child in need.  Thank you Toothena (aka CoraMarie Clark) for bringing smiles to little faces all over the world.  You truly are an inspiration!

And at Sharper™ we are very pleased to offer the Toothena the Tooth Fairy line of dental communication products, perfect for promoting dental care in your community.

Send a Toothena recall card to remind patients of their appointments.  Welcome them to your practice with a Toothena welcome card or have your little patients take home a Toothena Tooth Chart and a wonderful Toothena tote bag filled with patient giveaways.

As the economy approaches its one-year mark in the recovery phase, many dental practices are implementing direct marketing strategies in hopes of recovering lost sales due to the economic meltdown in 2008.  In both the United States and Canada, about 95% of dental practices use a patient recall program to stimulate patient loyalties, according to a survey from Sharper™.  Moreover, the use of phone calls remain the most widely used method in recall activities.

A total of 722 customers having a dental practice responded to the survey.

For many dental practices in the United States and Canada, obtaining patient loyalty is considered one of the most important goal.  Among all surveyed respondents, telephone and direct mail remain the most utilized tool in a recall program, 96% of respondents used phone calls and 88% used postcard mailing, compared with 56% and 25% of practices using emailing tool and text message marketing.

Moreover, all respondents considered phone calls to be the most effective and successful strategy in a recall program.  This may be due to the fact that the majority of practices (71%) use front staff to administer their recall program.  While many practices are relying on traditional methods to promote patient loyalty, email and text messaging are quickly gaining popularity.  However, many practices are reluctant to use email and text messaging in their recall program due to inefficient, and in some cases unavailable, in-house computer software capabilities.

Among the United States survey respondents, professional designs promoting practice-branding was rated strongly in their recall mailing program, while Canadian respondents were more concerned with family oriented designs.  In addition, 75% of respondents stated that catalogs are still the preferred tool to use when ordering postcards and laser cards, compared to 18% using online systems as their preferred ordering method.

As these survey results suggest, using a well-resourced patient recall program will be a key component for dental practices to increase patient loyalty rates, especially as the economy moves into its second year of recovery.

About the data: Sharper™ conducted the August 2010 online survey of 722 Canadian and United States dental practices.  Dental practices is defined as any practice that performs professional oral care on patients.  Respondents are existing customers of Sharper™.

In the design department we have been busy translating some of our many English designs into Français, as a FREE service for our customers and it’s something anyone can take advantage of.  Not everyone may know that our French selection is potentially as large as our English product line.  That’s a lot of French products!  Most products can be translated into French with no additional charge to our customers; for now the few exceptions include peel & stick appointment cards, gift certificates and laser cards.  All you have to do is merely speak with a Product Consultant and choose the design that you want translated, and we are happy to create a French or Spanish version of a design.

If you have seen an English design that you wish was available in French, OR if you are part of a practice or business which does mail-outs to both French and English clientele and wish to send both segments the same card in different languages, this is ideal.  We do a lot of translations for customers in Québec, but also in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and other areas of Canada with prominent French-speaking populations.

No one wants to order a product without seeing it, so we’ll send you a proof.  This way you’ll see it before you order it, although you won’t be able to make custom changes — this will be a design we will publish and sell to all of our customers.  The card translation service is different than Custom Creations.  However, if you notice a grammar or spelling mistake on the design while proofing, please let us know so we can fix it!

Here are some examples of cards we have translated, free, from customer requests: