Including direct mail within your patient communication strategy can make life easier on both patients and healthcare providers. There are a multitude of reasons why that’s the case. And as a bonus, automating your mailing campaigns enables you to strengthen connections without taking you away from your patients. Below, you’ll find some ideas for how you can leverage automated direct mail to remain connected with your patients.

Automated Direct Mail Campaigns are Perfect for Appointment Reminders

After making a follow-up appointment, most patients likely forget about it once it’s been set. And frankly, sending an email is risky business considering how cluttered those inboxes can get. That’s where reminder postcards enter the picture. Providing patients with a tangible reminder of their next appointment makes that appointment much easier to remember. That’s because they can store it in a prominent location until the big day arrives. 

Sending reminder postcards using an automated mailing platform is easier than you think, too. Thanks to Direct Mail Manager’s integrations, you can trigger an automatic reminder postcard to be sent to recipients once that patient’s follow-up appointment approaches. Suppose you’d like for all patients who have appointments scheduled to receive a reminder postcard two weeks before the appointment. You could use Zapier to link Direct Mail Manager to your relationship management system to build a campaign that automatically mails postcards to patients with appointments within the next two weeks within the matter of minutes! This allows you to keep patients in the loop without having to neglect your regular responsibilities.

Healthcare Providers Can Use Automated Direct Mail Campaigns to Communicate New Information & Updates

Don’t allow your messaging to be confined to the digital world. If your healthcare practice has new information to pass along like new hours or additional staff, mailing your community about that exciting news could result in new patients. Other valuable touchpoints you can rely on direct mail campaigns for include:

• Advice on Travel-Related Conditions:

Pretend that it’s the early days of summer and members of your community are on their way to an exotic vacation destination. If you provide them with an informative postcard that shares best practices for avoiding conditions like jetlag could make your healthcare practice among the most trusted in your community.

• Local Outbreaks & Tips for Staying Healthy:

If there’s a nasty strain of strep throat going around at the local high school, sending postcards that inform the community about the outbreak could go a long way. Providing tips on how to avoid catching and spreading infectious diseases is another way to build a positive reputation throughout your community.

• Best Practices for Staying Active & Exercise tips:

It’s likely a safe bet that there are many members of your community who  would like to remain active. The problem is, they may not know where to start. Sending postcards that provide insight on how to stay active could inspire recipients to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Use Automated Direct Mail Campaigns to Inform Recipients About New Services

Suppose that your healthcare practice is adding new state of the art medical equipment that allows you to diagnose patients with more efficiency and accuracy. You’d be making a big mistake not spreading the word about the good news with your entire community, along with your current patients. And by allowing you to upload mailing lists along with relying on integrations to connect with your current patients, you can rely on Direct Mail Manager to reach either audience. In fact, you might be surprised at how much of a response you’d get from patients regarding new services you’ve added. 

And by adding a QR code onto your postcards, they’ll be able to book an appointment to take advantage of those services within seconds if necessary. Additionally, adding a QR code onto your postcards could offer valuable tracking insights regarding your campaign. The same goes for adding a campaign-specific phone number onto your postcards. 

Automated Direct Mail Campaigns Are Perfect for Sending Community Event Invitations

Let’s say for instance that you’ve got a community health fair on the horizon. In this case, you’ll need to make sure your bases are covered regarding invitations. Using Direct Mail Manager enables you to design and send event invitations within minutes. And if your event is held annually, you can even save your event postcard, make slight alterations and use it for the following years. 

Don’t underestimate the value of providing audiences with tangible invitations. Similar to appointment reminder postcards, a physical invitation can make remembering your event date much easier. That’s especially true when you leverage Direct Mail Manager’s variable data printing capabilities to add a personal touch!

Postcards Are Perfect For Introducing Yourself And Your Services to New Potential Patients

If you’re new to a community, or you simply want to increase foot traffic at your practice, a simple introductory postcard could be just what the doctor ordered. You never know how many members of your community are on the lookout for a new healthcare provider. By informing residents about your practice and services, could take your brand awareness to new heights.

That’s especially true when you include testimonials from happy patients. Diversifying your outreach efforts with postcards also increases the odds that your message actually gets heard. After all, mailboxes aren’t as cluttered as other marketing channels. And the vast majority of people actually prefer to receive marketing via direct mail.

Begin Leveraging Automated Direct Mail Campaigns By Creating a Direct Mail Manager Account Today!

Automated direct mail campaigns have the potential to enhance your connections with patients in ways you can’t imagine. You can begin harnessing the power of automated direct mail by creating a Free or Pro Direct Mail Manager account. If you’ve got questions about mailing campaigns, our team of direct mail experts is eager to answer them for you. Stop relying solely on digital channels for your patient communications. Begin leveraging HIPAA-compliant direct mail campaigns by sending your first mailer with Direct Mail Manager today!