Importance of Email Marketing
Running a successful dental office can often present a challenge. That is because your income and schedule mostly rely on your patients. Sure, some patients take great care of their oral health and will stop by your office regularly, but many will only schedule an appointment if they have some type of problem. So, it’s important to engage and keep up with them.
Email marketing is the way to do that. It can not only catch the eye of your current patients but help you get new ones as well. There are many perks email marketing can offer, which is what we’ll get into now. If you’re interested in email marketing or SEO for dentists, you can try it now and get a heads up.
Benefits of Email Marketing
As we’ve mentioned, there are many benefits that email marketing brings to the table. Without further ado – the most important benefits of email marketing.
Cost-Effective
When it comes to email marketing, ROI is definitely worth it. You’ll get much more than you invested, which means you don’t need to start out with a big marketing budget. Sending emails costs close to nothing, yet, it can impact your office positively and have you swimming in new clients.
Credibility
Keeping in check with your patients before and after their appointments opens the door for constructive feedback. Following their feedback and improving your services accordingly can help you build a good reputation and a stronger bond with your patients.
Another good idea is to request your clients to review your office and your services. Positive reviews can be a game-changer. After all, it’s no secret that most people read reviews online and make their decisions based on them.
Loyalty
Being engaging and keeping up with your patients via email can help you create loyal clients that are bound to return to your office again and again. Emails can also serve as a reminder to patients who haven’t stopped by in a while. This will leave you with a bunch of returning patients and help you make a good profit.
Booking and Appointment Management
Emails can also be a great means of communicating with your patients about their appointments. Many patients simply forget about their appointments or find it a hassle to cancel them. Some may be too busy to make a phone call or stop by, so allowing them to reschedule via email can be a great bargain for both sides. Also, emails can also serve as a reminder to patients and prevent them from forgetting about an appointment.
Email Marketing 101
But, how do you properly market your service via email? Well, you can start by following some of these steps:
Offer an Email Sign-up List
A good way to expand the reach of your emails, and your client list, is to offer an email sign-up list at your office. It’s good to sweeten the deal somehow, with a coupon, for example, since many people won’t be too enthusiastic to fill out a form while at the dentist’s office. This will make them more eager to sign up for the list and receive your emails.
Automated Welcome Emails
Another great way to get your client’s attention is to present them with a welcome email. A good way to do this is to divide your welcome email into two parts. The first one should include an introduction and explain what kind of things you’ll be marketing in your emails (e.g., advice, news, discounts, etc.). It’s also good to include coupons or discount codes in the first email.
The second email, on the other hand, should include an invitation to your patient to connect with your office on social media. It’s a good way to offer your patients more information about your office and build a more engaging environment. Lastly, a good thing to invest in is automation software for email marketing. This will save you a bunch of time and help you connect with more patients.
Send New Emails
It’s not enough to just send one email and get it over with. For proper engagement, consistency is key. Sending a new email at least once a month can be a good way to send useful information to your patients. Make sure that the topics you’re emailing your patients about are relevant and educational, and have news or information that is useful to them. Special announcements or events are great opportunities to send your clients a brand new email, without them finding it repetitive or annoying.
Mark Important Dates
Dates that are relevant and important to your office are always the perfect opportunity for a brand new email. Most importantly, special discounts and deals that usually go along with such events are a great thing to advertise to your clients. Also, make sure to advertise these special deals at least a few weeks in advance. That way your patients can organize their schedules around them. Which will, in turn, help you accumulate a larger number of clients.
SEO for Dentists
Another great way to advertise your dental services is by utilizing search engine optimization, or SEO. If you’re not already informed, don’t worry. SEO is, essentially, a way for you to make sure your dental office is in the top spots when it comes to search engine results.
This means, that whoever looks up dental services in their area, or for example, dental services that specialize in specific treatments, will be able to see your dental office in the top results.
This is, understandably, a phenomenal way to advertise your services. After all, most people get their information through Google. And, let’s face it, almost nobody goes past the first few pages of Google. So, having your services advertised via SEO can be a way for potential patients to find you online, and it can be an absolute game-changer.