Picture this: someone who lives within walking distance of your dental practice receives your visually-appealing flyer in the mail\u2026and tosses it directly into a recycling bin. Now imagine a website visitor downloads your eBook, \u201cHow to Get Cleaner Teeth\u201d\u2026 only to unsubscribe from all your emails after receiving a promotional message for your family dental services. Though email blasts and bulk postcards are better than not communicating at all, you can drastically improve results by implementing one simple tool: segmentation.<\/p>\n
What is segmentation? It\u2019s communication with messages tailored for specific audiences based on their demographics, location, or behavior. For example, sending postcards inviting lapsed patients back for a cleaning is more effective than sending that same postcard to everyone in your contact list. Here\u2019s some practical ways segmentation can significantly improve marketing for your dental practice:<\/p>\n
Retain (and Engage) Your Hard-Earned Patients<\/strong><\/p>\n Mass emails are often unopened or ignored\u2014or worse, recipients may unsubscribe because the content isn\u2019t relevant. Sending engaging and relevant information, on the other hand, is far more effective at engaging readers. They\u2019re likely to open and click on emails you send, and unsubscribe less often. One MailChimp report showed that compared to mass emails, segmented emails resulted in:<\/p>\n Save on Postage and Printing<\/strong><\/p>\n Direct mail can still be extremely effective, but if those mass mailings go straight into a recycling bin they\u2019re a waste of time and resources. By segmenting your contact list, you can ensure that the right message is delivered to the right person. If you run a multi-location practice, for example, segmentation helps you avoid sending direct mail about your newest practice\u2019s open house to patients who aren\u2019t nearby. And you can customize mailings so that they take different approaches for lapsed versus loyal patients<\/p>\n Show Patients You Care\u2026With the Click of a Button!<\/strong><\/p>\n Segmentation lets you personalize content based on people\u2019s expressed interests, demographics, geographic location, and other specifics. For instance, imagine someone who downloaded your PDF on \u201cHow to Get Cleaner Teeth.\u201d Sure, you could email them materials about your family dental services\u2060\u2014but they expressed no interest in those services, and may mistake your message for spam. Now imagine that, instead, they receive a series of automated, informative emails about the benefits of teeth whitening\u2014exactly what they\u2019re interested in. This relevant information will nurture your contact so that when they reach your call-to-action, they\u2019ll want to engage further with your practice.<\/p>\n Another way dental teams can show concern for patient well-being is by creating segmented lists based on the results of comfort surveys\u00b9\u2014for example, sending unique messages to people who noted in their responses that they fear pain. Small details like this communicate to your patients that you know and care for them specifically.<\/p>\n Prioritize Your Target Audience<\/strong><\/p>\n Many practices identify their target audience\u2060\u2014their ideal client\u2060\u2014but then never actually market to them. Combining automation with segmentation enables you to send relevant messages to engage your target audience. For example, suppose your target audience is patients desiring family services within a 30-minute drive of your practice. When someone visits your website looking for family services, you can capture that lead and send a series of emails talking about those services. You can also create referral request emails designed with this person in mind. If your target audience includes patients with particular insurance coverage such as Delta Dental, you can create segmented lists to provide them with relevant updates about their coverage.<\/p>\n Respond to Needs Quickly<\/strong><\/p>\n Automatic segmented messages enable you to swiftly address the needs of leads and current patients alike. Patients who schedule treatment online will immediately receive messages confirming and reminding them of their appointment. Leads who click on a PDF guide about a specific service, such as Invisalign\u00ae, will have their email address instantly added to a message series with additional information about that service.<\/p>\n Practices can also use automated messages to engage with segmented audiences via text and email, without any extra effort from the dental team. Here\u2019s a few more possible uses:<\/p>\n More Ways to Use Segmentation at Your Practice<\/strong><\/p>\n Aside from automated messages, you can send uniquely-crafted messages to segmented audiences for a variety of purposes, including\u00b2:<\/p>\n Implement Strategically<\/strong><\/p>\n Overuse of segmentation can sometimes backfire, causing your audience to feel as if their privacy has been violated. Always adhere to HIPAA requirements, and provide your leads and patients with opportunities to control what messages they receive. A good practice is to include checkboxes in your online forms and links in your messaging emails that let your audience choose the updates they want, or allow them to unsubscribe entirely.<\/p>\n Segmentation is a powerful marketing tool for showing patients that you care, while saving your practice valuable time and resources. Sending the right messages to the right people can be just what you need to increase your lead flow and fuel your practice growth. Happy segmenting!<\/p>\n \u00b9 Current Legwork customers, see our training video \u201cPatient Tab Message Blasting and Individual contact\u201d for steps on how to create segmented lists<\/p>\n\n
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