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4 Reasons Medical Professionals Should Advertise Using Direct Mail Posted by Tyson Downs on 12/26/14 6:46 PM Find me on:
"Direct Mail. I hate junk mail. So I'm not gonna use it." Is that your attitude? I sure hope not. Are you struggling to get the amount of new patients you need to stay afloat, or to take your practice to new heights? Direct mail, when done right is absolutely one of the best ways to target your ideal patients. Measurable too. What does direct mail look like? It would include "money mailers", coupon magazines, letters in traditional envelopes, packages (expensive), postcards, etc. While it's true that internet marketing for doctors is powerful, probably the most effective way to market today, that doesn't mean that the other forms of marketing should be ignored. Let's look at four reason why you should be using direct mail as part of your marketing strategy.
How can I obtain a list of my target customers? One key benefit of direct mail advertising is that it's highly targeted. A given company can buy mailing lists of customers via a reliable mailing-list distributor such as the Dun & Bradstreet, or a Direct Marketing Association. For instance, a plastic surgeon may order a list of people who purchased something related to his industry. The plastic surgeon can then put together a targeted direct mailing that is related to their product that they have purchased in the past, as well as related somehow to plastic surgery. It's typically a good idea to send visitors to your doctor website so that they can understand who you are, as well as see your work. This helps build trust with them. The other option it to purchase the lsit through the USPS's EDDM program. (We talk about this in point number 4 below).
1. Direct mailing advertising is considered to be highly measurable. A doctor, or anybody in the healthcare industry can easily gauge the
outcomes of a single or multiple direct mail campaigns. It can be done by inputting the coupon utilized in direct mail campaigns. For instance, a oral and maxillofacial surgeon can place an advertisement in the direct mail coupon-magazines that are normally distributed to neighboring homes. This coupon states it is good for a free consultation, or $100 credit towards a service. Then of course these can be collected and analyzed for effectiveness to determine if a consult resulted in a new patient, and what the estimated value of that patient is.
It is also advised to perhaps use calltracking in these advertising magazines. This will allow you to record the calls, and track how many calls come in from the ads, allowing you an even deeper insight into your ROI.
2. Direct mail marketing can be personalized. Sophisticated computer programs enable small businesses to address customers by their names in direct mail campaigns. For instance, the information in the sales letter is directed to a given individual as if the business owner is communicating directly to them. Statistics indicate that more than fifty percent of potential customers will want to read the mail. Addressing them by their own name can be very effective in enhancing the experience and driving additional inquiries.
3. Direct mail advertising can be extremely cost effective. It doesn't cost a ton of money to have a professional flier/brochure designed ($500 or less typically), and then printed at someplace like Vistaprint. In addition, a company may mail smaller quantities of direct mail ads as a test. When the company realizes that the initial mailing is successful, they can raise the number of mail-pieces in the subsequent mailings.
4. Direct Mail advertising can be very flexible.
A healthcare practioner can utilize postcards to effectively market their services to their target audience . In fact, the EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) allows you to send custom over sized postcards (which have by far the highest open/read rates) and target down to the zip code, income level, home ownership status and more. How's that for flexible, and customizable?! Not only that, but EDDM is extremely cost effective. Because it can be fairly quick from the launch of the campaign to the time the postcards are delivered, it allows for quick testing to determine how effective the campaign was.
The bottom line is this: if you aren't using direct mail, or think it isn't an effective strategy to use to market your practice, then you should reconsider. Direct mail is still being used by thousands, hundreds of thousands of business because it works. It's a fact that online marketing for doctors works. It's proven that websites for doctors are extremely beneficial in building a brand and driving new growth. That's not all you should focus on though. An effective marketing strategy is a diverse marketing strategy. Never put too many eggs in one basket. Direct mail should be in every healthcare company's marketing repertoire. How have you used direct mail in the past? Are you considering it in the future?
Topics: General Marketing inShare6