Email Marketing Strategies for Dentists

No business can run effectively without an online marketing effort in the twenty-first century. That’s just how things work. There are lots of avenues and ways you can invest marketing dollars to acquire new customers, keep the old ones and lure the lost ones back.

Dental management is no different. The fierce competition in this field makes marketing even more of an important factor in the success of a practice.

One of the best ways you can capitalize on the internet’s incredible power of information sharing is through an email marketing campaign for your dental practice.

A finely tuned email marketing campaign can bring you an enormous ROI. According to some estimates, every dollar spent multiplies thirty six times.

Let’s see how your practice can benefit from this highly lucrative form of digital marketing.

The benefits of an email marketing campaign for dentists

Here is a list of benefits:

Patient acquisition and patient retention will see the biggest jumps when you properly utilize email marketing. Emails are a highly effective way of developing a long lasting relationship with your patients.A finely crafted email does wonders to your reputation and standing. The proper wording and formatting exude trust and confidence. Your reputation can make you or break you as a healthcare provider.Your website will see much more traffic. This sends excellent signals to search engines, so a good email marketing campaign is a double whammy - it both converts customers and helps your SEO effort.

A good email marketing campaign has clearly defined goals

Digital marketing is all about data and metrics. Without a clear goal of reaching a certain number of conversions or boosting site traffic, you won't know what works and needs improvement.

Before spending a single dollar on an email marketing campaign, make sure you set a rational and thought out goal. Professional digital marketers know this, and really good ones know how to tweak a campaign just right when the data and metrics start showing results.

Here are a few goals you can set:

Increase appointment numbersIncrease incoming website trafficBoost positive reviews on GoogleHave your patients contribute to your marketing effort and refer friends

Email branding is very important

Anything that has your logo presents your practice in a certain light. The emails you send out are no different.

An email with a plain text signature looks unofficial and unprofessional in this day and age.

Consult a design expert on the color scheme and styling of your emails. Don’t forget to add every important bit of information in the signature, like your phone number, address, a link to your social networks, and all other pertinent details.

Formatting is even more important

Consistency and taste are the name of the game when it comes to formatting your emails.

A poorly chosen font can make your communication look amateurish or kitschy, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to email formatting.

Here’s where hiring a digital marketing agency with a dedicated designer and marketer working on your case can do wonders. Even if you think you know what an email should look like, professionals know it in much finer detail.

The content should be fun and educational at the same time

There is an immeasurable amount of content being sent, shared, and received on the internet. Every profession uses content to connect with their clients, and dentists are no different.

The trouble is - you’ll need engaging and informational content to stand out in the crowd.

Now, you could hit your clients with the ‘proper brushing technique’ spiel they’ve all heard hundreds of times in their lives.

Try to be more creative than that. There is a sea of interesting information out there, and it’s your job to collect it and present it in an amusing way.

This way, your clients will respond much more positively to the emails you send them.

Information privacy should be taken seriously

You need to make sure your emails are HIPAA compliant. You need to keep personally identifiable information safe and sound.

The easiest way dentists get this wrong is by sharing before and after pics without consent. A good set of pics after a successful procedure is the best type of reputation building content, but you have to make sure that names, dates of birth, dental records, and other PII is kept hidden and private.

Send out appointment follow up emails

After their appointment, send your clients an email asking them how their experience at your practice was.

Ask for honest feedback and really keep an ear to what your patients are saying.

Negative feedback is usually much more valuable than praise. An email based system of feedback can do wonders for your practice.

Send out welcoming emails

First impressions make the difference between a one-time walk in patient and a lifelong relationship.

A welcoming email helps with first impressions immensely. 

This type of onboarding is easy - send out a nice picture of the entire staff waving. Make the patient feel like they’re entering a caring and professional community.

Inform recipients about what kind of content they can expect and welcome them to the tribe.

Email confirmation

Using emails as a means to confirm or cancel appointments is quick, easy and efficient.

Ping your clients a day or two before their appointment whether they still plan on making it. This is a way both parties can respect each other’s time and schedule and avoid unpleasant situations.

This process can easily be automated.

Conclusion

There’s really no excuse for not using the amazing tool of email marketing in your dental practice. It’s cheap, quick, easy, and convenient.

It builds a personal rapport with your patients, can solve many scheduling problems you could be experiencing, gather invaluable feedback, and, most importantly, instill a sense of community.

A trip to the dentist is usually an unwanted chore for most people. Engaging your patients through email can make them love interacting with you and your practice.

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