The Economy Is Flat, But Health Care Facilities Can Increase Their Patient Base - Direct Mail

Today's economy has many businesses scrambling to stay afloat. Health Care facilities are no different. People are becoming more aware of their health care options and are starting to shop around for non-emergency procedures. If someone is looking for a clinic or office, they might as well find yours, right?

How To Do It

The key is, of course, to get your name out in the public. One option is to hire an advertising agency and spend literally thousands of dollars a month on radio and/or TV ads. You could opt for spending your advertising budget in the print media, but with the number of newspapers and magazines subscribers plummeting, the potential customer base is dwindling. One method that has always been a winner is direct mail, or bulk mail as it is sometimes called. It is the process of mailing postcards or flyers to entire neighborhoods. Historically it has been an effective way to reach hundreds or even thousands of people for a small amount of money.

Go One Better

Typically, direct mailers are made of paper. They show up in the mail and the homeowner reads it. Ideally he will remember your clinic when the need arises. Here is where it can be made even better. Instead of a simple paper mailer, send a postcard with a quality refrigerator magnet attached to it. Right away it will attract the attention of the recipient because it is something new and different. The magnet gets peeled off, and now the recipient has a quality magnet in his hand. People tend to keep things like that. The old paper mailer is often relegated to the trash can after it is read once or twice. The magnet, on the other hand, is usually attached to some prominent place in the home, such as the refrigerator or a metal cupboard. Some get taken to work and end up on a computer case or the file cabinets.

Regardless of where it's final home is, it gets viewed over and over by everyone in the home or workplace. Like radio advertisements that get played repeatedly, the magnet exposes people to your hospital, clinic or office every day. Sooner or later someone is going to need a doctor, a pharmacists, or a chiropractor, and they're recall your magnet that came with the direct mail product. That's who will get their business.

Contact a reliable supplier of magnetic promotional products and ask if they have direct mail products with magnets, and get started developing new patients.

By: Robert A. Barber

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Robert is currently working for ESP Health Care Promotions, a supplier of top quality magnetic promotional products for the Health Care Industry. A retired police dispatcher, he lives in eastern Kansas on a small farm. When he isn't writing or spending time with his family, he is riding one of his Harley Davidson motorcycles across the country to visit friends and relatives.