March Madness Anyone? Spring Fever?... How About Some Marketing Tips!
Even if you’re not a sports fan, you’ve probably noticed that there’s something in the air this time of year. In some arenas and brackets, people call it March Madness. Other people, especially those with allergies, prefer the term “Spring Fever.” Bambi’s friend, Mr. Owl, thinks everyone is just twitterpated, while Emily Dickinson wrote that March is the month of expectation. Whatever the reason for your great March expectations, we hope you won’t be disappointed with this month’s marketing tips.
Turn March Madness into Your Own Luck
In Lewis Carroll’s novel, Alice in Wonderland, Alice tells the March Hare that saying what you mean is the same as meaning what you say. Appalled by Alice’s reasoning, the Hare replies, “You might just as well say that ‘I like what I get’ is the same thing as ‘I get what I like’!” He might be mad, but that rabbit’s got a point... We’re only three months into the new year, so don’t put on a straightjacket and commit yourself just yet. If you don’t like what you’ve been getting, it’s not too late to make a little marketing luck of your own to start getting what you like.
;)
At Practice Cafe, we understand that the kind of new patients you want coming through your doors is as important, if not more so, than the number of patients. Our business is to listen to your marketing needs and expectations, conduct research on your area and potential patient demographics, and identify marketing opportunities to effectively communicate what sets you apart from your competition. Then we come to execution, because when your custom marketing pieces are mailed is very important, just like to whom they are mailed. That’s why at the end of this month’s marketing rainbow, you can find our mailing recommendations for when your dental direct mail pieces should and shouldn’t hit homes. It’s not a pot of gold, but it’s pretty valuable information if you ask us!
The Business of Fairies
Speaking of rainbows and pots of gold, leprechauns have served as the unofficial (and probably unwilling) mascot of March for years. You can blame it on St. Patrick’s Day, the March 17th celebration of Ireland’s patron saint. And while the Irish holiday is full of shamrocks, parades, corned beef and cabbage, and green beverages, you might be surprised to learn that the friendly and charming leprechaun of modern society (and of modern cereal with marshmallows) is a purely American invention. According to Celtic folklore, leprechauns were fairies of the more cantankerous variety, a bit on the stingy side, and with a wicked knack for making mischief. That pinching tradition is probably much more their style than all the talk of luck and fun green stuff.
With that in mind, we nominate the Tooth Fairy to fly in with some happy thoughts. If it’s been a while since you’ve been in touch with her, you may be interested in her new business venture. We think your kiddo patients will love it! Check it out, she’s even got her own website: www.OfficeOfTheToothFairy.com
This month’s slam dunk is really our mailing recommendations, but if you’re looking for more, below are some marginal March facts, more aptly titled “Some People Who Were Born in March”...
- Theodore Geisel was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Most popular for his children’s books, which he published under the pen name “Dr. Seuss” (heard of him?), Geisel also experienced success and a fair amount of controversy as a political cartoonist and animator during World War II. Even though he attended Dartmouth and Lincoln College, Oxford, Dr. Seuss was not an actual doctor. Yeah, we were disappointed too.
- On March 14, 1983, Taylor “The Pretty One” Hanson was born in Milwaukee, Tennessee, much to the chagrin of parents with daughters between the ages of six and 16... WE LOVE YOU, TAYLOR!!!!!!! Mmm-bop, and in an mmmbop, they were gone.
- Shelton Jackson Lee, better known as “Spike,” was born in Atlanta, Georgia on March 16, 1957.
- March 31, 1596 marks the birthday of French mathematician, writer, and philosopher, René Descartes. Though he made remarkable contributions to the fields of algebra, science, and theology, he is most famous for the now-ubiquitous maxim, “cogito ergo sum”—“I think; therefore, I am.” We think so, too.
April showers bring not only May flowers, but more marketing tips. We hope to see you and your umbrella next month!