Digital marketing strategies for dentists can be a great way to attract new patients. Most things are purchased online today, however healthcare is one of the last sectors to communicate mostly offline. Patients will eventually come in contact with their dentist directly. However, their search for the ideal dentist begins on the internet.
To develop engagement throughout the community, dentists or other healthcare professionals should adapt to how clients act now.
Dental email marketing strategy with new technologies helps practitioners to:
- Engage their prospective patients in patient education
- Give each person a unique experience based on his or her needs
- Provide pertinent information to improve revenues
4 Expectations to Set When Sending Dental Email Marketing
If you’re planning to start email marketing in order to develop dental practices, here are goals you should establish when sending dental marketing emails.
1. Bring back patients
Patients that have already spoken to you are simpler to win back than new leads, as they are more likely to be returning customers. Email marketing is an effective method of keeping your current patients engaged and encouraging them to return. This way, you’ll keep your patients loyal and avoid losing them to your rivals.
2. Increase engagement
Patients’ interactions with dentists used to be limited to a single visit to their office only. The communication ends when the patient departs the dentist’s office. With the advancement of internet communication, the dentist-patient relationship has evolved into a more entertaining one. Patients appreciate what they learn from their dentist. And you may use this information to improve your practice and increase patient participation.
You may accomplish that with a minimal follow-up email a few days after a patient’s visit. Your client would feel special and remain connected to you if you sent such an easy follow-up message. You can set an objective or the target of boosting client interaction as a result of email marketing.
3. Make personal connections
Another excellent strategy for utilizing an email marketing plan for a dental practice is to develop personal relationships. You may anticipate inquiries, queries, and so on as you appear approachable to your patients or potential patients. This gives you the chance to respond to prospective questions and turn them into clients.
4. Manage booking and appointments
You should intuitively handle your contacts if you have a website to advertise your practice or assist potential patients make appointments. So, last but not least, expect good email list management from your dental office email marketing. It can help you eliminate cluttered Excel spreadsheets and keep track of your patients in one location.
4 Ways you can Engage Your Patients
The connection between dentists and their patients shouldn’t be restricted to the time you actually see them. There are numerous methods to use healthcare email marketing to engage your clients. Let’s look at the top four engaging methods.
1. Sharing Do It Yourself (“DIY”) tips and tricks for oral hygiene
According to a recent poll, nine in ten internet users look online for health information. These individuals utilize online platforms on a regular basis in search of sickness or current condition-related knowledge. As a dentist, you may assist your clients and possible ones by sharing wellness tips, videos, blogs, and other items to keep them interested.
This helps patients see the importance of their interactions with you as a practitioner. You stay at the top of their mind for dental-related information at the end.
Bulk emailing is a cost-effective marketing technique.
2. Set up drip campaigns to nurture new patients
According to Think With Google’s research, one in five patients is now booking their appointment online. You may take advantage of this to establish automated contact with your patients and engage them throughout the window between when they book and the actual appointment.
Set up email drip campaigns similar to the one below to engage your patients:
- Email 1: Booking confirmation email
- Email 2: Share emergency contact information
- Email 3: Introduce your team and your showcase healthcare technology
- Email 4: Send a reminder email one day before the appointment date
A similar drip campaign keeps patients engaged and gets them closer to their dentist. It makes them feel valued and provides critical information.
3. Segment your contacts
The final guideline I constantly recommend when I write a how-to is: Your patients are different; don’t treat them all the same. That’s a golden rule to follow while doing email marketing for dentists. Here’s why it’s important.
Subscribers in the first category are looking for teeth whitening procedures, whereas those in the second category are interested in foul breath treatments. Because they are seeking for varying things, you must deal with them differently.
What is the best way to accomplish this? You may categorize your subscribers into various categories based on a variety of criteria, such as age, geography, and buying patterns:
- Treatment history
- Sign up source on your website
- Content you’ve published on your website
A website tracking program may be used to study your subscribers’ behavior based on which pages they visit on your site. It’s ideal if they read a blog post about how to brighten their teeth, and you can provide material related to their online activity automatically. In this case, you may do any of the following:
- Give them a discount for a teeth-whitening treatment if they don’t want to pay full price
- Offering a reduction in the cost of their dental visit might appeal to them
- Inquire about whether they’d want to schedule an appointment.
This way, your material is tailored to their interests and they’re more likely to respond to your emails and turn into customers.
There are three parts to the usual email automation strategy for your target audience: a trigger, a tag, and an email.
The trigger is when someone visits a specific website page. A tag is used to identify the subscribers and segment future emails based on interest.
Personalized email is sent to match the subject of the people who were viewing.
4. Create an email course to educate patients
Another approach marketers may take to engage consumers and provide value is through an automated email course campaign. An email course campaign aids in the following ways:
- Get your patients to take part in their treatment
- Engage them by asking questions that help you understand who they are as people and what’s important to them
- Nurture potential clients by providing useful information and building credibility and trust
To put it another way, an email course is a series of emails strung together on a tight timetable to offer information. Every day, you may produce a 1-week email course in which you deliver a lesson.
6 Types of Emails Every Dentist Should Send
Let’s take a look at 6 distinct types and examples of dental practice email marketing campaigns that dentists use to communicate with their patients and connections.
1. Appointment confirmation emails
For healthcare professionals and dentists, appointment confirmation emails are a no-brainer. If a potential client fails to receive a confirmation email after completing your appointment form, they will believe:
- Their reservation was not accepted
- They were not invited to attend
- If they show up on the time slot they booked, it’s fine; if not, that’s a problem.
As a dentist, you’re obligated to make your patients feel at ease and assist them in comprehending any concerns they may have. You may use confirmation emails to welcome new patients and assure them that their appointment went well and that they’ll be in good hands.
So, not only does it confirm the appointment, but it also makes the visit go more smoothly because patients don’t have to fill it in at the office. Not to mention that if they don’t have to fill out forms on site, you may serve a greater number of people.
2. Introducing new products/services
New product announcements can help you improve the value of your goods and increase sales. The following email examples are:
- A powerful headline
- A detailed how-to-use guide
- 2 CTAs, one at the start of the email and another below
The last part of the email was utilized to boost brand authority by demonstrating the technology and safety protocol.
3. Announcing discounts and other promotions
According to Marketing Sherpa, 91 percent of customers desire to receive marketing emails. When consumers are buying a product or service, they want bargains and chances to save money. Customers are hungry for excellent deals and possibilities to save money when purchasing anything. Offering discounts as a dentist might entice new patients or bring back old ones who have been absent from your office. Such offers encourage patients to try your services and return again.
You can also see how to create a successful email marketing campaign for dentists by looking at an existing example:
- An irresistible offer
- A direct CTA to book appointments
- A free guide to help patients with teeth-related issues
- A URL to find a local dentist nearby
4. Sharing interesting office updates
Trident General Dentistry chose to use a basic design announcement email to inform their patients about the most recent developments. A similar email campaign made patients feel like they were part of major updates about their favorite doctors.
5. Celebrating a patient’s birthday or anniversary
It’s essential to include sending birthday greetings and wishes into your patient engagement plan. It’s critical to have a solid connection with your patients. You risk missing appointments, strained relationships, and no money at the end if you don’t do so. There’s no doubt that each day, your patients get several emails from businesses. What makes yours different enough to be noticed?
As a healthcare provider, you are responsible for your patients’ well-being. And by engaging your patients in a pleasant, caring way with a birthday email, you’re showing them that you care. Here’s an outstanding example of a healthcare birthday email template used to send to clients.
6. Motivate patients to write reviews
Social proofing may be used by dentists to persuade potential patients to schedule an appointment or buy a service after reading a good review. Dentists may use this technique to encourage people to visit their practice after seeing a positive review. This is another option for dentists to utilize in their email marketing campaigns.
Send emails to past patients to encourage them to provide a review and share their experience. You may give patients a discount for their next consultation or product purchase to offer them another incentive to write you a review. An email campaign like the one seen below was sent by New York & New Jersey Family Dental asking its clients to provide a review.
A responsive design for various devices, a huge CTA button that stands out in the center of the email, and concise text are some of the features. And most importantly, a mobile-friendly layout
Conclusion
Is it true that dentists must do the same to keep their patients informed and engaged? Are you thinking of email marketing strategies for dentists? This article is a good place to start.
Dentists can use email marketing to improve the number of patients they serve, increase brand awareness, and promote their services. your email marketing efforts should aim to create a successful campaign that will engage your patients and boost your business.