Hospitals – Advertising Helps, And Direct Mail Is A Very Effective Method Of Doing So
Hospitals, clinics, doctor and dentist offices, chiropractors, pharmacists and medical facilities should advertise. “We don’t need to advertise,” you say. “People come to us when they need medical treatment. It’s not like we’re selling stereos or real estate.” Well, that isn’t necessarily the case. Sure, when someone has been in a car crash and is being taken to the emergency room, they usually don’t care which one. Their only prerequisite might be that it is “very close.” But, when the treatment isn’t an emergency, they often have the opportunity to pick where they wish to go.
How They Choose
Your doctor says that you need to have a benign fatty tumor removed from you back. He might recommend a particular surgeon, but you could say, “What about St. What-Ever-It-Is Medical Center across town? I’ve heard they are a great facility. I’d rather go there.” Bingo. That hospital just got a new patient. They chose St. What-Ever-It-Is Medical Center because they “heard about it.” How did they come to know about that particular facility? Advertising, probably.
Hospitals, Dentists, Pharmacists, Chiropractic
All facets of the healthcare industry can benefit from proper advertising. It’s very important to develop name recognition with the general public. Once your facility’s name is commonplace, people are naturally going to at least give consideration to becoming your patient or customer. I know of no one that window shops for healthcare. Usually it is and urgent situation – not an emergency – when people need to make a decision, and they aren’t going to spend hours researching on the internet, going through the yellow pages, or calling all their friends to get a recommendation for where to take their child. They will instead quickly haul them off to the first place they remember. That facility could be your office or clinic – if you have embedded your name in their head by advertising.
How To Do It In These Troubled Economic Times
Simply put: direct mail. Direct mail campaigns have been very successful for decades. Mailing advertisements to hundreds or thousands of current and potential patients or customers is an inexpensive and effective method of gaining that valuable name recognition. Most suppliers of direct mail products will do all the work, too. You simply provide a mailing list, or one can be generated for you, and they will deliver each customized direct mail product for you. You don’t need to do a thing other than make the phone call or send the e-mail message.
A New Innovation
Yes, direct mail is effective, but a recent innovation has made it an even more valuable marketing tool. The new product is the magnetic direct mailer. Instead of a simple paper postcard, this one has an attractive, high quality refrigerator style magnet attached to it. The recipient is intrigued by the uniqueness, and peels the magnet from the postcard. Once in hand, they hesitate to just toss it away. It ends up on the refrigerator at home, or the metal cabinets in the break room at the office, or a computer case at work. Magnets are long lasting, and they provide hundreds of passive views of your facility’s information each month. Eventually, someone who saw your magnet will need your services or products. It’s just human nature, but people tend to patronize facilities with which they are familiar, even if that familiarity comes from merely seeing your direct mail magnet every time they go to the refrigerator.
Find a reputable on-line supplier of magnetic direct mail products now, and have them explain the details. Time is wasting.
