Easy Marketing Ideas Most Practices Don’t Use

Assuming you use email to respond to patients and prospective patients, there are wonderful ways of utilizing each message to promote your practice.

First, staff should NOT be using their personal email accounts to write patients. This is a real no-no. Each staff member should have their own address at the practice. Some practices prefer to use titles such as Nurse@DrSmart.com or Reception@DrSmart.com. This option means that if there is turnover, the person assuming the function can easily access the email. If you opt for Susan@DrSmart.com when Mary assumes Susan’s job, she has to open that mail box as well. We prefer simple addresses, rather than those that involve dashes and underscores. If the practice name is long—shorten it for the email. Associates in Aesthetic Surgery of New York can be cut to Betty@AestheticNY.net.

Second, use the subject line! Use it correctly. Make your subject line appropriately provocative so that your patients are eager to open the message.

“Information from Dr. Jones" is not as attractive as “Your New Patient Packet"

Or “An invitation from Dr. Jones"

Second, if you are using Microsoft Outlook, you absolutely must use the “automatic signature function" Go to Tools: click on Options and then Mail Format. Once you have done this click on New. Enter title of signature and start with blank signature. Next type in signature and click on finish. Click on signature and preview your signature block.

Why practices don’t use this feature is beyond us. With every email you have the opportunity to promote yourself, the practice and any “specials".

See the samples below:

Or

Easy to do. Easy to change. Let’s say the doctor will be on CNN or a local TV station and you know a week ahead of time. You can immediately customize the message and get the word out to hundreds of people who are writing to you and reading your response.