Abstract
BackgroundDirect marketing—the delivery of messages via mail, the Internet, and similar routes directly to consumers—is used extensively by healthcare organizations to attract and inform current and prospective patients of health and medical offerings and opportunities. Examples of direct marketing include direct-mail marketing, telemarketing, and Internet marketing, with routes being selected on the basis of their ability to reach desired audiences. The various avenues offered by direct marketing afford options to address most any sought group.DiscussionDirect marketing is one of the most recognized forms of marketing communication, thanks in large part to its widespread use and direct engagement of consumers. While some applications clearly have the potential to irritate consumers (e.g., junk mail in post boxes, spam in email inboxes), direct marketing can be deployed in manners respectful of recipients and, in such cases, it can prove to be a helpful communications asset. To aid others in understanding this particular conveyance method, this article presents an overview of direct marketing and shares deployment insights and experiences from Willis-Knighton Health System.ConclusionsDirect marketing provides a useful communications pathway, permitting health and medical institutions to educate and enlighten desired audiences. Given instances of overuse and misuse by organizations, however, great care must be taken to design and deploy direct marketing initiatives inoffensively. If well designed and respectfully implemented, direct marketing affords significant communications utility, earning a valued place in the marketing communications arsenals of healthcare establishments.
Highlights
Direct marketing—the delivery of messages via mail, the Internet, and similar routes directly to consumers—is used extensively by healthcare organizations to attract and inform current and prospective patients of health and medical offerings and opportunities
Pathways abound for reaching desired audiences, with one in particular, known as direct marketing, effectively delivering messages from given healthcare institutions directly to sought audiences, typically via mail, telephone, or Internet communications tools [1, 7]
Direct marketing is heavily utilized by health services organizations, with applications ranging from postcards mailed to prospects which introduce newly available medical technologies to emails which invite recipients to attend the open houses of given healthcare establishments [1, 5,6,7,8]
Summary
Direct marketing is one of the most recognized forms of marketing communication, thanks in large part to its widespread use and direct engagement of consumers. While some applications clearly have the potential to irritate consumers (e.g., junk mail in post boxes, spam in email inboxes), direct marketing can be deployed in manners respectful of recipients and, in such cases, it can prove to be a helpful communications asset. To aid others in understanding this particular conveyance method, this article presents an overview of direct marketing and shares deployment insights and experiences from Willis-Knighton Health System
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