How to reach (and keep) more patients with an optichannel marketing strategy

‘The optichannel marketing campaign built trust … and the direct mail piece converted a 205% increase in sales leads’

Marketing can be energy-intensive, especially with so many digital options available today. So, do you completely ditch the postcards, mailers and paper newsletters? The answer for your practice may be optichannel marketing.

Omnichannel vs. optichannel marketing

Omnichannel marketing spotlights a particular aspect of your business — a sale or a service. The same ads or message is then used across all channels: Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc. A potential customer who is not in need of a particular sale may not pay attention to your ads.

Optichannel marketing looks more closely at matching the message and content with the potential patient and channel. A younger client may identify with one brand and message, and an older person will be attracted to another type of message, segmenting your audience.

Building your tool kit to reach patients

You see many ages and types of individuals in your practice, each one needing service for different reasons pertaining to age, health, or personal goals. Targeting the right message to the right groups can help you build your business.

Here are a few ways to do just that:

Look local. How can you get your message out to the community? If you have not become involved in the local scene and connected with other local business owners, you are missing out on potential clients. Create ads to run in community and commerce groups, giving your personal message: you are part of their community, and you offer services they can rely on. Stop in and introduce yourself to local business owners or create a mail campaign with targeted postcards. Don’t assume you have a presence that can’t be improved. Local businesses can support each other through referrals and interaction.

Take the stage. Videos and podcasts have become a popular way to advertise services on social media channels, so jump into the pool. Record short, one-minute videos that give a quick tip or relevant information. Make it fun, and it may begin to trend. With optichannel marketing you can target specific audiences with your videos by considering their needs. How can your practice help students? What is the number one question you hear from the over-50 sector? Give a few tips for better health or spotlight a patient’s success story (with their permission), and your clients will share the video and refer your services to others.

Be fit to print. Print marketing is still alive and relevant, especially when you team it with online marketing. Digital marketing can be exhausting and cause eye strain, and annoying pop-up ads might make that future client disappear. Direct mail and other methods of advertising in print still hold true, and remains popular with certain segments. A study conducted by the Association of National Advertisers found that letter-sized direct mail offered the highest return of all types of media in 2020. But it can have a great relationship with your digital ads, by including QR codes and website or email information in print. Also don’t forget to utilize press releases for your events, office announcements or sales.

Bring them into your funnel

Once you reach a customer, think about the next steps they will take along your optichannel experience to bring them into your care via your e-newsletter, website, social media, text messaging, etc. One larger example is a campaign by MB Financial out of Chicago, which realized it wasn’t connecting with local customers, and devised a local optichannel campaign.

“The campaign ran print, radio and digital media ads throughout the area featuring four messages: MB Financial delivers the personal attention you want, the banking services you need, business advice you can use, and business connections you wouldn’t expect,” wrote Andre Chandra for Brand United. “Those ads set the stage, but the real conversion piece was a localized direct mail campaign that featured the local branch managers talking directly to the small business owners they served … The postcards were versioned for each branch’s business area. They featured professional photos of the branch manager, a personal message, and an invitation to call their direct phone numbers. There was also an offer to get up to $550 in bonus cash for opening an account and/or line of credit. The optichannel campaign built trust in MB Financial’s commitment to small business banking needs, and the direct mail piece converted a 205% increase in sales leads.”

While such a large campaign may not be within your means, try and mix it up with your marketing and take a chance with an outside-the-box optichannel marketing experiment. You never know how many new patients will see your efforts.

Resources:

https://www.brandunited.com/article/exploring-dynamic-direct-marketing-trends-and-strategies/

https://www.nationwidegroup.org/the-practical-application-of-optichannel-marketing/https://www.brandunited.com/article/secrets-behind-3-great-optichannel-experiences/

https://www.ana.net/