If you’re like many chiropractors, you may not even be considering a chiropractic direct mail marketing campaign right now. But considering that response rates for direct mail marketing campaigns are 30% higher than those of email marketing campaigns, it’s worth a second look.
In this post, we look at some important direct mail marketing stats and offer you 10 ideas for getting a direct mail marketing campaign started.
What Is a Chiropractor Direct Mail Campaign?
Direct mail marketing is the practice of sending physical pieces of mail to a person’s home or business mailbox. Unlike email, which is digital, direct mail is made from paper or cardstock. A direct mail campaign might include postcards, newsletters, doctor brochures, and other kinds of mailers.
Why Would A Chiropractor Send Direct Mail? What Are The Benefits?
While both direct mail marketing and email marketing have their place in a solid advertising plan, direct mail marketing for chiropractors offers some benefits that aren’t as prevalent in email marketing.
According to a study by the Direct Marketing Association, the response rates for direct mail marketing came in at 30 times the response rate for email, with different types of direct mail marketing collateral having various response rates.
- Statistically speaking, 90% of direct mail pieces get seen by recipients (to email’s 30%)
- Oversized direct mail pieces, if they were sent to a home, got a nearly 4% response rate
- Catalogs garnered a 26% response rate when sent to homes
- Postcards generated a nearly 3% response when sent to a home
- Letter-sized response rates were 3.4% to email’s 0.12%
These stats offer clues as to why direct mail campaigns work so well when you’re working on chiropractor past patient marketing campaigns.
You’re capitalizing on an already existing trend in direct mail marketing. That is to say, statistics show that direct mail pieces that are sent to homes offer you some of the best response rates in direct mail marketing.
While chiropractic direct mail campaigns don’t work as well when it comes to bring new clients into your clinic, they work wonders where your existing and past clients are concerned.
But that’s more than okay. According to HubSpot, you’ll
- Pay six to seven times more to acquire a new client than to work with clients you already have, which means past patient marketing can be more profitable for you in the long run
- Increase your chiropractic clinic’s revenue by as little as 25% and as much as 95%.
- Usually get more referrals from your current and past clients, which lowers your marketing costs
But Isn’t Chiropractic Direct Mail Marketing Super Expensive?
In our experience, the ROI for direct mail marketing campaigns more than pays for the cost of the marketing collateral.
Here’s an example. One of our clients spent a total of $2,000 on direct mail advertising over a two-month period. That client reactivated 68 patients, which led to the clinic earning over $63,000 from reactivated past clients. You’d spend $2k to make $63,000, right? It’s a no-brainer!
10 Great Chiropractic Direct Mail Ideas
In the sections below, you’ll find practical tips for implementing a chiropractic direct mail marketing campaign. There are ideas for newsletters, postcards, flyers, and more.
(Tip 1) Market to Past Patients
1. Send monthly newsletters to past patients!
Would it surprise you to learn that your chiropractic direct mail advertising campaign is the No. 1 way to stay in contact with your past patients? It is!
One client of ours started a newsletter campaign. That campaign reactivated 22 past clients. Marketing to your past chiropractic clients works, and more importantly, you don’t have to look any further than your current mailing list to capitalize on this.
(Tips 2-7) Fantastic Postcard Ideas for Chiropractor Direct Mail Marketing
Chiropractor past patient marketing campaigns don’t need to be limited to newsletters. Postcards have an amazing ROI.
If you’re stumped for ideas for your postcard marketing campaign, then think about implementing one or more of these five ideas.
2. Send postcards offering a free 15-minute evaluation.
It’s well known in the marketing world that freebies turn into sales, and free screenings count among the best freebie offers you can give your chiropractic patients. If you offer these twice a year, you’ll get quite a number of your past clients back in the door.
You also don’t have to spend an hour with each client. A 15-minute screening will tell them (and you) how additional chiropractic work could benefit them. You’ll rebuild your connection with your past patients as well as earn their trust. If one-in-four past patients decide to start seeing you again, it’ll be worth the time, money, and effort you put into the campaign.
3. Send postcards at holiday times.
When your patients feel healthy, they will enjoy their lives, including the holidays, all the more. Send out a nicely-designed postcard with a reminder that good health leads to greater enjoyment of the holidays. Including a coupon or some other enticement increases the chances that your chiropractor direct mail marketing campaign will meet with success.
4. Let them know that you’re teaching a workshop.
As a chiropractor, you have lots of options for teaching a community workshop. While a talk about the benefits of chiropractics is an option, you don’t need to limit yourself to that. For example, if you offer complementary services, like massage, yoga, reiki, or nutrition classes, you could give a workshop on those topics. On a related note, you’ll find even greater success with this campaign if you invite your mail recipients to bring a friend along.
5. Encourage patients to enjoy the benefits of their deductible.
By year’s end, most people who carry insurance will have paid their deductible. In light of that, send out postcards at the end of the year to remind your past patients to come in and enjoy the benefits of their deductible.
6. Ring in the New Year.
Nearly everyone makes New Year’s resolutions. Start a “New Year, New You” direct mail marketing campaign to encourage your patients to start the New Year with good health habits, including seeing the chiropractor.
7. Help summertime athletes recover from their injuries.
Summertime for most weekend warriors equals fun in the sun and, oftentimes, the injuries that go with it. Send out postcards during the warmer months, offering rehab for injuries or training to prevent common injuries.
(Tips 8-10) Direct Mail Ideas from Chiropractors to Doctors
Although much of this list has concerned itself with chiropractor past patient marketing, you don’t need to limit yourself to that. With the right marketing strategy, doctors, nurse practitioners, and other medical personnel can become a great source of patient referrals for you. Here are some things to keep in mind.
8. Design the flyer, brochure, or newsletter to fit the demographic.
When you’re creating flyers, newsletters, and brochures to send to medical personnel, consider who’ll receive the direct mail piece. If you’re sending direct mail to surgeons, then include photos that feature surgeons. If the market you’re targeting is made up of more nurse practitioners than doctors, then feature more nurses in your photos. When the imagery on your direct mail fits the demographic, your open rates will be higher.
9. Change up the paper weight or mail type.
Using a different paper weight or going with a postcard instead of a newsletter makes your direct mail pieces stand out, making it more likely that the medical professional in question will see your mail.
10. Start a Letter Campaign.
Writing letters is back in vogue, with millennials being some of the most avid purchasers of greeting cards and stationery. For medical professionals in this demographic, a letter-writing campaign may just be the attention-getter that your chiropractic direct mail campaign needs.
When sending letters to physicians, use a font that looks like handwriting and make the letter personable but professional. Talk about how your services can complement the physician’s and how it can benefit patients through post-op rehab, nutritional counseling, etc. Also, experiment with the color of paper and envelope–that can attract attention to YOUR letter amidst the stack of letters that doctors get!
Last Thoughts on Chiropractic Direct Mail Marketing Campaigns
The return-on-investment for direct mail marketing campaigns is too great to ignore. Our clients have told us time and again that they completely revitalized their businesses, thanks to their direct mail marketing efforts. By implementing a campaign of your own, your chiropractic clinic can enjoy a new surge in business.
Ready to start sending direct mail? Practice Promotions provides direct mail services. Contact us today to get started!