Direct hospital marketing: an idea whose time has come.

Health care marketing has arrived swiftly and with significant impact upon the hospital scene. From the early days of rejection and suspicion of only a few years ago, it has now taken its place with other hospital management functions. Still, however, hospitals have not yet reached the degree of expertise that exists in other sectors. One of the reasons why hospitals have not fully emerged to the level of marketing expertise as many of their traditional business counterparts is that many of the areas of both the science and art of marketing have not been fully developed. One such area is direct mail marketing. Presented here is an overview of the advantages and functions of hospital direct mail marketing. A variety of examples are given with a more thorough case example being provided by Lee's Summit Community Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri. The successful direct mail marketing campaign there should be both an inspiration and a model for success for other hospitals. Space limitations prevent the authors from some of the more exacting details of mail marketing and, of course, successful campaigns do not happen by magic. They take careful planning, strategy, and execution. They also require a coordinated organizational and human effort to be successful. But direct mail marketing does offer a potentially new arena of marketing for most hospitals. The expertise, skill, knowledge, and technology are in place. All that is really needed is the commitment on the part of the hospital leadership.