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The Secrets of Effective Email Marketing

PRESENTED BY: MELODY GANDY-BOHR | AUGUST 22 - 23, 2019

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Speaker Disclosure

Melody Gandy-Bohr is an employee of Demandforce (an Internet Brands company), which has a formal business arrangement with, or financial interest in, Henry Schein One, the joint venture between Henry Schein Practice Solutions and Internet Brands.

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What We Will Cover

Are you effectively leveraging your emails to increase patient retention & recall?

The Principles of Effective

Email Marketing

How You Can Elevate Your

Email Marketing to Get Results!

Why Email Marketing Is So Important

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Why Email MarketingIs So Important

Email marketing is still the “king” of marketing - do you know why?

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Let’s Take A Quick Poll

What percent of marketing experts do you think agree that email marketing is the #1 most effective tool you have to attract new patients and retain existing ones?

● 95%● 94%● 93%● 10%

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Why Should I Care About Email Marketing?

Did you know that email marketing averages a Return on Investment (ROI) of $44 for every $1 spent, and email is 40 times more likely to acquire new patients than Facebook or Twitter?

Email marketing is still one of the most effective tactics for driving business.

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of patients prefer to receive permissions-based marketing communications through email.

billion – the total worldwide number of email accounts as of year-end 2018.

of patients open emails from a practice in search of updates, a deal, discounts, or coupon.

Sources: OptinMonster 2019; Radicati Group, 2018; ExactTarget 2015, Statista 2019; The Social Habit; Radicati Summary 2017

6.69

77%

70%

Why Is Email Marketing Beneficial to Me?

Hospitals, Healthcare & Biotech have the second-highest mobile email readership among a diverse group of industries, at 55%—second only to Food Service, Sports & Entertainment.

Patients are now more than ever receptive to receiving healthcare-related information via emails, whether on their phones or at their computers. They are more likely and willing to engage with you if you send email marketing.

8Sources: Practical Ecommerce Case Study 2016; Healthcare Success Poll 2015; IBM Marketing Cloud Marketing Metrics Benchmark Study 2016

Email Case Study – The Best-Performing Method to Generate Response

Out of the 5 marketing methods employed by a regional practice to collect phone numbers for their database, email marketing had the highest engagement rate and wasmost effective at generating a response from patients.

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Why Email Marketing ROI Is So High

There are 269 billion emails sent each day.There are over 2.9 billion email users.

Radicati Group predicts that by 2022…

There will be 347 billion emails sent each day, and...4.4 billion email users.

Email Marketing ROI – 44 to 1 – it’s not a typo!• Automated email messages average 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher clickthrough rates than

“business as usual” marketing messages.

• Patients are on the move! Email marketing is so effective because it is one of the only ways you can contact your patients, no matter where they are. 70% of emails are now opened in a wearable, mobile, or tablet environment.

Sources: Radicati Group 2016; Statista; CampaignMonitor.com 9

5 Key Facts about Email Marketing Dentists Should Know

1. 91% of patients use email daily and 80% of adults check their email within 15 minutes of waking up.

2. Emails that are relevant to the recipient drive 18 times more revenue than general emails.

3. 61% of patients enjoy receiving promotional emails weekly, and 28% would like emails (that they’ve signed up for) to come more frequently.

4. Recipients decide whether your email is worth opening in 0 to 3 seconds, the subject line and sender being the most important factors in this assessment.

5. According to industry experts, digital channels are overtaking traditional marketing channels. Email marketing represents a huge growth opportunity for dentists to market to and target new, current, and previous patients.

Sources: DMA Client 2015; Constant Contact; Marketing Sherpa; US Consumer Device Preference Report Q3, 2015; 2014 Medical Marketing Benchmark Study10

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The Principles of Effective Email Marketing

Subject Line & Sender • Segmentation & Personalization • Newsletters • Mobile First

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The Secrets to Subject Line Success

• Communicate your offer or intention immediately• Routinely test your subject lines to optimize performance• The ideal length of your subject line: 40 characters or fewer• Subject lines that create a sense of urgency & exclusivity can give a 22% higher open rate• 70% of emails are opened on mobile first – and the average mobile screen can only fit 4-7 words, max

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Every Word (Especially the Subject Line) Counts in Email

of email recipients open email based on subject line alone.

of email recipients report email as SPAM based solely on the subject line.

Sources: Convince & Convert; Adestra; Marketo; Invesp

69%

47%

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68% of Americans say they base their decision to open an email on the ‘From’ name

• The “From” (a.k.a. ‘Sender’) name is the inbox field that tells your patients who sent the message. This name can range from your practice’s name, your professional title, or simply the email address. While this might seem like a minor item,the ‘From’ name is the first area your patients look at, and it often determines what they mark as SPAM or immediately trash – if the name is from someone they don’t recognize or trust.

• You can use more than one ‘Sender’ name, depending on the type (and frequency) of emails you send.

Ask Yourself These Questions to Determine if Your ‘Sender’ Name is Strong

• Does the name remind your patients of the trust and email relationship they have with you?

• Does your ‘Sender’ name stand out from the subject line, and from all the other emails in an inbox?

• Would your patients be able to sort or search for messages based on your ‘Sender’ name?

• Does the ‘Sender’ name differentiate different message streams – such as promotional versus transactional?

Sources: Email Insider, 2018 13

Understanding the Importance of Your Sender Name

How long has it been since you’ve sent a targeted communication to your patients?

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Let’s Take A Quick Poll

● Today, of course● This month, I think● This year, I hope● I can’t remember ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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• Email Segmentation narrows your email marketing to targeted groups within your list to provide more

relevant content to your patients.– More relevant campaigns lead to better results and more clicks, engagement, and sales

– Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue.

Get Personal! Did you know – Personalized emails have 29% higher unique open

rates and 41% more unique clickthrough rates* than general emails.

• Personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened

• Personalized emails deliver six times higher transaction rates, but 70% of practices fail to use them

• Nearly 74% of patients get frustrated when content (emails, promotions, ads) appear to have nothing to do with their

interests or location

Personalization fosters patient trust, loyalty, and referrals. This is especially important for dentists – as trust

and loyalty are important factors in running a successful practice.

*Source: Experian Marketing Services “2013 Email Marketing Study”

Sources: DMA National Client Email Report, 2015; Experian 2013; Adestra 2015; Marketingland study 2015; Hubspot Study 201515

Always Have Good S&P: Segmentation & Personalization

In order to ensure your dental practice is sending relevant content to every patient, it’s critical to create

targeted, segmented groups. Segment based on factors such as location, demographics, engagement, and

sales cycle.

One-Size Fits All Campaigns Segmented Campaigns16

Email Segmentation

All Patients

New patients

Inactive patients

Rated your practice 4 stars or higher

No future appointments

Cosmetic services

Dental exams only

Claimed discount or promotional offer

Reactivated patients

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Social media changed everything. Now, you can share valuable and relevant content, and your patients respond, leave comments, or share with their friends, driving new patients and referrals to your practice.

That’s why email newsletters that link to your blog should be key to your marketing strategy.

• Newsletters help you stay top-of-mind and connected to your patients even after they leave your office.– Newsletters also strengthen your standing as a thought leader in your industry– Newsletters provide sharable content that expands your reach to potential new patients– Newsletters work to drive traffic to your blog and website

• What You Should Include in Your Email Newsletter– Include high-quality images and create a mobile-friendly layout– Provide relevant and engaging content that is simple, easy to consume, and personalized– Call to Action – can link to your social accounts, your blog, or a relevant landing page– Subscription options – law requires at least “unsubscribe from this list” and “update subscription”

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Newsletters – Why You Should Send One & What You Should Say

Sending promotional emails can generate new appointments, but you also risk losing subscribers if you send too often. Determine the magic number of emails that your patients are willing to receive, and then send no more than that.

The magic number for the largest group of businesses in a recent poll:2 to 3 times per month

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Stay Relevant – How Often to Run Promotions & Send Newsletters

of U.S. adults polled said they mark a business’ email as spam if they are emailed too often.

average open rate for medical, dental, and healthcareemails. The average open rate for all industries is 20.81%

of survey respondents said they prefer receiving promotional emails (e.g., coupons, sales) once a month.

Sources: 2015 National Client Email Report; MarketingSherpa, Jan 2015; TechnologyAdvice survey; Mailchimp, 2018

21%

57%

61%

How often should you send a newsletter?

Test your audience, but try once a month and adjust accordingly.

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There is an undeniable digital trend: patients are spending significantly higher time on their mobile phones (more than 4 hours a day) compared to desktop computers.

If you’re not mobile-friendly, and you don’t offer features like mobile-friendly emails, online booking, text confirmations, and easy-to-find business listings, your online reputation will be negatively affected. Your emails might not even get read, as 80% of people delete emails that are not formatted for mobile reading.

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Make Your Emails Mobile First

of patients check their email at least once per day on their smartphones, making it the most used functionality in mobile behavior.

Sources: KPCB mobile trends, 2015 | BlueHornet, 2013 | ExactTarget “Mobile Behavior Report, 2014” | Nectafy

91%

88%

56%

of patients who search for a local practice on a mobile device call or go to that practice within 24 hours.

of practices have yet to claim their local Google My Business listing.

Being mobile first makes you more visible online to new patients, helps encourage referrals,

and protects your online reputation.

Good email marketing will help you…

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Embrace Email Marketing & Automation

91%

88%

Win Back Lost PatientsKeep Current PatientsAttract New Patients

average automated email open rate compared to “business as usual” marketing emails. Additionally, automated emails average 152% higher click-through rates.

percentage of dentists who have yet to embrace email marketing.Sending automated emails sets you apart from your competition, and attracts new patients.

average conversion rate of businesses who leverage email marketing and automation.

Sources: Email Marketing Industry Census, 2015; Healthcare Success article, 2016

75%

70.5%

50%

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Existing patients are the lifeblood of your dental practice. They are 50% more likely to try new products and services, and on average spend 31% more than new patients. Retention emails are great for keeping your practice front of mind and keeping patients coming through your doors.

5 emails that should be a part of your patient retention strategy:

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Patient Retention - Recommendations

Welcome EmailUpsell EmailThank You EmailBirthday EmailFeedback Email

Sources: CampaignMonitor.com; SmartrMail, 2019

It costs 5x as much to attract a new patient than to keep an existing one. On average, only 24% of disengaged subscribers will open the first re-engagement email, but as many as 45% will read emails sent thereafter.

Grab attention with personalized and relevant offers, making sure to show the value they are missing out on.

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Win Back Lost Patients - Recommendations

● ● ●

⃝＿＿＿＿

We Miss You, Nancy.Come Back for

a Free Family Check-Up!

● ● ●

⃝＿＿＿＿

Get 15% off Teeth Whitening

When You Schedule an Appointment

by September 1st!

● ● ●

⃝＿＿＿＿

Don’t Neglect Your Dental Health:5 Ways Oral Hygiene

Affects the Body As a Whole

Sources: Invesp, 2019; Statista

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Attracting New Patients - Recommendations

Great emails are relevant and engaging. Promotional emails introduce potential patients to your services, they are also an opportunity to build patient relationships.

Effective emails utilize:

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the average conversion rate of email when it comes to purchases made as a result of receiving a marketing message.

Sources: Invesp; Hubspot, Email Marketing Guide 2019

66%

121

81%

the average number of emails that your patients receive every day. Make your emails stand out in crowded inboxes.

the percentage of businesses that use email specifically fornew customer acquisition.

Personalization & ImageryResponsive DesignsStrong Call-to-Actions

Remember:Email marketing isn’t just about

your dental practice,it’s about your patients.

How often are you sending emails to your patients?

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Let’s Take A Survey Break

● Daily● One or two days a week● Maybe once a month… maybe● Hahahaha… oh, that’s a good one

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Poll Results

How You Can Elevate Your Email Marketing to

Get Results

Attract new patients • Generate referrals • Recall patients

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Hurst Dental Care received:

40+New, glowing Google reviews in two days

66Total Google reviews

2,002Total Demandforce Local reviews

4.8Google search rating

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Better Connect & Communicate with PatientsLearn how Hurst Dental Care did it.

Challenge:Positive online reviews are hot digital currency, but it’s challenging to get patients to post reviews directly on Google.

Solution:With the help of Demandforce, Hurst Dental Care sent out their first email campaign from Demandforce’s 1-click template options created specifically for dental practices.

Result:A positive response! Hurst Dental Care started with 0 Google reviews, and in just 2 days, the practice had collected over 40 high-star reviews—and the number keeps growing!

A Case Study: Hurst Dental Care

• Choose an email provider that offers pre-written emails and promotions with subject lines specific to your industry, so you can drive clickthroughs and increase patient engagement.

• It’s also important that your provider empowers you to segment your emails, target the right patients, and send emails on a consistent, automated schedule.

• Pick a provider that also lets you choose to customize your messages as well, and send one-off emails if needed to certain patients.

• Save time – Embrace automation and let your email provider manage sending individual emails to your patients and tracking your results

• Optimize – Increase your email engagement and monitor how your emails are doing in one central hub, so you can better communicate with and stay in touch with your patients

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Choose The Right Email Provider

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Of Gmail’s 1 billion users, 75% check their accounts on mobile devices, and the average U.S. adult spends four hours a day – EXCLUDING TALK TIME – on a mobile device.Your practice needs to be more than just mobile-friendly, it needs to be mobile first.

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Position Your Practice to be Mobile First

All your communications - from email campaigns, appointment reminders, and newsletters – should be optimized for mobile viewing.

Sources: TechCrunch, 2018; eMarketer survey of mobile usage 2018

64% of people have a positive perception of businesses that offer Two-Way Text. Patients can respond immediately to appointment reminders via text. Respond back, answer questions, or confirm reschedules – all at your convenience.

One-click review requests increase patient response and boosts your online reputation. Make it easy for patients to quickly review your practice andautomatically post to popular social sites – all from their mobile phones!

One-Click Review

Requests

Optimized for

MobileViewing

Two-Way Texting

Leverage the tools you already have to more effectively and efficiently connect with your patients.

• Send custom or pre-written newsletters with fresh content to stay top-of-mind with your patients

• Run optimized email promotions to drive referrals and repeat visits

• Easily segment and personalize your email marketing to foster patient loyalty and engagement, and boost referrals

• Become mobile first to stay relevant in a digital world

• Embrace email automation to reduce headaches; plus track and adjust your email campaigns to fit your specific patients and practice

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A Recap: How to Elevate Your Email Marketing

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In Closing

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Think About the Future of Your Practice: Which Goal Is Most Important to You?

Attract new patients

Foster patient loyalty & engagement

Generate more revenue

Fill appointment slots

Decrease lost patients

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A few things you can do right now to elevate your email marketing:● Write a subject line that communicates your offer immediately

● Choose a strong sender name

● Segment and personalize your emails towards specific patients

● Send newsletters and/or email promotions to your database at least 2 times per month

● Make your emails mobile first

● Embrace automated email sends and other marketing automation tactics

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Recap of Key Email Marketing Tips

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Questions?