Touchpoints that Matter: How Year-Round Direct Mail Keeps MA Members Engaged

In today’s competitive Medicare Advantage (MA) landscape, creating lasting member relationships requires more than seasonal outreach—it demands thoughtful, consistent engagement year-round. With 32.8 million people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans in 2024—accounting for 54% of eligible Medicare beneficiaries—MA continues to grow as a dominant choice.

Direct mail, with its tactile and personal nature, remains one of the most impactful ways to deliver meaningful touchpoints throughout the member lifecycle. From welcoming new enrollees to celebrating milestones and promoting preventive care, a well-structured direct mail calendar ensures members feel valued, supported, and connected.

Let’s explore how to design an effective year-round direct mail strategy and discover why it’s a cornerstone of meaningful member engagement for MA plans.

Building a Year-Round Direct Mail Calendar

Creating a year-round communication plan helps health plans maintain consistent, tailored touchpoints for members at every stage of their healthcare journey. Here’s how to craft a calendar that builds trust, drives satisfaction, and fosters retention:

Welcome Campaigns: Starting Strong

First impressions matter. Engage new members with a personalized onboarding campaign. Direct mail, with its tangible and personal nature, is uniquely effective in creating lasting impressions—60% of respondents say that receiving direct mail leaves a long-lasting impact on their everyday lives and helps them recall the source later on.

• What to Include: New members get so much official mail, why not make an emotional connection through a Hallmark greeting card?

• Impact: Establishes a sense of genuine care from the beginning, setting the stage for long-term loyalty. One of our health plan clients conducted a survey after mailing Hallmark cards to members and reported that 86% of recipients felt their health plan genuinely cares about them and 72% found the message inside the Hallmark cards to be very meaningful.

Preventive Care Campaigns: Supporting Wellness

Spring is an ideal time to focus on promoting preventive care. Engaging members through direct mail campaigns can effectively encourage the utilization of preventive services. Research indicates that direct mail reminders can significantly increase the uptake of preventive health services among older adults. A study found that direct-to-member mailed colorectal cancer screening outreach significantly increased screening rates among Medicaid and Medicare enrollees.

• What to Include: Tailored reminders for screenings, physicals, and chronic condition management.

• Impact: Aligning with seasonal health trends ensures proactive support, helping members prioritize wellness. One of our clients was attaining a 5% mammogram completion rate by mailing a beautifully written letter. They switched from a letter to a Hallmark card and mammogram completion rates jumped from 5% to 44%!

HOS and CAHPS Preconditioning: Shaping Perceptions

Strategically time direct mail to precondition members ahead of critical surveys like HOS and CAHPS. Pre-survey communications have been shown to significantly enhance CAHPS scores and member satisfaction. For example, targeted outreach strategies resulted in a 5% increase in CAHPS Global Net Promoter Scores and a 26% reduction in complaint rates.

• What to Include: Messages reinforcing your plan’s dedication to personalized care and support.

• Impact: One health plan improved 8 out of 9 CAHPS measures by using well-timed Hallmark cards, demonstrating how personalized outreach can positively influence survey outcomes.

Year-Round Birthday Celebrations: Building Emotional Connections

Celebrate members on their special day with personalized birthday cards. This simple gesture can have a meaningful impact—research shows that businesses implementing birthday card campaigns see a 16% increase in customer retention compared to those that do not.

• What to Include: Thoughtful, heartfelt messages tailored to the recipient.

• Impact: These interactions foster loyalty and deepen emotional connections. A national carrier using 10+ million Hallmark cards annually reported that Hallmark card recipients have a 16% higher retention rate compared to non-Hallmark card recipients.

Thanksgiving Gratitude: Reinforcing Loyalty

Mid-November is a critical period for reinforcing connections, as 49% of MA members shop for plans between November 15 and December 5 during AEP. Direct mail is especially impactful during this time, with 56% of consumers reviewing AEP-related mail immediately and 30% saving it for future reference.

• What to Include: Thanksgiving cards expressing gratitude and highlighting the plan’s commitment.

• Impact: According to a recent Deft Research Study of Shopping & Switching During AEP, of all MA members that shopped during AEP, 49% did their shopping between November 15th and December 5th. Being in-home with a Hallmark card before Thanksgiving influences members on-the-fence to stay.

Holiday Greetings and Wellness Calendars

As the year winds down, December provides a unique opportunity to celebrate achievements, express gratitude, and inspire a fresh start for the year ahead.

• What to Include: Festive holiday greetings paired with branded wellness calendars for the upcoming year. Calendars offer monthly health tips, reminders, and space for personal planning.

• Impact: Holiday cards create a warm, personal connection, while calendars provide practical tools to keep members engaged throughout the year.

Hallmark’s Direct Mail Solutions

Hallmark Business Connections specializes in year-round solutions that foster trust, loyalty, and measurable outcomes:

• Personalized Designs: Handwriting fonts, creative visuals, and multilingual support ensure every card feels meaningful.

• Seamless Integration: Turnkey services, including print-on-demand and tailored mailing options, streamline execution.

Crafting a Direct Mail Calendar That Drives Engagement

To maximize the impact of your year-round direct mail strategy, consider these best practices:

1. Segment and Personalize

Use member data to tailor communications for demographics, health milestones, and engagement histories. For example, personalized direct mail campaigns have been shown to achieve response rates up to 6%, compared to 2% for non-personalized mail, underscoring the effectiveness of tailored outreach.

2. Blend Digital and Physical Channels

Include QR codes, personalized URLs (PURLs), or app links in mailings to connect offline and online experiences. The adoption of QR codes in direct mail has surged from 3.96% in 2020 to 34.08% in 2023, highlighting their growing role in bridging physical and digital channels while enhancing accessibility and tracking.

3. Measure and Refine

Track response rates, satisfaction metrics, and conversions to gauge performance. By refining campaigns based on these insights, businesses can significantly boost engagement, with personalized elements increasing response rates by as much as 135%

4. Plan for Continuous Engagement

Create a calendar of touchpoints to ensure consistency of communication and strengthen trust over time

Ready to Elevate Your Member Engagement?

Hallmark Business Connections specializes in turning touchpoints into meaningful moments.

Check out our whitepaper, Revitalizing Medicare Advantage Member Engagement with Direct Mail, for actionable insights and real-world examples to inspire your year-round direct mail strategy.

Interested in learning how Hallmark greeting cards can improve your member experience, deliver strong marketing ROI, impact member loyalty and drive better engagement? Fill out the form below to consult with our team of experts.