Direct to Patient Marketing Strategies for Better Engagement

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Top 10 Direct-To Patient Marketing Strategies To Try For Your Healthcare Organization

It is a cold winter morning, and John wakes up with his body feeling frail. As he slowly wakes up from sleep, John starts to feel pain in his muscles, and sure enough, he eventually starts coughing too. Then it hits him, John’s health is not improving on its own, and he realizes he needs medical help. It is one of the situations where a healthcare organization wants John (or anyone else) to remember or think about its brand. And the best way to ensure that this happens is through direct-to-patient marketing.

Of course, you also need to ensure that your healthcare organization shows up first when John searches for healthcare providers near him. But that is only a part of the story.

89% of marketers admit that building brand awareness is their top priority. And there is no better way to improve brand recall among your target audience than direct marketing to patients.

Below, we discuss direct-to-patient marketing and the top 10 strategies you can use for your healthcare organization.

What is Direct to Patient Marketing?

Direct-to-patient marketing involves marketing healthcare-related products and services directly to the person in charge of making medical decisions. Perhaps, the most significant advantage of using direct-to-patient marketing is the ability to engage directly with the patient, eliminating the middleman.

It is high time that healthcare organizations shift to a more direct marketing approach. Why? Because according to a PEW study, 70% of Internet users in the US go online for Huntley for HealthNet health-related questions. Hence, it is apparent that healthcare organizations need to start implementing direct-to-patient marketing.

10 Direct To Patient Marketing Strategies For Your Healthcare Organization

Some may think direct marketing to patients is relatively new in healthcare marketing. But in reality, direct marketing in healthcare is not new. However, it is only now that this approach is entering mainstream healthcare marketing.

So, the good news is that there are several direct-to-patient marketing strategies that experts have developed over the years. Below, we discuss some of the most effective direct marketing strategies healthcare organizations can use on their patients.

1. Build A Website For Your Healthcare Organization

The best place to start direct-to-patient marketing efforts is to build a responsive website for your healthcare organization. Almost all marketing campaigns today need the support of a robust online system. Even offline marketing channels like direct mail requires an online presence for implementing advanced automation.

Today numerous automated solutions simplify patient marketing and communication. For example, PostGrid’s direct mail for healthcare can integrate seamlessly with your website and apps. The integration allows you to personalize and mail marketing materials such as postcards directly to your patients.

You mustn’t underestimate the significance of having a responsive website for direct-to-patient marketing. It is also worth noting that building a responsive website makes it accessible via different mobile devices, including phones, tablets, computers, and more. Besides that, a responsive website is necessary if you want to get a high SERP ranking.

Third-Party Integrations

One of the best things about having a responsive website for your healthcare organization is the accessibility to third-party integrations. Patient or customer management becomes significantly more manageable when you use an advanced CRM solution, such as Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.

And the best part is that you can connect other third-party integration with these CRM solutions for an even better patient marketing strategy. You can use third-party integrations like PostGrid for HubSpot, Salesforce, or any other CRM. It facilitates the easy personalization of your marketing and communication materials.

As a result, you save thousands of manual work hours and eliminate the need for back office functions for patient marketing. And the best part is that solutions like PostGrid come with special security measures for Protected Health Information PHI.

But what if the target audience for your direct-to-patient marketing includes patients from outside the US, like Europe? Well, this is the answer I give to our clients from the healthcare industry.

“PostGrid works with several leading healthcare companies inside and outside the US. I have learned from experience that, unlike the US, Europe does not have a dedicated data security rule for healthcare organizations. However, PostGrid’s direct mail system comes with GDPR compliance, Europe’s primary data protection law.”

PostGrid’s direct mail system for sending confidential or HIPAA/GDPR-protected information through the mail. Hence, you can use automated third-party solutions like PostGrid for patient marketing and healthcare communication. Some healthcare communication materials you can send using PostGrid include the following.

• Explanation of Benefits (EOB)
• Explanation of Coverage (EOC)
• Patient billing statements
• Appointment reminders
• Medical statement inserts
• Patient or physician mailers

2. Direct Mail Marketing

Do you remember the last time you were excited to open an email or text message?

Likely, you can’t. But what about a letter? According to Fundera, the open rate for direct mail can reach up to 90%. On the other hand, the customer has learned to ignore company emails and text messages, including your patient marketing message.

Imagine the response rate you could obtain for your direct-to-patient marketing campaigns using direct mail! On average, the response rate for direct mail marketing using a prospect list is around 4.9%. You might think this is negligible if you are new to marketing.

But a veteran in marketing strategies and patient engagement would know that this number is significantly high. Other marketing channels such as email and text messages can’t even begin to compete with the response rate offered by direct mail. On top of it all, automated direct me solutions like PostGrid provide several attractive benefits.

Mailing History

With an automated solution like PostGrid for your patient marketing, you can easily keep track of every me you ever sent. You may access your previous mail whenever necessary using PostGrid’s web interface.

Standard Mail Tracking

The standard mail tracking feature from PostGrid lets you easily track your marketing and communication mailers. Hence, you always know when marketing mail reaches the target audience. You can also follow the deliverability of your patient marketing mail and optimize your campaign using data from PostGrid.

Template Editor

Advanced direct mail solutions like PostGrid give you access to its template gallery and editor. Finding a template for your marketing material or personalizing one for patient marketing is quick and easy using a solution like PostGrid.

Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) Tracking

IMB or Intelligent Mail Barcode is a Postal Service barcode that USPS uses for sorting and tracking mailers. IMB tracking enables you to track individual mail pieces in patient marketing, giving you greater visibility. You can use the same barcode to participate in different Postal Service programs the USPS offers.

Send via CSV (Bulk Mailings)

One of the primary reasons why healthcare organizations need to use automated direct mail marketing is bulk mailing. Advanced and user-friendly Darnell solutions like PostGrid let you send bulk mail using a CSV file. The CSV file includes the address data of your target audience for your direct to patient marketing campaign.

Other Direct Mail Automation Features

Besides the benefits we discussed above, there are several other advantages of using an automated solution like PostGrid. Below are other benefits you can get for direct patient marketing using PostGrid.

• Custom Envelopes
• Annual Volume Cap
• Per Piece Proof of Mailing with Receipt
• HIPAA Compliant Mailings
• SOC-2-Type-2 Compliant Mailings
• GDPR Compliant Print Network
• Custom Mailing Options
• NCOA (National Change of Address)
• Priority Mail Queueing and Order Routing
• And more.

3. Use Consistent Branding

Your healthcare organization is like any other business entity, and branding is essential to every business. At least some of you may think that your expertise in healthcare is more than enough to set you apart from your competition. But that is far from the truth. All your patient marketing efforts should include consistent branding.

Just like a customer looks for the branding when buying a pair of shoes, a patient does the same for a healthcare provider. Hence, it is high time that healthcare organizations realize that their patients or prospective patients trust them for their brand. With an efficient patient marketing strategy, you can make your Healthcare organization recognizable and raise brand awareness.

If you do it right, direct-to-patient marketing can reduce your healthcare organization’s overall cost per acquisition. It also means it becomes possible for you to grow your ROI significantly. Here are some pointers that you can use to ensure consistent branding for your patient marketing campaigns.

Identify Your Brand Story

The first thing you need to do to ensure consistent branding for your healthcare organization is to identify your brand story. Try to bring out what makes your Healthcare organization unique. It might be how you treat your patients, or it could be the various financial help you provide or something else altogether. In other words, you need to highlight the specialties of your organization in patient marketing.

Promote Awards and Accolades

Bringing out the unique aspects of your healthcare organization is essential for marketing your healthcare product or service. However, it would be best if you also establish your expertise. And what better way to do this than to promote your awards and accolades to the target audience? 

As you can guess, you need to focus on your most significant achievements first. Promoting your healthcare organization’s accomplishments in your patient marketing campaigns is an excellent way to build trust. That way, it becomes easier for the patient to identify your organization’s achievements. As a result, it becomes easier for them to trust your healthcare brand.

4. Create a Customer/Patient Persona

I know it’s tempting to create wild personas like Vito Corleone – The Godfather for your direct to patient marketing campaign. But, as enjoyable as it might be, it won’t be very effective. Although, you could consider Vito Corleone a man in his 60s or 70s who needs a lot of medical attention.

Consider the healthcare product or service you want to sell. Then figure out the ideal persona of someone who would like to buy your product or service. Create an accurate customer persona to ensure you have the right message and deliver it to the right person at the right time.

It is THE best way to ensure that your patient marketing content appeals to the patient’s needs and desires. Your marketing campaign’s messaging becomes much more personalized when you write with an actual person(a) in mind.

5. Master The Language

We all have that friend who refers to viagra as a love philter or stimulant. It’s not just viagras. Medications of all sorts may have another street name for them. Hence, it is crucial to master the language of direct marketing to patients. 

You must make it a point to learn how your target audience refers to your product and how they categorize it. Similarly, the way people describe their medical conditions and symptoms can also vary from one to another. An ideal direct to patient marketing strategy considers the audience’s attitude and feelings towards the product. 

Your marketing efforts can not truly resonate with the audience unless you can speak their language. Imagine Michael Jordan coming in a Nike ad and saying, take the plunge instead of their iconic slogan, “Just do it.” Okay, maybe Michael Jordan could have made even that line work. But I believe you get the point I’m trying to make here. The same logic applies to patient marketing too.

You must master the language to use the appropriate language most likely to resonate with your target audience. Are you wondering whether you HAVE to go to such lengths for direct marketing to patients? I can give you three compelling reasons for it.

#1 It Shows You Understands Your Audience

Using the same language as your audience, you effectively prove that you understand them and their pain points (maybe literally). It goes a long way in establishing trust between you and your target audience and significantly helps your patient marketing efforts.

#2 Widen The Range Of Your Target Audience

Some healthcare products and services apply to different age groups. It means the same product may have other uses for different audiences. By understanding these needs and using the appropriate language, you can widen the target audience for your direct to patient marketing campaign.

#3 Create Easy-To-Understand Messages

If you travel or move to somewhere far away from your hometown, you will notice that one thing can have entirely different names. The difference could be cultural or geographical, or even both. Mastering the language enables your audience to better understand your product and patient marketing message.

6. Consider The Target’s Comfort Level 

It is understandable if a person feels uncomfortable or shy about discussing their medical conditions or products. Remember how we talked about that friend who calls viagra a love pill? The same could happen to a person with other health ailments like constipation or recovering from an addiction. 

Hence, it is critical to understand how the patient feels about their condition and its treatment before direct marketing to patients. Besides that, it also helps you strike the right note with the patient. For example, you can try pitching male audiences within a specific age limit with a discreet consultation service for erectile dysfunction.

In short, if the customers perceive a healthcare product as embarrassing in some way, you need to be careful when you plan your campaigns. For instance, starting a Facebook group for men with ED is probably not a good patient marketing strategy. Neither should you start a survey about people’s problems with controlling bowel movements. A rule of thumb here is that if a question feels too weird, don’t ask.

These subjects may seem normal for healthcare professionals. Still, the patient’s medical condition is sensitive and very private. It is understandable if a patient does not want to share their personal stories or is hesitant to interact with your patient marketing efforts. 

Even if the patient is not looking for that healthcare service for someone else, they may not want to associate themselves with the product. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying you must abandon your direct to patient marketing efforts. However, you do have to pay attention to detail and understand the context before committing to the campaign.

Now, let’s look at some benefits of considering the target/patient’s comfort level in your patient marketing strategy. 

Understand The Type Of Content To Deliver

Taking the patient’s feelings into consideration enables you to understand the type of content to deliver through patient marketing. Consider delicately using innuendos and veiled statements to present your healthcare product or service.

Understand Where To Use Specific Content

Understanding when you can use specific patient marketing content for your campaigns is crucial. Considering the audience’s comfort level helps you decide whether you should be straightforward with your content or take a delicate approach.

What To Ask From The Patient

As you know, direct to patient marketing is not always about selling a healthcare product or service. Sometimes, it could be for a survey, promoting subscriptions to your newsletter, etc. By simply reassuring the safety of their privacy, you can drive more responses from sensitive customers.

7. Create a Map Of The Decision-Making Process

You can’t truly understand your customers’ feelings about your patient marketing strategy and its execution without putting yourself in their shoes. In other words, creating an efficient marketing message or offer is only half the battle. You must also ensure the overall customer journey from receiving your marketing message to completing the desired action, such as making a purchase.

Consider providing primary patient education to your healthcare customers to help them make informed buying decisions. In other words, ensure you have quality content that the customers can quickly find online. Furthermore, direct to patient marketing should also involve optimizing the web pages for faster loading and responsiveness. 

You would also likely have to deliver different types of content to the customer according to their demand. Mapping the customer’s decision-making process enables you to understand these demands and create a successful patient marketing strategy. Here are some significant benefits of mapping the customer’s decision-making process.

Find Out The Type of Content To Pitch

Mapping the decision-making process helps you choose the correct form of content for the different stages of the conversion funnel.

Understand The Needs and Pain Points Of The Customer

Another great thing about mapping the decision-making process is that it reveals the needs and pain points of the customer. It helps you identify the exemplary healthcare product/service for the target audience and optimize your patient marketing experience.

8. Evaluate The Patient’s Online Experience

In the past, the purpose of a healthcare website was merely to establish your organization’s brand and identity. You could also say that a website was more like an online portfolio that your prospective customers could view and verify. However, direct marketing to patients is much more than that.

With the growing popularity of virtual care experiences, patient engagement has become significantly more complex. In all practical cases, your healthcare website is the first touchpoint for your patients. It is the first place prospective patients look to check if they are reliable healthcare providers. Hence, optimizing the online experience for successful patient marketing is crucial.

Here are some things you can do to ensure an excellent online experience for your patients.

Accurate And Accessible Contact Information

The first thing you need to ensure your Health care website has is accurate and accessible contact information. It should include your Health care organization’s

• Locations
• Phone numbers
• Contact form
• Primary services

Encourage Patient Engagement

You can’t enhance the patient’s online experience without increasing better engagement. Hence, healthcare organizations must provide patience with value-added experience as part of their patient marketing efforts. But how can you do this? Well, it’s simple. All you have to do is implement the following value-added experience to your healthcare website.

• Easy information access.
• Accurate and timely healthcare appointments.
• Accessibility to healthcare services via different communication channels.

You must integrate the above experiences with your brand interactions for efficient patient engagement.

Analyze Patient Engagements

Just like you can’t treat a patient without checking their physical condition, you can’t optimize direct marketing to patients without analyzing patient engagements. Hence, you have to study various instances of patient engagement online, such as websites, social media, paid ads, etc. 

You must understand that the healthcare customer or patient must have the flexibility to choose a convenient communication channel. Sometimes, the customer may try contacting you through your website, and sometimes they prefer a phone call. You must ensure that every consumer Touchpoint is optimized and ready to use for an effective direct to patient marketing strategy.

Examine That Customer Journey

According to a HubSpot article, 66% of customers expect companies to understand their needs. Examining the path customers or patients take when they engage with your business is crucial in optimizing your patient marketing efforts. 

Mapping the customer journey provides you with a comprehensive understanding of their needs. More importantly, it gives you an idea about what you can use to trigger a conversation with the patient.

9. Test And Ensure High Site Speeds

Did you know that 46% of people abandon or don’t visit poorly performing sites? That’s like saying you will lose almost half of your prospective customers if you don’t ensure high loading speed for your healthcare website. Hence, site speed plays a significant role in ensuring successful direct-to-patient marketing campaigns. 

It is worth noting that it only takes five seconds for the user to abandon your website. Besides that, low site speeds also raise concerns about your SERP rankings. If that happens, you can say goodbye to organic traffic, and everything you did or did for patient marketing would go to waste.

We suggest you use Google pay speeding sites to test your site speed and ensure everything is up to mark. Only with high-speed browsing can you implement advanced direct-to-patient marketing campaigns.

Think of your healthcare website as the Flash. Without lightning-fast speed, your website is like Barry Allen before getting hit by lightning – functional but not exceptional. Your patient marketing strategy can’t succeed until your website can “Flash Up” and break the sound barrier or hit the site speed mark.

10. Organic Search Engine Results Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not a new concept to marketers. Assuming that you already have a functioning website, you are most likely using SEO for all your marketing efforts. If you aren’t, then it’s high time you did because there is no direct marketing to patients without SEO.

68% of all web or online experiences start from a search engine, such as Google, Bing, etc. However, it is crucial to understand that randomly throwing in keywords 100 times on your website will not get you a #1 ranking on Google. In other words, no (healthcare) organization can implement marketing strategies and patient management plans without SEO.

If you think about it, SEO is like an elaborate dance, like a ballet. It involves delicate movements, which in SEO use the correct phrases and keywords optimally. You can neither over nor underdo it. The balance must be perfect so that search engines like Google can understand your healthcare website and what it does. 

Additionally, you must stick to organic SEO strategies for patient marketing as they are more sustainable. It helps you blank on the most relevant healthcare-related terms, such as medical conditions, treatment methods, etc. Nonetheless, you should never try to force keywords into your content because Google considers readability over everything else.

Some of the other preferable healthcare SEO practices you can consider are as follows.

Keyword Optimized Content Pages

One of the best SEO practices you can use for your patient marketing strategy is to create content pages. And it is not just any content page, but one that offers high-quality content with optimal keyword density. 

Internal Linking

You must ensure that you provide internal links that navigate the user to relevant pages within your healthcare website.

External Backlinks

Not all your links should take the user to some page inside your website. You must also provide external backlinks to reputable health sites for better patient marketing and SERP rankings.

Site Index Or Site Map

The purpose of the site index or site map is to allow search engines like Google and Bing to read and rank your healthcare website.

Google Business Profile

Your healthcare company will get credibility by claiming it on Google Business Profile. Ensure you fill out the company listing with appropriate information for more effective patient marketing initiatives.

So, fill out every section, including uploading photos and videos. You must also optimize the local listings/reviews and frequently post them in the FAQ section.

Conclusion

You must use multiple marketing strategies and channels to yield the best results. There are several direct-to-patient marketing strategies that you can use to reach out to your healthcare target audience effectively. It combines online and offline marketing efforts to help you reach a wider audience and maximize results.

Like Thanos needs all six infinity stones for the final snap, you need multiple marketing efforts to yield the desired results. Direct marketing channels like direct mail play a crucial role in ensuring the success of your patient marketing strategy.

Furthermore, direct mail automation tools like PostGrid make the whole process much more manageable. It lets you set up triggered and scheduled mail for your healthcare organization. And you can even use PostGrid’s address verification solution to ensure the deliverability of your patient marketing messages.

Additionally, solutions like PostGrid come with HIPAA compliance, ensuring your PHI’s security. Healthcare organizations must use similar automation solutions to PostGrid to streamline their direct-to-patient marketing campaigns. You can provide optimized and profitable healthcare marketing for your organization with advanced automation solutions.

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