You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Similarly, you can send information to people, but it’s impossible to ensure they consume it.
Managing engagement is a challenge for direct marketers in every industry, but the first step is to determine whether your campaign is effective. Armed with this information, healthcare marketers are in a better position to adapt campaigns to improve engagement.
By the Numbers
Recent statistics from the Direct Marketing Association show that response rates are at their highest in years, with 5.3 percent response to house lists and 2.9 percent to prospect lists. Conversions in the form of leads generated — or even better, actual orders — is obviously the ideal result, but sometimes awareness can be equally important.
Here’s how to determine whether your direct marketing campaigns are working — and how to improve them if they aren’t.
Use Direct Response Tactics
Healthcare marketers can determine whether a lead or sale is a direct result of engagement with a campaign by including direct response techniques in the process. These are designed to evoke an “on-the-spot” reaction from the prospect, with little-to-no wait time in between. Methods such as a call to action via a direct or online transaction enables you to track the performance of a campaign from the moment it’s launched. This option can be used across almost all your methods of advertising, including TV, radio, print marketing and online advertisements.
Include a Digital Component
Tactics such as using a unique code supplied with your healthcare marketing materials are now viewed as “old hat,” but they can still generate valuable data to inform your campaigns. While direct response methods might include a telephone call or a personal trip to make a purchase, adding a digital component such as ordering online or downloading a free offer provides the opportunity to track user behavior. This serves up data such as geographical location, IP address, and in many cases the chance to install cookies, enabling you to monitor future actions.
Mining the Data
Obtaining intel on audience engagement is helpful, but it’s only by using it that you can maximize its value. Make building up your healthcare customer database a major priority. Use analytics software to look for patterns in the data, and personalize direct marketing campaigns according to your findings. Integrate the channels you use to ensure you reach target personas in the places they hang out.
For more information on healthcare direct marketing and how to engage your audience, call Wax Custom Communications at 305-350-5700 or visit waxcom.com.
