Physicians benefit from CRM tools

Middleton, Wis. – By utilizing targeted direct-mail marketing, Middleton-based Customer Potential Management Group (CPM) has brought a Midwestern health care provider unexpected returns: Forty-six patients for a new primary-care physician, 505 overall new patients and $152,944 net profit. CPM is a provider of relationship management solutions for health care.

“With advancements in variable digital imaging and predictive segmentation to narrow audiences, direct mail becomes even more powerful with greater response rates and financial return,” said John Hallick, CPM president and chief executive officer.

CPM developed the campaign when the provider opened a practice in an area that had seven other primary care associates. To obtain patients for the physician, CPM took a broad approach to reach members of the community who were identified in its customer relationship management (CRM) database as not having a primary-care physician.

Following a three-month campaign of eight mail drops targeted to specific community members, CPM tracked results via the database for 18 months. After mailing to 6,543 individuals, 46 patients made appointments with the new physician—an average response rate. Overall, 4,319 individuals interacted with the system after the mailing, and 505 were new patients for a total response rate of 32 percent based control group calculations.

CPM is now considering marketing programs for all individuals in its physician groups, campaign specifics will be based on practice location and community demographics.