The 2024 State of Direct Mail Marketing from Lob and Comperemedia was based on insights gathered from more than 1,000 marketing professionals throughout North America. For those convinced that direct mail’s best days are in the past, the research is startling.
- 84% of marketers say that direct mail delivers the highest ROI of any channel they use.
- 84% agree that direct mail has the highest response rate.
- 85% report that direct mail offers the highest conversion rate.
- 82% increased their spending on direct mail for 2024.
Findings like these are of keen interest to marketers in the nation’s most competitive industries — such as healthcare. According to data compiled by Persuasion Nation, advertising expenditures in the U.S. healthcare industry are expected to top $29 billion annually by 2028.
Healthcare organizations that incorporate direct mail into their marketing mixes will be well-positioned to take market share in the years ahead. This blog explores the specific reasons why direct mail is so ideal for healthcare marketing in the U.S.
3 Reasons to Use Direct Mail in Healthcare
1 – Direct mail is more effective
The top reason to use direct mail marketing in the healthcare industry is simple — it works. Postalytics reports that healthcare direct mail campaigns have an average response rate of 5.1%. This compares to a combined response rate of only 1.8% across online ads, paid searches, social media and direct mail.
Interestingly, this statistic is corroborated by the Lob and Comperemedia research. When looking specifically at the healthcare industry itself, 91% of marketers surveyed agreed that direct mail offers the highest response rate of any marketing channel used.
2 – Direct mail is infinitely measurable
Marketing pioneer John Wanamaker put it best: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is, I don’t know which half.”
Direct mail solves this problem for healthcare marketers. In fact, direct mail is arguably the most measurable and controllable marketing channel available — more than email campaigns or television, print, social media and online advertising. There are several reasons for this.
- Unlike most forms of mass media, direct mail campaigns can be precisely targeted to reach specific audience demographics and psychographics.
- Third-party data sources — such as listings of “new movers” to a certain geographic area — can be used to refine targeting even further.
- Marketing offers can be tailored to specific target audiences and direct mail recipients. The response rate for a given offer is a clear indicator of consumer preference.
- Digital response devices such as PURLs and QR codes (see below) are another way to measure consumer response and preference. Only those receiving a given direct mail campaign will have access to the PURL or QR code, making response measurement simple.
3 – Direct mail is ideal for digital integration
Direct mail is perhaps most powerful when used as a platform for delivering digital content. Unlike the static brochures and direct mail letters of decades past, direct mail can instantly trigger omnichannel experiences for healthcare consumers on their mobile devices.
The possibilities for deepening consumer engagement in this way are endless. For example:
- A persistent URL, or PURL, in the direct mail piece can link the recipient to a custom website created specifically for a given marketing campaign.
- Scanning a QR code in the mail piece can send the recipient to a video highlighting a healthcare organization’s expertise in a certain medical specialty.
- Augmented reality (AR) features designed into the mail piece can enable the recipient to view a 3D model of a new healthcare facility using the camera in their phone.
- A mobile wallet, accessed by scanning a QR code, can be used to deliver tickets to “by invitation only” events, such as to the grand opening of a new care facility.
- A near field communication (NFC) chip, embedded in the mail piece, can enable the recipient to access a special website, mobile app or other digital tool.
Direct Mail Capabilities for Healthcare Marketers
Taylor is one of the largest and most innovative direct mail marketers in the nation, printing and mailing more than two billion pieces each year. Our end-to-end capabilities in direct mail — combined with Taylor’s deep subject matter expertise in the healthcare industry — enables Taylor to deliver high-performing direct mail marketing campaigns for healthcare marketers.
- Multiple Taylor production facilities from coast to coast specialize in direct mail programs, getting you into mailboxes faster. Many hold the certifications so critical in the healthcare industry such as HIPAA, HITRUST and SOC 2 Type II.
- Taylor offers comprehensive omnichannel marketing capabilities and can integrate direct mail campaigns with email, SMS text and custom websites.
- Taylor has designers in-house who create high-performing direct mail campaigns that grow market share in the healthcare industry.
- We have sophisticated data analytics capabilities in-house to drive higher response, such as IBM SPSS Neural Networks modeling tools that unlock the complex relationships in your data.
- We are a trusted partner to the U.S. Postal Service, holding a USPS® Gold Level rating and a national commingling contract for First-Class Mail®. This expertise enables us to maximize the postal discounts so critical to direct mail ROI.
See for yourself how direct mail can serve as an integral part of your healthcare marketing mix. Contact your Taylor representative to learn more.
