Email communications to customers, i.e., email marketing, is one of the most powerful marketing tools available to businesses of all types and sizes. No matter how you define success, you can achieve outstanding results with email communications while investing only a small amount of time and an even smaller amount of money.
"I think over time we'll see small businesses adopting email marketing because it has the inherent advantages of being 'faster, cheaper and easier' to execute. Coupled with the potential to target more precisely than today's solo or shared mailers, there's a real win for the small business owner." Source: Frank Huybrechts, The Podolny Group.
Email marketing has gained a bad connotation due to the ever-present spam. However, ethical permission-based email marketing allows a business to build trusted relationships with their clients. After all, when you give someone your email address, aren't you giving it in trust? By building on the relationship, your ability to effectively and easily communicate goes sky-high.
While there are some interesting ideas of how a dentist might use professional and ethical email for external marketing, its most obvious and natural use is for internal communication - an easy and inexpensive way to communicate with your patients as often as you want.
So, Why Email Communications?
1. It's Inexpensive and Measurable
Email communication is an affordable way to stretch a limited marketing budget. Unlike direct mail, with email communications, there is virtually no production, materials or postage expense. Email marketing is 20 times more cost effective than direct mail, costing as little as fractions of a penny per email.
Common dental office internal marketing tactics include sending various types of cards and educational materials, like newsletters. With several hundred, or even thousands, of patients the printing and postage costs add up quickly. Additionally, with traditional direct mailers, it is difficult to measure a response. For example, if a dental practice mails a card or newsletter to its patients announcing a new hygienist, with an invitation to call for a cleaning appointment, it is difficult to measure the results - if the schedule fills up, was it because of the mailing, or some other reason?
With a well-designed email communication, your announcement can include a "please call me to schedule an appointment" button. You will be able so see how many messages were sent, to whom, how many were opened, and of course, how many responded.
2. It's Effective
Email communications enables you to proactively communicate with your existing and potential patients instead of passively waiting for them call your office. It is a highly effective way to increase production and develop patient loyalty.
Imagine the value of sending a "summer whitening" promotion to all your patients, which includes the "please call me to schedule an appointment" button. It is sure to be more effective than a card that invites them to call. You can also invite them to forward the email to friend who might be interested in whitening.
3. It's Immediate
Email marketing generates an immediate response. The call to action is clear: "Click here to take advantage of this offer", or "to learn more about this service." Initial campaign response generally occurs within 48 hours of the time the email campaign is sent.
If a patient opens an email titled "summer whitening special," his or her interest level is already high. If your offer strikes the right chord, the patient's response will be immediate. If a telephone call is required - like with a traditional mailer - the immediacy is lost.
4. It's Targeted
By properly using email marketing techniques, you can easily segment your mailing lists, using a variety of criteria or interest groups so that your newsletters or promotions go to the individuals most likely to respond to your information or offer. For example, if you have a group of parents interested in orthodontics, you can easily build a newsletter relating to ortho topics. Another group may be interested in Invisalign, and another group has perio needs. You can easily send newsletters to all these groups - at a fraction of the cost and time to send just one traditional newsletter by mail.
5. It's Easy
There are a number of good email service companies that let you design your own content, control your own email campaigns, and manage your address lists. Two of the best for do-it-yourselfers are Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com) and Intellicontact (www.intellicontact.com).
For dental practices that want less of a do-it-all-yourself approach, Dentigram (www.dentigram.com) offers much the same functionality as the others, but it is designed specifically for dentistry. Dentigram offers pre-formatted dental newsletters, which can be sent as-is or customized, drawing from a large library of dental articles. The service also includes professional HTML templates for eCards for every imaginable occasion, all types of promotions, appointment reminders and more. It allows you to segment your patients into groups, which increases your targeting capabilities. It has extensive automatic tracking and reporting. You are free to use standard messages and content, or you can create your own unique messages.
Text messaging is also a component of Dentigram. It's a valuable tool to fill last minute appointment cancellations without spending time on the phone.
Email marketing with a service like Dentigram is definitely something a non-techie can do. You can easily be up and running in less than 30 minutes. You can start by sending emails cards and text messages to friends. As you slowly build your patient email list, you'll begin to think of all types of ways to utilize email communications.
Additionally, you won't need a marketing agency to design and handle your mailings and newsletters.
Conclusion
Email marketing helps all types of businesses reach their customers using professional email-based communications - from newsletters and promotions to announcements and letters. It is incredibly easy to get started - and it is most effective when it is done with a philosophy of simplicity. For a dentist, ten minutes of effort a week - even in the beginning - can touch maybe ten patients or fill one or two empty appointments.
William B. Jackson, DDS is Vice President of Business Development at Planet DDS, Inc. He can be reached at bjackson@planetdds.com.