Here’s how you can use direct mail to
help keep your patients healthy, happy
-- and coming back to you!
Say the words “direct mail” and most people will think of envelopes with sales letters and fancy, colorful brochures inside. But there are other less-expensive types of direct mail, too, and one of them can work very well for physicians: Postcard direct mail.
A regularly-scheduled, well-planned series of postcard mailings throughout the year can help keep your patients informed of medical procedures and advances that can benefit their health. And it can also help increase the loyalty your patients feel to you and keep them coming back to your office year after year after year.
To start your own program, consider some of these types of postcard mailings:
1. Announcement of a new drug. When something new is approved that can help a large number of your patients – let them know about it with a carefully-worded postcard! They’ll be glad to hear about it and will most likely come to you for the prescription.
2. Announcement of a new treatment. Same thing as for new drugs. Patients feel good knowing that their doctor is looking out for them when “new stuff” comes along.
3. Appointment reminder. A quick impersonal call from your front desk to remind a patient of an upcoming appointment isn’t very personal. It’s better to do it with a postcard, signed by you, that includes a brief little handwritten note such as, “I’m looking forward to seeing you again.” Patients really appreciate the personal touch.
4. A heart-healthy recipe. No kidding, this is for real. Sending out a postcard with a healthful recipe that encourages patients to eat better can really strike a positive chord with them. Especially when it also has a handwritten note from you that says you’ve tried this, it tastes great and you hope they will give a try for their own health, too.
5. An exercise prompter. Same as with the recipe but with instructions on how to do a particular type of exercise.
6. A birthday greeting. When’s the last time you received a birthday greeting from your doctor? Think of how special your patients would feel to see that you remembered them on their special day – and how deeply that would cement the bond between you.
At first, this type of program might seem like a lot of work. But it really isn’t! You can order a large variety of pre-printed postcard formats that you can personalize with your own name, address and message. And you can supplement your postcard mailings with other personal communications that will increase your doctor-patient relationship even more. How extensive you want to make your program is entirely up to you. In today’s world of impersonal medicine, patients too frequently feel like just a number. A good “thinking-of-you” mailing program can make a big difference in their lives.
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