Dr. SalujaAre the magazines in your waiting room beginning to collect dust? On any given day in our waiting room, patients are scrolling through their smartphones, checking emails, browsing Facebook and using their favorite apps instead of thumbing through magazines. According to comScore, 81% of U.S. adults own a smartphone. And 53% of emails are opened on a mobile device, according to Litmus.
If your patients are mobile, why aren’t you communicating with them on their mobile devices? We found that by not utilizing mobile communications, we were missing out on huge revenue potential. With consumer mobile adoption at its peak, mobile marketing is critical for any business, including aesthetic health care practices.
So how can busy practices connect with patients who are zoned in on their mobile devices? In our experience with eRelevance, the service we use, it’s by executing these four marketing best practices, for a better, mobile-first patient experience:
1. Adopt Mobile-Friendly Email
With the majority of emails opened on mobile devices, patients expect mobile communications to be clear and easy to access. Ensure that you can detect when emails are opened on a mobile phone and serve up your message in a mobile-compatible format. Consider the mobile experience when developing emails. Since the screen is smaller, use less text in your subject line and header. Skip images or select a small image that scales well within the constraints of the mobile inbox.
2. Design Mobile-Friendly Landing Pages
Remember that patients will be clicking through to your website from mobile emails. Make it a seamless experience that is native to the smartphone. This approach will ensure the entire email experience is mobile-friendly. Use responsive design templates to ensure your messages reach patients without clunky interface issues. Help improve the readability of these emails by using a simple and concise layout that has a clear call to action. Limit images and use a readable font so that mobile users can easily read your message on their mobile devices.
3. Digitally Surround Your Patients
The average email open rate is only 20%. In other words, 80% of your patients are not opening your emails. This is a staggering number, and you can’t afford to ignore a huge portion of your business. Many people don’t utilize email as much as other channels of communication. To ensure you’re reaching the majority of your patients, adopt a multichannel marketing program that digitally surrounds them. Give them the chance to opt in to SMS messaging communications. Offer a convenient app they can use to interact with your office. The easier you make it to receive messages, the more receptive people will be.
4. Mobile is Social
Did you know 80% of active Facebook user accounts are accessed via mobile phones? Hopefully, you have a social media page that you are using to connect to patients. Managing a business page on Facebook allows you to not only share updates and news, but also to share before and after photos of cosmetic procedures. Plus, many Facebook users will share a business page as a recommendation of your practice for friends who might be interested. There is nothing more powerful than a recommendation from a friend when it comes to acquiring new patients, since existing patients drive 32% of referrals. Be sure to create a brand presence on social media and encourage sharing. The opportunities to reach your existing patients’ friends are immeasurable. Also, consider using Facebook’s targeted advertising, which allows you to cost-effectively target existing patients who are most likely to be loyal and refer.
Even if you run a small practice, a savvy mobile patient experience is still essential to getting your marketing right. Our practice is small, yet we are still able to adopt a smart, sophisticated marketing program that speaks to our patients without breaking the bank. By delivering an innovative mobile experience that allows patients to be in control of how they interact with you, you will capture the attention of the scrolling crowd.
