5 Direct Mail Ideas You Can Implement Today

Written by LiveLink
March 25th 2023

5 Direct Mail Ideas That You Can Implement In Your Clinic TODAY

Direct mail is a great way to attract new patients to your clinic. In our age of emails and social media, direct mail is often forgotten.  And I believe that’s a mistake.  A well crafted message sent through the post will be read.  How many letters do you receive in the post?  It’s personal to the recipient and shows you’ve put in some effort rather than pinging out a soulless email.

A quick reminder – as with anything you send out, don’t forget the simple things such as your contact information and what you want the recipient to do next.  Your call to action.  If you want someone to call you, tell them to call.  People will follow instructions, so be very clear about what you would like them to do.

I’ve put together a few ideas that you could start using today to attract new patients to your clinic or encourage lost patients to return.

1. Postcards: There is nothing simpler than a postcard.  Used well, they are an excellent method of contacting patients that no longer come to your clinic.  Perhaps you have a new service in your clinic that might interest them.  An introductory offer for the new service would work well here. Postcards are very inexpensive, eye-catching and simple to put together.
2. Brochures: A step up from postcards are brochures.  These need much more thought.  Not only about the content, but who is going to be the recipient. Don’t forget to include your clinic’s contact information and location, as well as testimonials from your happy patients.
3. Newsletters: Done well, these are fantastic.  You’ll be familiar with email newsletters as you’re probably already doing these.  But, a written newsletter will hang around the recipients home or office.  Even a reception area.  The one thing I would warn against is making it all about you.  As tempting as it is as we all love to talk about ourselves, that approach will quickly turn off your reader.  Make it about people you’ve helped, hints and tips about self-help, developments in your discipline, case study, promotions and events.  Perhaps a competition.  A good split is 25% about you and 75% about your patient.
4. Personalized letters: This is my personal favourite direct mail pillar.  This isn’t easy and will take a lot of thought.  I’m not going to go into any detail here on how to write a great letter, but I’m always happy to have a chat.  There are a few must-do’s.  Know your audience, a named person (not dear sir/madam) a great headline, clarity on what you’re writing about (one thing, not several), several calls to action, don’t be boring, interesting lay-out, contact details, and what to do next. Send in a hand-written coloured envelope in the colour of your brand.  Sent with a 1st class stamp.
   The MOST IMPORTANT part of any direct mail, but particularly letters is the follow-up.  You have to follow-up and have real clarity on what that looks like.
5. Referral cards: I’ve spoken previously about referrals and a good quality smart card always goes down well.  And they are pennies each.  No more expensive than a flimsy piece of paper that is not going to reflect your brand or clinic. Encourage your existing patients to refer their friends and family to your clinic by including referral cards in your direct mail pieces.

Before starting any campaign, think about who your audience is, what you want them to do when they receive the mail and most importantly, what your follow up is going to be.  As my business coach is always saying to me ‘Don’t F*ck Up The Follow-Up’ (apologies for the language).  Without the follow-up, your hard work will be pointless.