You check them without even thinking about them. You read them — or not. You trash them, forward them, and save them. They’re emails, and whether you think about them or not, they play a significant role in your day. From communicating with your teams internally to connecting and sharing information with vendors and colleagues, emails are vital for every organization. But, how important are they to your healthcare marketing strategy? If you’re ignoring the marketing emails you get, who’s to say your leads won’t do the same?
5 Reasons Why Email Marketing is Important
1. Offers the Best ROI
Email marketing generates the highest form of return on investment. It’s been like that for years, and despite advances in technology and new forms of advertising, it still remains true for about 59% of marketers — determined by an Emma study. The only other method to come close to receiving the same high ROI is paid advertising. The reason these campaigns are so effective is because both methods of marketing dance between the lines of the right messaging and the right time.
2. Keeps You Connected
Email marketing allows you to connect with your patients on their schedule. They can read and interact with your email when it best suits them — whether it’s after hours or on the weekends. This takes the stress off your patients, but still provides a resource they can use when they’re ready. It also allows you to nurture those relationships by providing newsletters that are less sales-focused and more informative.
3. Allows for Targeted Messaging
Email marketing can be used in various ways — from providing information to following up on actions. You can target certain segments to catch them at the right time during the sales funnel. If you find that a user has been heavily interacting with your website, a quick email to talk about the benefits of visiting your practice may be the exact push they needed to book their new patient appointment.
Sometimes, the best information you can provide is a resource for them to learn more. Emails allow you to segment your audience so you can send messages about particular testing to only those who may need that testing. This can lead to ordering those testing services with your organization.
4. Integrates with Other Marketing Efforts
The best way to ensure your emails find your audience at the right time is to integrate your email marketing with your other efforts. An email on its own can be good, but integrating it into a campaign that begins on your website or social media and ends with a lead calling you using a tracking number from your email is the sweet spot you’re looking for. The key to integrating your marketing efforts is to consider what your prospects need to know and offering that information bit by bit through various means — from social posts and paid ads to blog posts and infographics.
5. Provides Insight
In addition to email marketing generating revenue and identifying qualified prospects for your organization, it also provides insights into the needs of your patients and customers. Which subject lines capture the most attention, what links receive the highest click-through rates, and the delivery times that receive the most open rates all provide valuable data that you can use in every aspect of your marketing.
You can begin to see where your prospects are at in the sales funnel, when they’re most responsive during their day, and what information most interests them. Refining this knowledge and using it in your future healthcare email marketing efforts and other campaigns can result in higher ROIs across the board.
Tips for Using Email Marketing Effectively
Email marketing can be extremely effective in generating leads and revenue. But, there are some best practices that can impact your open rates and affect the success of your entire campaign. Common tips for making your email marketing effective and producing emails that recipients actually want to read include:
- Creating an email marketing strategy
- Customizing your emails using patient names or known information
- Keeping subject lines within 40 characters
- Leveraging the use of pre-headers
- Avoiding spam language
- Providing a clear call to action
- Including an opt-out option and respecting it
