It takes a lot of effort to win a patient’s trust. Healthcare professionals work at this daily, and although it isn’t face-to-face, email provides a means of keeping in touch with patients. But it takes a lot more than just firing off a random email every so often to maintain that relationship.

Email marketing helps healthcare professionals keep their patients engaged and connected even if they have not had an appointment for an office visit for some time. In this article, we will look at what email marketing is and how to use it to your best advantage.

Why Email Marketing Matters So Much

What makes email such a valuable tool? You are completely in control of the message. If you are sending them to individuals who have signed up for a subscription, then you are not only in control of the message, but you are sending it directly to people who want to hear from you.

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Healthcare emails are very successful in achieving objectives as industry data shows the average open rate for healthcare emails sits at 23.46 percent. The click-through rate is a high 3.62 percent. Although that may not sound like much, it is one of the highest click-through rates of all industries using email marketing. And with people opening email on mobile devices, your patients and prospective patients are always in touch with their own email.

How do you make email marketing work for your practice or clinic? Here are a few suggestions on ways to make it make a difference in your marketing.

1 – Gather Email Addresses At The First Appointment

The first time you see a new patient, you want to create a patient file that contains all of their contact information. This is the perfect time to request their email address and confirm if they are interested in receiving emails from you periodically.

2 – Include Website Opt-In Subscription Forms

Another great way to add to your mailing list is to include a form on your secure website that gives a visitor the option to opt-in to be part of your email list. Not only will this give you access to individuals who have not been in your healthcare center recently, but it exposes you to potential new patients.

You also have to carefully consider where on your website to post the form. Some of the better locations include:

• In the sidebar of a blog
• In the footer below a blog
• At the end of each blog post
• On the ‘About’ page
• As a pop-up on your blog

3 – Seek Sign-Ups Through Your Social Media Channels

Never underestimate the power of social media. If you don’t already have profile pages for your healthcare service on social media, you should do that right away.

Your followers would likely jump at the opportunity to hear from you and that is how you get them to sign up for your emails. Just include a link to your opt-in form whenever possible.

Email Marketing Has Three Key Components

There are three features you should be using when you launch your email marketing strategy. They include the following:

Segmentation and Grouping

Essentially what you want to do is separate your large group of email subscribers into smaller groups. This will help you better target your audience with the type of emails that best match their needs.

For example, if you have groups that are segmented based on medical conditions, sending emails on arthritis to the group that is interested in heart disease information is not going to be very successful. But sending them to the arthritis group will be.

Email Automation

Digitalauthority.me reports that manually sending emails to your specific groups is going to be difficult once your email list grows to a size that is hard to manage. This won’t be a problem once you implement automation.

An automated email system will send emails based on triggers that you pre-program such as an annual check-up reminder or birthday email. Email automation is your friend here, easing the workload and enabling you to market your practice to current and prospective patients.

Personalization

Because you control the message and reach people directly through email, it is important to add personal touches. With the right data available, you can address each email to the person by name and use topics that meet their specific interests.

The more personal you make your emails, the more you demonstrate that you care and have concerns about the well-being of your email subscribers – leading to digital marketing success.

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Thank Your Subscribers With Offers

One of the best ways to retain subscribers on a mailing list is to offer them something special. It could be a gift, a prize, or a special promotion. Depending on your healthcare service, you may choose to offer a discount on a procedure available at your facility. Maybe consider a cut rate for the first visit.

The possibilities are endless. Just develop a solid promotional offer and add it to your regular email cycle.

Ask For Referrals

The personal connection you are going to build with your subscribers through email will lead to a greater level of trust. Once you get to that point, it is perfectly alright to request referrals.

Patients happy with your service will not hesitate to assist. The best part about referrals is that you can easily expand your patient numbers with the help of your existing patients.

Final Thoughts

Email marketing is a form of digital promotion that has important results. It is a marketing tool that you control completely and permits you to connect directly with people who are interested in having that contact. You can use emails to educate and inform which helps build loyalty and trust.

It is not hard to build an email list, nor is it difficult to maintain. If it gets too much to handle, you can automate the email service to maintain contact with your subscribers.

The benefits to your healthcare service are greater with email marketing than without, making this an important form of marketing to explore for your medical practice.