The healthcare landscape is changing rapidly. At this moment, if you want to build your brand, and increase your presence, direct mail marketing can work to get you more patients and health plan providers’ referrals.
While healthcare direct mail marketing seems like an add-on strategy. For some, it is a basic component of significant growth and provides a solid return on marketing investment. It can be an effective tool to attract new customers and keep the existing ones engaged. What was once considered to be a doctor-centric and volume-based industry is now quality-based and patient oriented.
Today, patients have all the tools they need to research health plan providers before making decisions. That’s crucial that those health plan providers do what they can to stand out from the competitors.
Using direct mail to market a healthcare practice is an effective approach to reducing digital clutter and building communication with potential and existing customers. People invade by digital marketing still respond to a thing they can actually touch.
A healthcare direct marketing firm can also help in building trust, solidifying practice-area authority, and nurturing customer relationships. Successful snail mail marketing results in more engagement of customers. And undoubtedly, customer engagement is the key to a busy and prosperous practice.
And, for those working in the medical or pharmaceutical industry, direct mail can help increase the referral relationship with health plan providers.
Here are some ways to use direct mail for health plan providers:
- Use different paper sizes and weights
Doctors’ offices receive a lot of mail in white envelopes, so if you want yours to get recognized, try to use vibrant and textual marketing pieces such as heavyweight, glossy postcards, or colourful, well-crafted, and well-designed tri fold.
- Customise imagery and messaging
If you want to stand out, you should stay away from commonly used stock photos and medical stuff that’s being overused. When you want to build referral relationships, you will see an increased open rate by tailoring the imagery and messaging to the health plan providers, the practice, and their patient demographics.
- Use data and testimonials
To keep your message unique but relevant for each audience you are targeting, add real statistics and customer testimonials that talk about your expertise or your work and provide doctors with the protection they need to refer customers to you.
Today, patients have multiple options to choose from when choosing health plan providers, and their preferences are mostly dependent on the advertisements they see or the type of marketing collateral they receive. Research states that people not only feel more valued when they receive direct mail but they also trust it more than digital marketing efforts.
Some tips to use direct mail for patients:
- Create walk-in traffic
If you want to increase walk-in traffic, target people in an area that’s close to your office and invite them to a free clinic, provide them an informational session on relevant health issues or also provide a free consultation to provide them a solution to the problem they’re dealing with and then promote other medical mailing services.
- Give more than you get
It’s one of the inside tips. One of the keys to a successful direct marketing strategy is to provide customers with more than you get. You may represent yourself as a thought leader and stay in customers’ minds by sending current and potential customers’ health-related tips and reminders, along with a quick call to action to schedule an appointment, if necessary.
- Reviews and testimonials
Word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool, and the great reviews you received from past customers are sometimes all you need to boost appointments. This is also an area where a direct mail marketing company can help you combine digital and direct mail marketing efforts as an omnichannel marketing strategy.
- Use demographics to generate leads
Customising direct mail tailored to potential and current patients’ demographic will create a much higher possibility of more conversions. For example, you may send a direct mail to women of age between 40-45 who have not started routine programs yet and educate them on the importance of early cancer detection. Always mention contact details and a strong call to action to make an appointment.
- Trigger data targets behaviour that lead to patients
Mail quantities are smaller, but more targeted, when you can find behaviours that indicate certain timings or patient needs related to your practice. Typical programs for healthcare direct mail include mailings to new moms or newly pregnant women. Make sure that your creativity represents both targeted and trigger to maximize effectiveness.
- Thank you brochures and announcements
Never underestimate the impact of a well-written thank-you card – one that includes the signatures of office staff and doctors. It puts a strong personal touch on the office visit experience and will leave a long-lasting impression on the audience.
Office announcements such as the addition of a new service, offering free consultation, or joining of new specialists or updated office space is another great opportunity for direct mail. It includes pictures and a strong call to action to meet the new doctor or visit the new space.
Although healthcare direct marketing mail is one of the most effective ways to reach past, current, and prospective clients, it is always important to track the ROI after executing a campaign. Try new things, see what works, and modify your strategy accordingly.
Final Thoughts
Direct mail alone cannot get the results that most marketers demand. Most customers prefer to connect with brands through multiple channels before making a purchase.
Marketers can link direct mail to the digital platform easily, which allows them to design clean, easy-to-understand, and clickable messages and images on their brochures or letters, and postcards.
Marketing is all about engagement, a creative mail expert concludes. What is your call to action, that’s the most important question. Do you want to make people schedule an appointment, or do you want them to go to your website for more information?
Whatever it is, printed direct mail campaigns work in combination with electronic media and help to achieve the desired response outcomes that so many healthcare firms chase.
Attracting the attention of future sponsors for the healthcare business is a tough assignment using digital marketing channels. A coordinated effort done by professional direct mail campaign companies is the key to success.
