Promote your practice or business and encourage goodwill on your patient’s or client’s special day by sending one of our brand NEW customizable birthday cards.  Use them as a way to send unique promotional offers that will keep your patients or clients coming back.

Here is a quick preview of some of our NEW Customizable Birthday Cards, and if you order before May 31, 2012, we will give you 20% more cards for FREE!

Customize a design online today!

View more customizable birthday cards…

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

At first thought, the idea of implementing a marketing strategy can be more than overwhelming  -  but, it really comes down to 3 core objectives any client-based financial and insurance business can relate to:

1- Build relationships with existing clients

2 – Grow your business by turning prospects into new clients

3 – Strengthen your brand.  After all, it’s about being seen and heard - recognition + reputation.

Here are a few ways our marketing tools make it easy and affordable to get started:

• Build your brand and get new clients by mailing postcards to your geographic area.

• Remind clients of important products & services – i.e. tax preparation or retirement savings

• Encourage referrals and staying top-of-mind – feature a special offer or client appreciation event

• Grow your network  corporate branding tools and giveaways such as business cards, magnets, and calendars.

• Build and strengthen relationships with clients through loyalty programs such as sending birthday cards and welcome/thank you cards.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We can spend hours designing the perfect direct mail postcard, getting the copy just right, adding our company logo or photos, choosing the right font and so on.  But, here are a few tips to help enhance your message and captivate your audience.

< (LAYOUT 1) A BIT BORING

Now it’s time to consider adding color to our typography.  When used sparingly, color can create contrast and accents that will bring the viewer in to the important details of your message, making your advertising campaign a huge success.

<(LAYOUT 2) TOTAL OVERKILL

But beware...too much color may make your layout confusing. Avoid the Christmas tree look and keep your color choices simple.  If your layout saturated with color, all of the areas left black will come forward in the layout and become the dominant element.

<(LAYOUT 3) MUCH BETTER!

In most cases, simply leaving the bulk of your copy in a neutral tone of gray or black, then highlighting important areas with a hint of color will  work the best.  When highlighting a word, consider choosing the bold version of the font, to accommodate color.

Add tone behind areas of your layout for a little extra design elements.  But for background color, keep the percentage value and intensity of your color choices a wide distance apart or your copy will begin to visually “vibrate” and scare the reader away because of poor legibility (take a look at the pink type on the green promo circle in the middle layout!  Also the green type on the light green background…not working!).

Tone it down and you will end up with a great layout… lots of color, making the layout fun and interesting, yet still focusing on what is important in the message.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To celebrate our 27th anniversary, we’d like t extend this great birthday card offer to you.  Promote your practice or business and encourage goodwill on your patient’s or client’s special day by sending a personalized birthday greeting.  Use it as a way to send unique promotional offers that will keep them coming back.

For the whole month of May, stock up Birthday Cards and enjoy 20% more  FREE when you order a minimum of 100 birthday cards.  Offer expires May 31, 2012.  Quote promo code P512 when ordering.

For easy ordering, please visit sharpercards.com to shop online or call 1-800-561-6677 and one of our Product Consultants will be happy to assist you.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There are ONLY A FEW MORE DAYS  left to take advantage of this amazing special offer on business cards.

Visit sharpercards.com today to view our complete selection of business cards.

Click here to see how you can get 500 Business Cards for $5, or call at 1-800-561-6677 and one of our Product Consultants will be happy to assist you.  Remember to quote promo code P412 when placing your order.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

New patients are the lifeblood that keeps dental practices running smoothly.  Patient acquisition is financially beneficial to a practice as it counters the natural progresses of existing patient attrition and when done at a more robust rate, increases the total yearly fees that are billed to your practice.

A referral is typically when someone you have a relationship with, recommends your practice and services to a potential new patient.  Patient referrals provide your office with an instant personal connection to a new revenue prospect.  Because of this personal connection, those referred tend to stay longer than a patient referred by unconnected media resources.  Internal dental patient referrals are the largest source of new patients for practices.  This is followed by networking (fraternal, philanthropic, social organizations, locals schools and PTO’s) and professional referrals from colleagues, either general doctors or treatment specialists.

There are also a number of website directories (like dentalreferral.com) you can employ to supplement your patient acquisition efforts.  These sites match patient needs with the right dentist by easy-to-use online search tools.

Referrals are one of the most affordable ways to acquire new patients.  A patient referred by an existing patient is 60% more likely to refer another person, become a lifelong patient and have immediate loyalty to your practice – based on the recommendation of a family member or friend.

There are 3 key steps in the referral process:

Request – educating on your referral program and then requesting participation.

Teaching your patients and your office staff how to refer is the first step.  You can always start simple with a basic referral card.  Then use your practice management software to track referrals.  Follow up on each lead as quickly as possible to demonstrate your professionalism and care.

Reminder – reminding patients that you value their referrals.

Utilize all contacts you have with a patient to continually remind them how important their referrals are to your practice.  Start from when they walk in the door, with your signage and front office staff, right through to when they leave carrying a supply bag or at home when they get your statement in the mail.  The more frequent the referral message, the more memorable it will be with patients.

Reward – providing an incentive or gift for the referral.

Before you start, research laws in your state or province in regards to gifting patients.  You can start easy by sending a personalized thank you card or have tangible rewards geared to the demographics of your patient base.  Movie tickets are great for teens or a gift card to a coffee shop for senior patients.  Some practices also like to reward with a credit on a patient’s account.  But for your best patients, with healthy mouths and great dental benefits, a grab bag of gift cards to local restaurants or the movies creates a bigger “wow” factor.

So here is how you can get things going at your practice:

Establish a referral program.

Establish a referral program for your practice and coin a catch phase like “Share a Smile” to brand all of the collateral advertising pieces.  Print flyers or brochures and display them in your waiting area, operating and hygiene rooms in a prominent location, and encourage your team to mention the program to each patient that comes in for treatment.  Don’t forget to highlight specific incentives that patients could receive if they send referrals your way.  These incentives could take the form of anything from a discount on dental services to an unrelated “fun” item, like a gift certificate to a local restaurant or movie theater.

Ask for referrals.

Ask for referrals.  Many of your patients may not “take the hint” and start referring people to your practice.  Be proactive and train your staff to ask every patient if they have anyone they would like to refer to your practice.  Make sure they leave with a flyer or brochure, and give them the option of filling out a referral card in the office.  Emphasize that their referrals won’t be required to buy anything or make an appointment – you’ll simply be reaching out.

No everyone on your staff will be comfortable asking for referrals so make sure to provide script options to those not comfortable.  A great way to frame the request is “Did you know we are now accepting new patients like you?  Do you have any friends, family or coworkers who are looking for a good dentist?  Please ask them to mention your name when they call so we can thank you with an “X” gift.”

Include referral cards with all mailings.

Always include referral cards with invoices, statements and any direct mail marketing materials you send out.  For example, if you mail a brochure or a newsletter to patients or area residents, include several tear-off referral cards inside.

Give away freebies.

Give away freebies, such as personalized pens, toothbrushes or magnets, with your contact information and website address printed on them.  These items can usually be printed in bulk at an affordable rate, and they can be a surprisingly effective way to generate new interest in your services.

Include a referral link on your website.

Include a referral link on your website, where visitors can simply type in the names and contact information of individuals that may be interested in your services.  Remember, the easier you make the referral process, the more likely your patients are to participate.  Don’t forget to mention any incentives you may offer via your referral program.

Respond to inquiries quickly.

Respond to any inquiries you receive from interested parties as quickly as possible.  People will appreciate the personal care and attention, and it may make them inclined to start referring their family and friends immediately – perhaps even before their first appointment is scheduled.

Send handwritten postcards, greeting cards or thank you notes.

Show patients you care by sending handwritten postcards, greeting cards or thank you notes.  Coming from their dental professional, this level of personal commitment may take many people by surprise – and that’s a good thing!  Try sending these personalized notes to new patients after their first visit, as well as patients who have just started or finished a significant treatment or procedure.  You may also want to get into the habit of reaching out to all your patients during the holidays, to thank them for their loyalty – or on their birthday to acknowledge this special day.  Keep your notes short, and always send them as quickly as possible after an appointment or meeting.

Most experts agree that a mature dental practice should allocate 3-5% of fees revenue to marketing.  Recall, reactivation, other internal marketing, and marketing to existing patients for referrals and additional services in the office and at home should account for a third, or 1-2%, and two thirds, or 2-3%, to external marketing and marketing to potential “prospective patients”.  Newer or less mature practices can likely use a lot more external marketing than 2-3% of fees.

A dental practice should always craft a business plan to guide their marketing efforts.  This plan should detail projections on patient counts for both existing and new patients, along with revenue targets.  A well-structured and supported referral program should be generating 60% of the plan’s new patient target on an annual basis.

Practices can easily keep track of referrals using their practice management software.  Run a report, at least twice a year, on the number of referrals by source, so you can thank/reward your best referral sources.

Successful practices tailor their patient acquisition activities to go after the right patient – and the same holds true when looking for a partner to help with your referral program.  First, decide what you want and how much work you want to handle internally.  Do you need a consultant to give you advice?  A business partner who can provide a turnkey solution?  A supplier to print your marketing materials?  Someone you can source patient rewards from?  Fit is key – so select a company you can trust, one that will be there in the future and not disappear in the middle of your project.  Make sure they have knowledge and experience to consult, share their experiences of what other dental practices are doing, and stand behind their promises.

Use your local professional network or your state dental association and ask for recommendations.  Then arrange a face to face or phone meeting to make sure there is a good fit.  If it is a turnkey provider have them provide samples of programs they have done for other offices and request that they share results (without breaking any confidentiality).  Ask for client references and contact them with a set of prepared questions.  Once you have settled on the right consultant or business partner, develop a work plan with quarterly follow up once the program has been implemented.  If you are not happy with results, talk honestly.  The foundation of any relationship is good communication.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

One of the most important things you can do when you are setting up typography is to use good spacing – between your letters, your words and between each line of type.  Typographers, layout artists and graphic designers have special terms for this:

Kerning: this is the spacing between each letter.

Tracking: the space between each word.

Leading: the space between each line.

The grid layout:

The Another important element of great design for print products is the basic grid underlying your layout.  It helps to create structure and focal points that will get your information across in an effective way.  It can consist of columns and rows, or it may be as simple as a hierarchy of importance that moves from left to right across the page.

Your main objective… present your content clearly and make your message memorable.  If you make your viewer struggle through each word, they may be inclined to give up, and throw away the piece.  So, keep it clean and airy.  However, remember that too much white space can also be a distraction and feel unimportant or sparse in nature.

If your marketing piece has more copy in it than what will fit on a postcard, consider a flier or data sheet as an option.  Perhaps you might want to consider editing your copy a bit, direct them to your website for more information,  or better yet, bring them to the door with a great promotional offer.

If you would like to try your layout skills, visit sharpercards.com and try out our online customizable products:

(Here is an example from our general line of customizable postcards.)

15-0316 Postcard (Modern Purple Flowers)

Build patient or client loyalty with standard format customizable postcards created exclusively for Sharper Cards.  We have a wide variety of designs for many business markets, and our talented team of designers are adding new designs every day.  These cards are printed on premium glossy paper, with a durable coating for protection in the mail.  Just select your design and customize as many elements as you need!  Include your logo and contact information on the front of the design to brand your practice or business.  Add a promo or map to the back to keep your patients or clients coming in.  And, if you don’t see what you are looking for, give us a call and we can create something special for you with our Custom Creations process.

• Personalization is FREE!
• Full color on both the front and back.
• Ships in 48 hours.
• 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

Make an order for customizable postcards today and quote promo code SD50FREE to get 50 postcards FREE!  Shop online at sharpercards.com.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Referrals are an effective and low-cost way to grow your practice or business.  Make it easy for your clients or patients to recommend you to colleagues, friends and family by supplying them with several business cards after each appointment.  Visit sharpercards.com today to view our complete selection of business cards.

Click here to see how you can get 500 Business Cards for $5, or call at 1-800-561-6677 and one of our Product Consultants will be happy to assist you.  Remember to quote promo code P412 when placing your order.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Click here for more information.

Stock up on all your favorites and draw attention to your services with recall postcards and folding cards.  Personalized patient or client communication is the cornerstone of a profitable practice or business.  From educational, contemporary to humorous, Sharper Cards has a wide selection of high quality cards appropriate for any occasion.  Choose from any of our eye-catching designs to help acquire new patients or clients and generate referrals.  Moreover, maintaining your current patient or client base is crucial for a profitable practice or business.  Keep your appointment book full by sending a personalized reminder to inactive patients or clients to reacquaint them with your services.

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

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tip of the Week:

What font best suits your company? Not sure? Then try Helvetica.

Don’t over think it. Simplicity can mean success to your layout. It doesn’t have to be a complicated process to find the right font for your company’s business cards, letterhead, advertising materials, website and anything else that you might have on the go in the marketing department.

Many people feel that they need something decorative.  After all, Helvetica is just plain boring and it’s used over and over so often.  But, there is a reason why it has been around for over 50 years.  It works!  It is easy to read, has a simple elegance and is very business-like in it’s appearance.  It fits in with any design or logo, plus, it works well at a small or large size.  The Helvetica font was originally created by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann in 1957 in Switzerland and was originally called Neue Hass Grotesk.  In 1960 it was renamed the more internationally-friendly, Helvetica – the Latin name for Switzerland.  Many very successful companies have embraced Helvetica as the font of choice for their logo designs.

Many successful corporate communications have been designed with Helvetica as the font of choice.  Check out Sharper Cards Design Your Own Stationery products and experiment with the Helvetica font in our online editing tool.  If you don’t have your own logo, we have a large selection of Sharper Logos that you can add to your layout at no charge.

You may decide that Helvetica is not for you, especially if your company is looking for a more upbeat font style.  Well, we hear you!  Sharper Cards offers a great selection of fonts to create the perfect layout.  Below are just a few font choices.  The sky’s the limit!  And, if you don’t feel comfortable doing it online yourself, we’re here to help.  Give us a call and you can tell us what you like and we’ll send you a proof.  We want your company personality to shine through with every promotional and communication materials you hand out.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Gift certificates with envelopes are versatile promotional tools! Generate new business by offering them as a great gift idea or send them to your most valuable patients or clients as a thank you for their loyalty.  Gift certificates can be mixed and matched in lots of 25.

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

*Special offer only applies to listed gift certificate designs.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We were talking in the Creative Services Department this past week about typesetting and proper font usage…something that, as a designer we take for granted.  After all, it’s what we do every day.  It’s like breathing, a necessity if you are going to embark on a design project, and probably the most important element of your layout.  And we realized that even the word “typography” may be enough to scare anyone away when attempting to prepare their own advertising layouts online, especially if they have never had any design or layout experience.

So my team and I decided that we would begin a series of blogs on typesetting and layout tips to get you started and to help build your confidence as you move into the world of personalizing your products online.  With Sharper Cards’ online edit tools, great customizable designs to choose from and a few good typesetting and layout tips, you will be well on your way.

Tip of the Week:

Too many capital letters can create a monotone message. So, use it sparingly.

Using all capital letters when you are typesetting long sentences and headings can be a detriment to the readability of your layout.  The viewer is forced to read much slower and can loose interest in what you have to say. With so much advertising out there today, it is important that you get your message across quickly and clearly.  Typically, we read by “word shapes” so if you use capital letters too frequently, the shape is very uniform and harder to digest.  Try shorter headlines in upper and lower case.  It will take up less space and give your layout more character and the negative white space will make your design more interesting.

And remember that if you are using capital letters on the web or in emails, it is often considered “shouting” (bad etiquette).

The upper and lower case to the (left image) creates a much more interesting look.  Whereas the ALL CAPS (image below)  is much harder to read.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We’ve selected some of our customer favorites to feature, so order today
WHILE QUANTITIES LAST.

To view a complete selection of our Veterinary & Pet Care Inventory Clearance Sale, click here.

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

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

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To make it even more affordable for you, we are offering 100 postcards/laser cards or 50 folding cards for FREE! Click here for more information.

Stock up on all your favorites and draw attention to your services with recall postcards and folding cards.  Personalized patient or client communication is the cornerstone of a profitable practice or business.  From educational, contemporary to humorous, Sharper Cards has a wide selection of high quality cards appropriate for any occasion.  Choose from any of our eye-catching designs to help acquire new patients or clients and generate referrals.  Moreover, maintaining your current patient or client base is crucial for a profitable practice or business.  Keep your appointment book full by sending a personalized reminder to inactive patients or clients to reacquaint them with your services.

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

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sharper Cards is currently offering 20% OFF personalized Magnets and Stick-its™.  For a limited time, save 20% on all of our full color and die-cut magnets and Stick-its™.  Quote promo code P212 when placing your order.  But, you have to hurry because this offer ends February 29, 2012.

Sharper Magnets and Stick-its™ are a great way to keep your contact information top-of-mind.  Patients will put them where they’ll see them most.  Include them with invoices or mail them along with welcome cards.  They make great business cards, too.  And, whether it’s a stainless steel fridge, cubicle wall, mirror or window, Stick-its™ can be removed and reused over and over again.

Click here to view our complete selection of Magnets and Stick-its™.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here is a peak at some of the NEW products.

Stick-its™

So economical, Stick-its™ allows patients to put your contact information where they’ll see it the most.  On a stainless steel fridge, cubicle wall, mirror or window, Stick-its™ are also removable removable and can be used over and over again.

Customizable Postcards

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.

Artistic License Designs

Our professional artists make it easy for you to put a smile on your patient’s face.  Uniquely different, each artists combines humor and artistic talent to create memorable designs to help you grow your practice.

There are many more new products in the catalog including appointment cards, referral cards, birthday cards, recall cards and giveaways.   To view our complete selection of NEW dental products, click here.

Let us help you start your practice on the right track this year.  Check out our digital January 2012 Dental catalog today or  click here to request a copy.  You can also call 1-800-561-6677 and one of our friendly Product Consultants will be happy to assist you.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Appointment cards are great for reducing no-shows and to remind your patients or clients of their upcoming appointment with you.  Moreover, all of our colorful appointment cards come in business card size and many designs have matching reminder postcards to coordinate your image to send out to your patients or clients prior to their upcoming appointment.  Appointment card designs are also available in a folding format.  For a complete selection of all our appointment card designs, please click here.

For easy ordering, please visit our website at sharpercards.com or call 1-800-561-6677 and one of our friendly Product Consultants will be happy to assist you.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Quote promo code P1211. But, you have to hurry because this amazing promo ends today!

With a wide selection of hundreds of holiday designs and a variety of free messages to choose from, you’ll have no problem finding the combination to best express your thanks and wishes for a warm, holiday season.

Ordering is easy! Shop and personalize online at sharpercards.com or call 1-800-561-6677 and one of our Product Consultants will be happy to help you place your order.

*Standard shipping charges apply.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________