Step up Your Direct Mail Marketing in Healthcare

In today’s hyper-connected digital world, it often feels like we’re all operating at maximum capacity. We’re online more than ever, constantly buried under emails, social media notifications, and a range of other digital distractions. For healthcare providers, this creates a real challenge. In a world where email inboxes are at breaking point, how can you effectively reach out to potential patients in your area without adding to their digital overload?

The answer lies in something more tangible. Imagine a well-crafted postcard landing in your patient’s mailbox. It’s a physical reminder of your presence and the services you provide. A simple, yet personal gesture that says — we’re here for you, whenever you need us.

Direct mail marketing in healthcare might seem a bit traditional, but it’s far from outdated. It can help you communicate effectively with your patients, without adding to their digital fatigue, and in a world that’s increasingly online, this can make all the difference.

Optimize Response Rates for Direct Mail Marketing in Healthcare

While digital marketing and social media won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, this makes direct mail marketing in healthcare even more appealing to the average consumer and patient. But don’t just take our word for it, let’s talk numbers:

• 77% of people take the time to sort through their physical mail as soon as they receive it.
• Direct mail boasts an open rate of a whopping 90%, compared to email’s 23%.
• Around 70% of people find direct mail more personal than online interactions, and a surprising 75% of millennials say receiving direct mail makes them feel special.

Whether your direct mail marketing campaigns have had mixed results, or you’ve already seen a positive response, there’s always room for improvement. Here are a few tips on how you can increase your response rates:

Track Every Step of Your Campaign

If you’ve interacted with email marketing campaigns, you’re likely familiar with trackable links. These are unique identifiers that provide a digital breadcrumb trail right back to the campaign. What if we told you that you can gain similarly insightful analytics from your direct mail campaigns?

Call tracking is a powerful tool that allows you to determine which types of direct mail are driving the most engagement. Assigning unique phone numbers to different direct mail types enables you to identify those marketing efforts that are leading to the most calls and understand what is resonating with your audience. For example, you might find that certain offers, designs, or messages are more effective than others. By tracking the impact of these campaigns, you can apply these insights to future campaigns and increase your response rates over time.

With a clearer picture of how direct mail marketing in healthcare is generating calls, you can also calculate your Return on Investment (ROI) more accurately. If a specific type of direct mail is leading to a significant number of booked appointments at your healthcare organization, the cost of producing and distributing marketing in that channel can be offset by the revenue it generates.

Target Your Audience

In order to increase the response rates and gain the maximum return on your investment, it’s vital that the right content is sent to the right people, in the right places, at the right time. 

Predictive targeting uses your patients’ demographic information to create a finely tuned marketing strategy that directly addresses their needs. For example, sending pediatric care postcards to a retirement community would lead to negligible results because it’s not what they need. However, with predictive analytics, you can pinpoint neighborhoods populated by young families who could benefit from your pediatric services and deliver value to those who need it most.

In addition to this, you can use your demographic data to tailor messages that speak directly to your audience’s unique needs. For example, more than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies every year. If you’re an otolaryngologist, it makes sense to ramp up your mailing efforts with allergy relief offers during the allergy season. On the other hand, 24-hour clinics could advertise extended hours during the colder months, flu season, or back-to-school periods, providing a convenient solution for busy parents.

By integrating predictive analytics into direct mail marketing in healthcare, you’ll create and send content that’s not just seen but savored by your audience. That means increased response rates, a stronger bond with your patients, and a healthier bottom line for your practice.

Transform Patient Engagement

Think about the last time you received a piece of mail that was personalized specifically for you. It probably caught your attention, didn’t it? That’s the power of personalization when using direct mail marketing in healthcare. It’s not just about sending out a generic message to a broad audience but making each recipient feel like you’re talking directly to them.

Personalization helps to establish a one-on-one connection with each recipient, fostering a relationship that feels genuine and personal. For example, you can use predictive analytics to segment your target audience into narrower niches. These could be based on factors such as age, health conditions, lifestyle habits, or anything else relevant to the services you provide. By tailoring your offers and messaging to each group of patients, you’re making direct mail marketing in healthcare more relevant and engaging. Also, once patients see that you’ve put effort into understanding their needs and providing them with valuable information or offers, they’ll be more likely to respond and engage with your services, thus increasing response rates. 

Let’s not forget that your patients are more than just names on a mailing list — they’re unique individuals with their own needs and concerns. By personalizing your direct mail marketing in healthcare, you can show them that you see them as such and that you’re here to provide the care they need. This can turn a simple piece of direct mail into a powerful tool for building relationships and increasing engagement.

Use the Right Format

There are many components to be considered after deciding that direct mail marketing in healthcare is the right approach for the patients you’re wanting to target. One of these considerations is the initial physical appearance — the size and shape of the materials you’ll use to deliver your message.

For example, postcards are clear, concise, and to the point. If you’ve got a straightforward message or a special offer, postcards are your go-to format. Their open layout allows your message to get noticed immediately, increasing the likelihood of your audience reading and acting on it. Plus, postcards are versatile and can be used for a variety of healthcare services and offers. On the other hand, newsletters are a good idea if you have a wider range of services  or information to showcase. New or less familiar patients can learn more about your services while existing patients can stay updated with your latest offerings. 

Choosing a format that effectively communicates your message and appeals to your audience not only improves the chances of people interacting with your campaign but also reinforces the credibility of your practice.

Revive Direct Mail Marketing in Healthcare

Stepping away from the digital rush and revisiting direct mail marketing doesn’t mean taking a step back. On the contrary, it’s a strategic step forward in deepening the connection with your patients, while enjoying greater response rates and better ROI.

Direct mail marketing in healthcare isn’t just an expense — it’s an investment with trackable returns. With the right metrics, you can gauge the campaign performance and make corrections as needed. If a campaign isn’t hitting the mark, you can pinpoint why and refine your future strategies accordingly.

However, when trying to create effective direct mail campaigns and enhance response rates, you may encounter different obstacles. Crafting a message that resonates with a wide range of recipients, ensuring that this message reaches the right people, and then tracking the efficacy of these campaigns can be a challenging task.

The lack of specific targeting in direct mail marketing can lead to inflated marketing budgets and disappointing conversion rates, but SocialClimb’s predictive patient targeting system is designed to tackle this issue head-on. Our HIPAA-compliant tool analyzes and identifies shared attributes among patients and shapes predictive templates, providing you with a blueprint for identifying and engaging with prospective patients near you. With a highly-targeted list of potential patients, you increase the level of precision of your campaigns. In turn, this increases response rates and drives patient conversion rates as you reach out to individuals who are more likely to require your services. 

In addition, SocialClimb’s built-in campaign tracking mechanisms enable you to keep a finger on the pulse of your marketing campaigns, giving you real-time insights into their efficacy. So, if you’re looking to transform your direct mail marketing in healthcare from a “shot in the dark” to a precise, data-driven strategy that yields measurable returns, we’re here for you.

The original version of this page was published at:  https://socialclimb.com/blog/step-up-your-direct-mail-marketing-in-healthcare/