Navigating the Agency-Printer Relationship

In the fast-paced world of business, collaboration and synergy are key ingredients for success. One very important partnership that often is underestimated is the relationship between your company, your marketing agency and your commercial print partner. In an era where digital marketing dominates, the tactile power of printed materials can be overlooked. Yet, there’s an undeniable charm to holding a beautifully designed brochure or receiving a thoughtfully crafted direct mail piece. This is where the partnership between a marketing agency and a commercial print partner shines. Seamless interaction between these two entities can greatly impact the effectiveness of your marketing and the overall success of your business. In this blog, we’ll explore setting expectations, defining roles, choosing the right partners and the benefits of using a well-connected print partner.

Setting Expectations and Defining Roles

The foundation of any successful partnership is clear communication and well-defined roles. When it comes to the relationship between your marketing agency and print partner, the following points need to be established:

• Design Needs & Deadlines: Clearly communicate your design requirements and deadlines to ensure your agency can meet the artwork deadline and your printer can achieve the desired quality in your timeframe.
• Print Types: Discuss the specifics of the print job, including paper type, color options (full color or black and white), and any bindery, folding, collating or finishing required. Ensure your printer has the capabilities for a wide range of print types, i.e., newsletters, postcards, brochures, handbooks etc. Consider whether you need mailing services as well.
• Responsibility for Fulfillment: Determine who will handle the fulfillment process. Some print partners, like Preferred Direct, offer comprehensive services that include printing, mailing, and even kitting for promotional campaigns. While some marketing agencies are responsible for kitting specialty client gifts and will need the print piece sent to them for fulfillment.
• Budget: Transparency in budgeting is essential. Evaluate all costs involved, from the marketing agency’s fees to the printing invoices, shipping charges and more. This holistic view helps prevent surprises down the line.

Choosing the Right Partners

There are several factors to consider when choosing the right marketing partner. The first factor to consider is industry knowledge. A marketing agency that understands your industry can hit the ground running. They’ll have insights into your target audience, competition, and trends specific to your field, all of which will greatly impact the effectiveness of your campaigns. You can also request samples from a marketing agency, this will help you to evaluate the quality of their work and help to determine if they are a good fit with your brand. If the samples include case studies or metrics, you can gain insights into how effective the agency’s campaigns were for their previous clients in your industry. This can give you an idea of the potential ROI you might achieve by working with them.

When looking for the right commercial print partner, you will want to consider things like data security, equipment and technology, customer service, and experience. Protection of sensitive data is paramount. Make sure your print partner has security measures in place to protect your information and maintain client confidentiality. As a HIPAA compliant and HITRUST certified printer, Preferred Direct values the level of security required when dealing with personal information.

Preferred Direct is committed to quality at every step of the way. We use advanced print, fulfillment, and data technology to deliver custom communication solutions, on time and on budget. We take pride in being a highly skilled business partner who can deliver on your most pressing marketing and communications needs. Whether your project is transactional, informational, or promotional, Preferred Direct has over 30 years of experience in delivering engaging, secure print pieces for companies in a variety of industries.

Preferred Direct: A Multi-Faceted Partner

With years of experience in key industries such as healthcare, insurance, finance, energy & utility, and not-for-profit sectors, we have collaborated closely with various marketing agencies. Our extensive capabilities, renowned customer service, swift lead times, nationwide print services, and a data-centric approach have earned a reputation as a reliable, technology-focused print and direct mail partner for companies across the nation. As a family-owned business, we prioritize personalized care and are well-equipped to assist you or connect you with an excellent marketing agency tailored to your industry needs.

The partnership between your marketing agency and commercial print partner is a cornerstone in your marketing strategy. Clear communication, well-defined roles, and selecting the right partners, like Preferred Direct, can elevate your campaigns, simplify the campaign process, and drive substantial results. Teamwork makes the dreamwork!

10 Healthcare Marketing Ideas To Help Grow Your Practice

As a medical professional, the care of your patients is top priority. When operating a medical practice, however, the business side of medicine is not far behind. Whether you are facing patient retention challenges, looking to expand locations, add new talent, or simply increase the number of patients you see, healthcare marketing can help with sustainable growth of your practice. Here are ten ideas to do just that:

#1 Develop a Brand Identity

A medical practice is still very much a business, and with that comes the need for a brand. Develop a cohesive brand for your practice by choosing a logo, color scheme, and fonts. Work with a marketing professional to take the branding a step further by developing a brand tone and brand values. Combined, these visual and emotion-provoking components will become your enterprise’s brand and create a clear identity to your customers. Over time, your brand will become synonymous with the quality of care that your practice provides.

#2 Outsource Billing to a Third Party

If your office is still billing internally, you may find you can maximize your staff’s time by outsourcing your bill printing and mailing processes. After bill coding and contact verification, your team can transfer billing data through a secure data portal to a print and mail partner for fulfillment. This allows your billing staff to attend to patients, customer service and more urgent matters.

It’s important to seek out a partner with expertise in handling sensitive medical information. Be sure to verify they can uphold HIPAA standards and have appropriate data security protocols. Working with an inexperienced printer can lead to problems ranging from reputational damage to costly lawsuits. Preferred Direct is proud to be a HIPAA-compliant and HITRUST-certified commercial print and mail partner. Our state-of-the-art print technology and strict data security standards ensure our medical customers can safely outsource their billing and maximize their internal staff for other pressing financial and care-related matters.

#3 Create a Healthcare Marketing Plan

Healthcare marketing is necessary when growing your enterprise. However, your efforts may be wasted without setting specific goals. Identify measurable areas in which you wish to grow and develop a strategy around those goals.

Utilize both print and digital marketing and seek out ways to integrate them. Examples can include using social media to promote an upcoming event, sending out a brief version of your company newsletter via email, or including a QR code on a postcard.

#4 Become a Thought Leader

Leverage your knowledge as a medical professional and find ways to share your expertise publicly. Medical blogs and publications often seek guest writers. Be sure to name drop your practice, so your expertise is attributed correctly.

For a more direct, local impact, create a printed newsletter for your practice. In one of the segments, include informative content. This can include debunking medical myths, explaining emerging medical technologies, or a list of preventative health advice.

If you want to be very hands-on, get in front of the camera. Some medical professionals have seen success on video-centric platforms like TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn etc., delivering knowledge in short, digestible formats.

#5 Set Up a Referral Program

Word-of-mouth is still among the strongest ways to grow a business. Encourage your current patients to tell friends, family, and coworkers about your practice. You can offer an incentive for them to do so, such as grocery gift cards, entries for a giveaway, or a complementary service. Use forms or comment cards, where new patients can disclose if they were referred by an existing patient and capture the ROI of your healthcare marketing campaigns.

#6 Recruit and Retain the Best

A medical enterprise is only as good as the people who work there, from the doctors to the front desk personnel. It is important to attract and retain the best possible staff when growing your practice.

Celebrate employee accomplishments and milestones in your newsletter, to express appreciation. Recognize the risk of burnout in the medical field and make resources available to keep your team happy and healthy, so they can keep patients happy and healthy.

Be proactive in hiring by attending job fairs, connecting with post-secondary institutions, and using recruitment resources to find the right fit for your practice.

As a bonus, recruiting within the community can double as a promotional activity, increasing brand recognition in the area.

#7 Leverage New and Existing Technology

Seek out opportunities to add new technologies to your practice that are patient-friendly. Telehealth is quickly moving from a “nice-to-have” to an expectation of care. If your practice can offer these visits, make it known!

For a busy office, scheduling can be challenging for both the office and the patient. Online scheduling can help by reducing call wait times and automating the confirmation process.

Keeping your web presence updated can impact the impression of your practice. While not a new technology, regularly updating your social media pages with relevant content shows that you care to keep patients informed where they are. Similarly, your website requires routine content updates, as the place many new and existing patents will go first for information.

#8 Solicit and Utilize Reviews

If you are unsure where to focus your time and efforts, encourage feedback from your existing patients in the form of reviews.

When you receive a five-star review, ask the reviewer for permission to share their feedback in your healthcare marketing. This feedback can also be used to get an idea of the patient’s experience. This information can highlight critical growth areas for your practice.

#9 Expand Your Reach Locally

As a medical enterprise, you will likely have multiple locations under your business umbrella. When it comes time to open a new office, develop a healthcare marketing campaign around introducing yourself to the local community. This can be done through a direct mail campaign, social media ads, or even a grand opening event! Using every door direct mail (EDDM), practitioners can target every house within a specific radius to the facility and introduce local households to their practice.

Adding additional practitioners can also bring new patients that may not have previously sought out your practice. Highlight expansions of service in your direct mail newsletter or on your website, encouraging new patients to make an appointment.

#10 Stay Connected

Make it easy for patients to stay connected to your practice. A mailing list, both for physical mail and email is a great place to start. Appointment reminders also remind people to connect with your office. Work with a healthcare marketing designer to develop an eye-catching, on-brand design that cannot be missed among other pieces of mail.

For a more hands-on approach, participate in local events as a vendor or sponsor. Health fairs, holiday festivals, and marathons are great venues for a medical enterprise to engage with the local community. Give out branded freebies, offer screenings, or host a giveaway. Be sure to include a sign-up for your mailing list at the booth!

*Bonus: Leverage Preferred Direct!

Healthcare marketing takes effort and strategy. When it comes to your medical print and mail campaigns, Preferred Direct has years of experience in managing sensitive healthcare information, as well as marketing materials, with security and diligence. From designing to printing to finishing to postage, Preferred Direct has the experience, technology, and security to help you grow your medical practice. Contact us today for a print marketing estimate!