The Odyssey of Customer Journeys: Automated Email Campaigns for Dentists

This article was inspired by a conversation with a remarkable dentist named David (name changed) during a recent consultation call at our Digital Marketing Agency. Dr. David, a passionate and forward-thinking practitioner, shared with us his journey in the world of dental care and marketing.

Note: Though Dr. David is not our client yet, the story of his adoption of email marketing and the success that he achieved is worth sharing, especially, to present this topic on the benefits of Email Marketing for Dentists.

During our discussion, Dr. David revealed how his journey into the world of automated email marketing was ignited by a Digital Marketing journal that he had stumbled upon. This journal had highlighted the transformative potential of automation in healthcare, specifically within the dental field.

Driven by a desire to enhance his patients’ experiences and promote oral wellness, Dr. David embarked on a quest to learn more about automated email marketing for dentists. He attended a couple of webinars by Mail Chimp and Mailmodo (email marketing softwares), sought guidance from peers, and dived into the intricacies of this powerful tool.

After a demo session with Mailmodo, Dr. David successfully integrated automated email marketing into his dental practice. The impact was nothing short of extraordinary. His email campaigns were carefully crafted to guide his patients on personalized dental journeys, offering support, education, and a touch of warmth.

In this article, we will delve deeper into Dr. David’s inspiring journey and explore how automated email marketing has transformed his practice into a haven of care and personalized patient experiences.

The Visionary Dentist

To start with, I believe that Dr. David was not an ordinary dentist when I spoke with him. He saw not just teeth but the potential for radiant smiles and lives enriched by good oral health.

While exploring the digital landscape of dental care, he somehow stumbled upon an invitation to a Mailmodo webinar that promised to unveil the magic of automated email campaigns in healthcare.

This in itself seemed surprising for me. Only a handful of dentists in Canada explore the digital landscape all by themselves. A survey says that 61% of the Dentists in Canada delegate their marketing activities to an agency or an in-house marketing team.

The Mailmodo webinar was an illuminating experience, connecting him with other business owners who had revolutionized their marketing through automation.

After the webinar, he took the obvious first and easy step which almost all the first timers to the webinar did. Signed up for a 3-week free trial of Mailmodo to experiment the utility of the tool with the 430-odd email contacts that he had gathered in a span of 4 years.

Just in case, you don’t have an email list to work on, I know you would already lost interest in this article. To get quick leads of around 200-500 in a span of 15-30 days, Facebook Leads Ads and Google Ads would be your go to option. As a side note, I have shared briefly how Facebook and Google help you get the leads (emails of potential patients).

Crafting the Dental Odyssey with Mailmodo

Based on what he learned in the demo, Dr. David set to work crafting a series of emails that would guide his patients on a unique dental journey. He, initially, set up 2 automated series of emails.

1st series of automated campaigns directed at email Ids of contact information who were already his patients.

2nd series of campaigns directed at Email ids that he had gathered during a dental camp. These contacts were not among his contacts yet.

Automated Email Marketing Campaigns Structure

Before looking at some of the email templates that Dr. David created for his current and potential patients, let us go over the structure (or automation sequence) of 2 Email Marketing Campaigns set up by him.

Automated Email Marketing Sequence for Current Patients

The nature of emails sent to existing patients are quite straightforward.

The objective here was to communicate with the patients regularly:

• to express the Dental Clinic’s gratitude for choosing them,
• to remind them of upcoming appointments,
• to mentally and physically prepare for each visit
• to provide after-care instructions and so on.

Each email is triggered based on the appointment date. They are spaced out periodically before and after the patient visit as shown in the figure above.

Automated Email Marketing Sequence for Potential Patients

In case of email marketing for potential patients, the automation gets a little complex as each subsequent email is based on the inaction or action taken by the recipients on the previous email. Hence, we have to structure it for both scenarios. But, once the sequence is determined and set up, the campaign works like clock work with no further intervention.

Let me walk you through the flowchart above for better clarity.

A potential patient from the email list (seemingly captured from a dental camp in a corporate setting) gets a welcome email. The email can be spiced up with dental hygiene tips or one of the 21 rare google post ideas to engage with your dental patients that I had shared in one of my other articles.

The users who open the email would receive a Thank You note within 24 hours of action while the rest would receive a reminder/repeat of the same Welcome email at a different time of the day with the hope of drawing their attention.

Make sure to gift the users who had engaged (clicked or scrolled) with the email with some special offers like a free consultation which they should avail within a strict timeline.

The point is to make the users who take some action feel special while persistently attracting the rest of the contacts with some engaging and valuable content.

Sample Emails Used In The Marketing Campaigns

Here are two sample email templates that are used for Email marketing for dentists

Customer Journey – Mailmodo

Below is an image of a detailed customer journey that was automated using the Mailmodo software.
When using Mailmodo, I categorize my audience into different segments, for example, those who have opened the emails but did not click, frequent email openers who have been dormant recently and the like in order to provide them with different pieces of content.

Outcome Of Automation of Email Campaigns

Let me continue with Dr. David’s story and trace his success path.

Tackling the Challenge of Dental Procedures

For those in need of more than just routine checkups, Dr. David’s emails explained dental procedures in plain, reassuring language. Patients felt informed and actively engaged in their treatment plans.

The Quest for Dental Wellness

Patient education was paramount. Dr. David’s emails evolved into guides for maintaining oral wellness. They shared insights on proper dental hygiene, dietary choices, and the latest dental innovations.

Transformation and Trust

With each email, trust blossomed. Dr. David’s patients no longer viewed appointments as mere tasks. They felt genuinely cared for and empowered to take control of their oral health. Smiles flourished.

The Elixir of Mailmodo’s Inspiration

With the guidance and tools from Mailmodo’s webinar, Dr. David’s practice flourished. Patients became advocates, referring their loved ones not only for his expertise but for the personalized and attentive care they experienced on their dental journeys.

This, according to me, should be ultimate goal of Email Marketing for Dentists – Your Patients should turn into Your Advocates. In fact, this is the final stage of any form of Marketing.

Conclusion

Remember. Just like Dr. David, you can embark on a transformative journey. Through automated email campaigns powered by tools like Mailmodo or Mailchimp, healthcare professionals can create patient journeys that offer not only wellness but also trust and loyalty. As you venture forth, may your dreams of exceptional patient care come true, one email at a time.