With the fresh start to the year behind us, many are now looking to refresh their surroundings as the months roll on. We can spring clean our home and right-size the number of worn-out or unused goods. When revamping our marketing and communications programs, it is important not to throw away everything in favour of the new. While we always want to innovate and improve upon ourselves, we do not want to discard what may be working in favour of the bright, shiny object that is not as “time-tested.”
Below, let’s look at two examples of marketing vehicles that can breathe new life into your dental practice. One is tried and true, while the other may be worthy of experimentation. To the former, we encourage you to use this as an example of rejuvenating “old-school” marketing tactics. To the latter, we encourage you to overcome any fears about experimenting with and embracing the fresh and new. Before you know it, those novel pathways to new and loyal patients will be paying off big time for early adopters, and they may even be evolving into the “next best thing” in medical marketing and communications as time marches on.
An oldie but goodie: Email
Fast facts about email marketing:
- The number of email users continues to grow at a rate of 3%, reaching a projected record of 4.7 billion worldwide.
- One in three marketing personnel report using email, and of those, nearly nine out of 10 (87%) anticipate maintaining or increasing their investment in this channel.
- Email marketing provides unmatched ROI, driving a whopping $36 return for every $1 spent.
You can make everything old and new again to take results from your email marketing campaigns to the next level. Here are some of the ways to “clean up” your email communications and align them with what today’s dental consumer expects and desires:
- Personalize with dynamic content. If your idea of personalization is limited to an email acknowledging the patient by name, it is time to take a deeper dive. A name is not adequate. Your consumers will be “wowed” by that personal touch. Consider recommending new services based on their history or relationship with your office. For instance, a patient wearing a night guard customized at your practice could benefit from your foray into using Botox® to relax TMJ-related symptoms. Or, something as simple as a rewarding promotional email associated with a birthday or anniversary of a treatment tells your patient that you remember them and they are special.
- Streamline your processes. HubSpot reports that 62% of marketing teams take at least two weeks to craft a single email. No matter the size of your operations, you must think and behave like a startup in today’s dynamic, highly competitive, global medical marketplace. Be nimble. Leverage technologies to help organize those personalized emails as needed. Reassess the process of creating and approving emails. So, you can swiftly get them out the door, which lends itself well to our next point associated with “making over” your email marketing programme.
- Be consistent. It is essential to strike a balance about the timing of your emails. You do not want to be an annoyance, flooding already overstuffed inboxes. However, you do not want to be a stranger, either. You want patients to continue to keep your practice top of mind when it comes to all of their family’s dental care needs. A reported more than 60% of respondents in an email marketing survey said they wanted to receive promotional emails at least weekly. When we talk about consistency, we are not just discussing timing. We are also talking about quality. Again, content should be personalized to resonate with the email user/patient. It should be error-free and held to the same standards as the content that may have been approved for your website or other programs (such as direct mail). And do not get caught up in the term “promotional.” This does not mean you must email about specials, discounts, or other money-saving offerings each time. This means you need to send helpful and meaningful emails to the recipient.
Boldly going where you’ve never gone before: Video in its many forms!
Fast facts about video marketing:
- Short-form videos lead the way in terms of ROI generators, with 17% of respondents reporting that this marketing vehicle delivered the strongest results. This is followed by content that showcases brand values, influencer marketing, and selling on social media and mobile-optimized sites.
- In the same report, livestreaming was highlighted as among the most sought-after new types of highly interactive content to try.
- In another report on the state of video, 93% of organizations noted that this channel is an important part of their overall marketing strategy, and total plays for businesses of all sizes have grown year over year (by 13% for small and mid-sized organizations).
You are not a dinosaur. You are always on the lookout for even the smallest products that could make a big difference in your staff’s comfort and ability to do their job, knowing that these details all contribute to the quality of the patient care and their experience and satisfaction at your office. We encourage you to take the same approach you have mastered as a clinician and in the treatment room and apply it to other operational aspects of your practice, including using video in new and dynamic ways within your digital or online presence. When taking your first dip or revisiting video as a marketing and content strategy, be mindful of the following:
- Craft short and simple videos. As noted in the above research, short-form videos provide the highest potential ROI and were anticipated to bring the most growth in 2024 compared to other formats. It is largely advised to maintain bite-sized, easily digestible videos of five to 90 seconds. It may be difficult to imagine taking medical topics or practice-oriented news and crafting a short video from such often complex or multi-faceted items. But that is exactly what you need to do with your clinical content. Distill it down to what is most important and craft a memorable, dynamic video that the viewer can understand. You would be amazed at what an impact a well-done video can have on a patient or prospect who does not like their smile. With the swipe of editing tools, you can reveal what a patient’s smile looked like before a treatment started and the transformation afterward. Plus, the viewer does not have to question the authenticity of the makeover result in the way that they might when dealing with easily “doctored” or photoshopped static images.
- Incorporate the following ingredients of quality video. These ingredients include leaning into a vertical format, meaning the video takes up the full width of a phone screen. So, it can easily be viewed on your patient’s or prospect’s mobile device of choice. When the video is not optimized in this manner, it can be tough for the viewer to see properly and may have the opposite effect of what you want to do, which is to disengage the viewer and cause frustration. Other elements that must be incorporated, especially into super-short videos, include a strong hook to capture and keep the viewer’s attention; regular video updates and posts; showcasing products, technologies, and treatments in action; injecting humour and entertainment as appropriate; and offering a clear “Call to Action” at the end of the video (just as you include CTAs at the end of every procedure article on your website or every newsletter or email blast that is distributed).
- Get off to the right start with livestreaming. Many qualities that lend themselves well to short-form video can also apply and benefit livestreaming. For instance, it does not hurt to add a personal touch and to show off your or your staff’s personality and humour. However, since you are “doing it live,” some performance anxiety may be quelled with some advanced planning and organization. You do not have to say or do everything perfectly, either. Livestreaming particularly appeals to the consumer because it delivers the spontaneity and authenticity many crave in today’s slickly-produced and airbrushed entertainment world and society. A good starting point might be to walk through a new office or tour the patient’s new “dental home.” You could even set up a Q&A about a new procedure or popular treatment that engages your community. Some of the get-togethers or events that formerly may have been offered only on location can now reach a far wider population, thanks to the power of digital marketing channels that have no borders.
It is advisable to partner with a digital marketing company that has the expertise to provide guidance on launching medical marketing and communications content, as well as developing new or refreshed strategies.
About the Author:
Naren Arulrajah, President and CEO of Ekwa Marketing, has been a leader in medical marketing for over a decade. Ekwa provides comprehensive marketing solutions for busy dentists, with a team of more than 180 full time professionals, providing web design, hosting, content creation, social media, reputation management, SEO, and more. If you’re looking for ways to boost your marketing results, call 855-598-3320 for a free strategy session with Naren. You may also schedule a session at your convenience with the Senior Director of Marketing – Lila, by clicking https://www.ekwa.com/msm/.
