Family practices benefit significantly from effective SMS marketing. Not only does SMS marketing offer a direct line of communication with patients, but it also enables you to deliver time-sensitive and personal offers, appointment reminders, and updates. At Podium, we value the power of effective, direct communication and understand the positive impact it can have on businesses including family practices.
1. Prioritize Permission
Before diving into the world of SMS marketing, make sure you have explicit permission from patients to send them text messages. An unsolicited message might feel invasive and could lead to a negative impression of your practice. Effective SMS marketing builds on trust and respect for personal boundaries.
A great way to secure permission is by including a checkbox in your online forms or on the patient appointment sign-in sheet for text message updates and promotions.
2. Keep Messages Concise
When dealing with SMS marketing, brevity is key. Long, detailed messages are more than likely to go unread. Ensure that your message is clear, concise, and straight to the point. Each text should deliver immediate value to your patient.
Embrace shorthand where it makes sense but avoid overdoing it to the point where clarity is lost.
3. Personalize Your Texts
Personalized texts resonate more with patients and indicate a level of care and respect for the patient as an individual, not just a number in your database. A simple way to personalize is by starting the message with the recipient’s first name.
Furthermore, segmenting your patient list can genuinely make messages feel more personal and relevant. For instance, group messages aimed at patients in a certain age bracket or with common health concerns.
4. Use Automation
Automating text messages can save an enormous amount of time while ensuring consistent communication with your patients. With automation, you can schedule appointment reminders, follow-up messages, and preventative care tips.
Platforms like Podium Inbox can assist in automating your SMS marketing processes, making it easier to manage interactions and drive engagement with your patient base.
5. Optimize Communication Frequency
While regular communication keeps your practice at the forefront of patients’ minds, overdoing it can be annoying and might lead your patients to opt out of receiving messages. It’s crucial to find a balance in the volume and frequency of your SMS marketing tactic.
We suggest starting with a moderate frequency and adjusting based on patient feedback and response rates.
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6. Include Clear Calls-To-Action
For an SMS to be effective, it needs a clear call to action (CTA) that guides patients on what to do next. Whether you want them to schedule an appointment, click a link, or reply to a survey, your CTA should be clear and direct.
Keep in mind a good CTA is brief, uses actionable verbs, and incites urgency.
7. Employ SMS for Appointment Reminders
One effective use of SMS marketing is sending appointment reminders. Not only does it help reduce no-shows, but it also demonstrates a level of professionalism and regard for your patients’ schedules.
A perfect reminder contains the appointment time and date, the practitioner the appointment is with, and the practice’s location.
8. Test Effectiveness
It’s critical to continuously assess the effectiveness of your SMS marketing messages. Check read and response rates, and tweak your messages accordingly. Experiment with different tones, times of sending, and CTAs to see what gets the best response.
In short: keep what works, change what doesn’t.
9. Leverage Two-way Communication
SMS marketing isn’t just about sending messages but also receiving them. Engage your patients in two-way conversations, encouraging them to ask questions, provide feedback, or even just chat. By doing this, you generate a feeling of connection and trust.
Tools like Podium Contacts can support effective two-way communication by helping you manage all your customer relationships through text.
10. Send Health Tips and Reminders
Last but not least, use SMS to send health tips and reminders in line with your practice’s specialties. Not every message should be promotional; sometimes, sharing useful, altruistic information can do wonders in building relationships with your patients and establishing your practice as an authority in your field.
Ensure the tips are relevant to your patients and riddled with easy-to-understand information.
Enhancing Patient Experience with Podium
To conclude, SMS marketing can be a powerful tool for any family practice aiming to enhance patient experience and grow their customer base. It builds trust, allows quick resolution of queries, and makes communication efficient and hassle-free. At Podium, we are poised to help you leverage SMS marketing to its full potential, transforming how you connect with your patients and redefining patient satisfaction.
