I have some good news, and I have some bad news.
Here’s the bad news first. You’ve probably been missing out on one of the most cost effective forms of dental marketing you could possibly use to generate more appointments for your office.
Ugh!
OK, but wait, here’s the good news. You may already have everything you need to start using it right away. If not, you can get it cheap.
Email: the dental marketing tool you’ve been missing out on
Email is easily the most underused method of marketing available to dental offices. But it can be one of the most cost effective, delivering a 4,200% return on your investment (nope, that’s not a typo).
Email marketing is a feature built into many dental patient management systems, so you like already have the tools you need to get started. Even if you don’t, there are several low-cost email platforms out there that are easy to use. MailChip, ReachMail, and Benchmark actually have free plans if you really want to save money.
If you’re not already using email as part of your dental marketing strategy, here are three good reasons why you should.
It can reach the right people
One of the biggest strengths of email marketing is that you can send your message to the exact people you want to reach. Whether you are targeting 5 people or 500, as long as your patient database holds the right information, you can segment your list and send the right message to the right people so that your marketing is always highly relevant to your audience (e.g., you could send an email reminding all of your patients who had their last whitening treatment more than two years years ago that they may be due for a boost).
Want another good reason to segment your campaigns? Marketers who do so see as much as a 760% increase in revenue!
It can be automated
You’d rather spend your time treating patients than marketing to them, right? Then let your email software work on autopilot while you’re in the operatory.
You can set up fully automated “drip” campaigns, which send pre-written content on a scheduled basis when subscribers meet a certain requirement. For example, someone who submits a form on your website to download a free offer might get a series of emails encouraging them to take the next step and schedule an appointment or consultation.
Even if your emails are automated, that doesn’t mean they have to be impersonal. You can include first names (or other personal information) in your subject lines and greetings so your recipient feels like the email is meant “just for them.”
It can be tracked
Just about every email software platform gives you reporting and analytics, so you’ll know almost immediately if a particular email or campaign is performing well. You can even run A/B tests, which let you compare the effectiveness of different aspects of your email like subject lines and images. The software sends the different versions of your email to separate portions of your list and compares the results so you can pick the best option for future mailings.
Want to Learn More Ways to Maximize Your Marketing Budget?
Email marketing is just one way to supercharge your marketing ROI. Download your FREE copy of our Ultimate Guide to Dental Marketing Budgeting for more tips and tricks to get the most out of your marketing dollar.
