Have you ever gotten an email from a company about a random sale and then remembered that you need to buy something they are selling, even if it wasn’t in the email? You were probably well aware you were being marketed to, maybe you didn’t even open the email, but you still made a purchase.
This is the reason we need to be sending emails to our patients. Simply so they remember we are here, waiting to help them with their dental needs.
Whether they are overdue for a cleaning or are finally realizing you are right about that tooth you said needed a root canal 6 months ago, basic email campaigns and broadcasts will keep you top-of-mind with your patients and remind them to contact you to schedule an appointment.
Here are 4 simple campaigns and broadcast emails you can set up today.
1. Birthday
This may be a bold statement without any factual basis, but here it goes: no one gets mad at being wished happy birthday via email. A birthday email campaign could not be simpler to set up, and it gives you an easy opportunity to connect with your patients via email in a way that they never complain about.
Have patients complained about an appointment reminder email? Yes. Do they complain about an email reminding them they have a bill outstanding? All the time.
But never once have we received a complaint about a birthday email.The simplest way to go about this is to set up a timed campaign to send either the day of or the week of the patients’ birthday.
In the body of the email you can include some kind words and a photo of your staff in birthday hats, a clever message about birthdays and teeth, the options are endless.
Some offices have partnered with local restaurants to get a buy one, get one dinner special for birthday celebrants. The leg work there is up to you, but the email is simple and it leaves your patients feeling like you care about them. Do it today.
2. Newsletters
Newsletters are an easy way to stay top-of-mind with your patients and to remind them of what makes your practice the best in town.
You can include anything you’d like in your newsletters, from highlighting a patient of the month, to discussing a specific procedure your office has added or specializes in, to sharing pictures from a trip a member of your staff has taken. (Best not to include photos from your doc’s trip to Europe without expecting some snarky comments about how the patient’s last crown paid for that trip. Think hiking, not high-class.)
Use a newsletter to promote an upcoming charity event your practice is participating in or a special bleaching price you are offering for a limited time. It can include anything you want, just don’t make it too salesy.
Include genuinely interesting information about staff members and your practice. Patients will read it and be reminded why they come to you, and also hopefully schedule for that filling they’ve been putting off.
3. Holiday Hours
Patients have a general misconception (in most cases) that dental offices keep banker’s hours. While many practices do still close on Fridays or shut down for the 2 weeks around Christmas and New Year’s, plenty of offices have changed this approach for their patients’ convenience.
Whether you are opened for a holiday or not, take the time to communicate this with your patients, they will appreciate it. Without fail, barbeque holidays are huge Monday morning emergency days.
Over at the Smith Family President’s Day BBQ, Larry breaks a tooth on a questionably cooked piece of steak. If your office has already sent an email letting your patients know that you are open on President’s Day, The Smiths will happily let Larry know they can call you to get an appointment because they just remember reading the email.
This is an easy opportunity to keep your existing patients in the know, while simultaneously let them do the marketing for you when they have friends in need of a dentist around holidays.
4. New Staff Introductions
Hey doctors, here is something you are probably already aware of: your patients spend significantly more time with your staff than they do with you and in most cases, they trust them more than they trust you. When asked, patients will mention liking the staff at their dental practice long before mentioning the doctor.
So, when you add a new face to the team, share that with your patients. They will appreciate recognizing the new face before they even make it in the door of the office and it will instantly build trust in the new staff member. Make sure your email introduction doesn’t just talk about dentistry, but humanizes the new addition.
For example: “Mary, our newest hygienist, has been practicing hygiene for 20 years and is certified in local anesthesia. Outside of work, Mary, her husband Tom and their twin boys Max and Mark enjoy fishing and water skiing on their boat. Mary and her family have visited 46 of the 50 States. At your next visit, ask her about which 4 she is missing!”
