To expand your practice, you need to identify ways to increase exposure while maintaining quality of service. Reach is improved through social media and search engines, but personalization is difficult. Even though email is fantastic for customization, inboxes are often overflowing with messages.
With SMS marketing, not only can you contact a large number of people, but you can also send them tailored messages through a medium they frequently consult. It’s been found that the average American checks their phone 96 times every day.
This article will explain what short message service (SMS) marketing is, why you as a practice owner should LOVE using them, and how you can include it into your own marketing plan.
SMS marketing uses text messages to contact your audience in any way you can conceive. It’s for:
- Promotional flash sales
- Announcements
- Appointment reminders
- Open slots on that day – send out a blast
- Personalized alerts
- Helpdesk
- Geomarketing
Why SMS Marketing works
SMS marketing is an excellent marketing strategy for many practices, and for three key reasons.
People prefer texting rather than talking
Why do marketers prefer SMS? It’s effective. 89% of those questioned prefer texting to calling a practice. You’ll also save money by leveraging SMS marketing.
Using it, practices may market across all channels.
To maintain a consistent consumer experience as they transition from desktop to mobile to brick-and-mortar location, SMS marketing is a vital component of omnichannel marketing. In the long run, you’ll gain your consumers’ trust and establish a relationship with them if you communicate with them thoroughly and remember their specific preferences.
Significant levels of participation are reported.
In the first place, sending out SMS advertisements only goes to persons who have given their express permission to do so.
And because you’re communicating directly with people, you won’t have to fight for visibility in overcrowded news feeds or search engine results pages. Because of these factors, SMS marketing has open rates of up to 98% (email open rates are about 20%), making it an economical option to communicate with clients and potential ones.
And then there’s the matter of click-through rates (CTRs). When compared to the typical CTR of five percent achieved by more traditional forms of advertising, the CTR for SMS marketing campaigns can reach nearly double that amount.
Guidelines for Effective Text Message Advertising
Though SMS marketing boasts of out-of-this-world engagement, it’s important that marketers still put effort into this marketing strategy to ensure that their patients actually convert. Here are our top five SMS marketing tips and best practices.
- Don’t spam.
Patients can be reached at any time, from any location, using SMS. However, that’s no reason to really do it.
Over-communication via text message has the potential to erode trust and ultimately lead to patient defection. Three texts per week is the sweet spot for SMS marketing.
- Keep things straightforward.
Patients and prospects put their faith in you when they agree to receive marketing texts from you. Don’t waste people’s time with too extended or spammy clickbait messages.
The most effective SMS marketing messages are concise, to-the-point, and avoid rambling.
- Segment and customize
Don’t assume everyone wants to get the same mass text. Your clients should never feel like they’re just another face in the throng; instead, they should feel like they’re a vital part of your practice. A plethora of easy strategies exist for tailoring your SMS message content:
✅ Use their names when you greet them.
✅ Talk to them as though you were having a discussion.
✅ Make suggestions based on previous purchases to increase sales.
✅ Use their unique traits to tailor your communications to them.
✅ Share some behind-the-scenes information with me.
Sending a text message to patients who have previously purchased a certain item is a terrific way to make them feel special and give them advance notice of a replenishment before the broader public.
4. Try out patient-retention initiatives or loyalty programs
Promoting a patient loyalty program via text message is a fantastic method to strengthen relationships with existing clients and attract new ones.
Some of the finest patient loyalty programs offer discounts or freebies in exchange for a certain level of spending, such as a free coffee after a certain period of time has passed or 25% off a future purchase. Many people will be tempted to make a purchase because of these offers.
- Make use of feedback and reviews
Any successful company will always value feedback. Patients like knowing that you value their opinions and are working to make your practice better for them.
For instance, you might utilize short message service marketing to ask for comments and then provide a link to a review page on the platform of your choosing.
Or, you may send out a short-form survey through text message and have your clients rate your service on a scale of 1 to 10. Keep in mind that the duration of this warning is brief. Don’t send lengthy comments by email or a comment section without first asking for them online.
Patients that take the time to fill out a survey for you should be rewarded, regardless of how they rank your practice. If they rate you poorly, you can still use this offer to entice them to come back so you can try again.
Launch a text message advertising campaign today
Considering how useful and flexible SMS marketing is, it’s simple to see why practices choose it. You may use it to boost your loyalty programs, connect with your most valuable patients, and engage with new leads early in the sales process. Don’t forget about our five suggestions!
✅ Don’t inundate your readers with messages.
✅ Make sure your communication is easy to understand and uses visual aids.
✅ Divide and conquer; specialize and adapt.
✅ Marketing loyalty programs is a good idea.
✅ Solicit responses to surveys and evaluations.
If you need help with leveraging SMS technology or coming up with campaigns that convert and deliver the results you’re looking to achieve, reach out to me, I’d be glad to help
So… if you are a private practice healthcare business owner and you are looking to grow and scale your practice or generate more new patients for the practice – we are here for you! Drop a comment below if you have questions or if you’d like to set up a call with us go here: https://chat.practiceinsidersedge.com/PIE-Triage-Call