Communication is at the center of building relationships with prospects and customers. One of the most effective ways to reach them is through email marketing. In fact, according to McKinsey & Co, email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter. In addition, Forrester Research found that 90% of emails get delivered to the intended recipients inbox, whereas 2% of your Facebook fans see your posts in their News Feed. Don’t get me wrong, social media is still valuable and important to your overall marketing strategy, but email is equally if not more important, because it allows you to directly reach your intended audience with personalized messages.
So, how can you effectively engage with your prospects and customers using email marketing? Let’s discuss the types of emails your dental lab or office should be sending:
Welcome Emails
Do you have a blog, a newsletter subscription or other opt-in subscription? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you want to make sure to send a welcome email to your subscribers. Welcome emails are a great way to establish the relationship and expectation of what they have signed up for. For example, if they have signed up for your newsletter, then let them know what information is included in the newsletter and how often they should expect to receive it. Or, if they have subscribed to your blog, ask them to follow you on social media and include links.
Just remember, welcome emails need to be sent in a timely manner, preferably immediately after they subscribe or opt-in and be sure to include how they can either update their subscription status or opt-out.
Email Newsletters
While this is one of the hardest emails to write or design, email newsletters are a great way to engage prospects and customers. It is also a great way for your dental lab or office to establish thought leadership by including, not only content you produce like your blog, but also industry articles that are relevant to your audience. Some of the information you can include in a newsletter are: event reminders, surveys, promotions and customer testimonials, but be sure to balance the content. The 80/20 rule is always good to follow, 80% educational, 20% promotional.
When writing your newsletter, keep your audience in mind. It’s not always a 'one size fits all' approach, segment your contact list accordingly. If needed, produce a newsletter for each segment. The more you segment and personalize your content, the higher your engagement will be.
Promotional Emails
Promotional emails try to get the recipient to take some action around a new product, service, event, or special deal. These emails usually don’t have a lot of content associated with them and have one primary call-to-action. While you might be thinking 'this screams SPAM', that is not always the case. In fact, according to MarketingSherpa, 72% people prefer to receive promotional content through email, compared to 17% who prefer social media.
Informational Emails
Informational emails are perfect to send to prospects and customers to let them know of any product/service news, updates or event/appointment reminders. They are typically short and simple and don’t require a lot of action.
Educational Emails
Educational emails are a great way for your dental lab or office to build relationships and trust between you and your prospects or customers. These emails typically provide prospects and customers with knowledge that is connected to your business like an eBook, case study or how-to guide. You can also send a digest of your popular blog articles or industry articles around a central topic.
Thank You Emails
Don’t overlook the power of thank you emails. These emails should be sent after a prospect or customer takes action, such as they've downloaded an eBook or registered/attended a webinar or event. These emails will not only deliver the intended content right to their inbox, but people will often share the content by forwarding it via email. This gives you another opportunity to extend the reach of your content to a new audience.
Has your dental lab or office been using these types of emails in your marketing? What has your experience been with this type of communication?
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