The Effect of SMS messaging on Dental Care organisations

The digital arena offers many tools for businesses. Email marketing has been the dominant mode of communication with customers for over two decades now, and all the rage around it is slowly dying. Professionals are now beginning to see the value in the oldest yet underestimated feature in mobile phones, the SMS. Short Messaging Service, or SMS, is growing to be one of the preferred options by entrepreneurs in various fields. Dental Care has its unique challenges in maintaining a patient base and procuring new patients as well. Marketing in the medical field is not as straightforward as in the others. However, SMS marketing is here to change the game.

People check their phone around 96 times a day according to research, which is an astounding number that shows the significance mobile phones have gained during the current times. SMS marketing has been proven to be more effective than emails through various studies now. With the highest opening rate of 98%, it has become an essential tool that can help your business move forward. The medical field has its own unique challenges and marketing is not always their main priority due to the nature of the work. However, with SMS marketing you can make an impact with your marketing even with limited resources. This article shows you how that is possible.

What are the different ways in which SMS marketing can be used for your Dentistry Practice?

1. Appointment confirmations and Reminders

Since the online mode has become the preferred option in the post-pandemic era, often appointment receipts and updates can be difficult to store or retrieve. Sending a message confirming the appointment can be an efficient way of ensuring that the patient does not miss their appointment. This way you reduce incessant rescheduling and missed appointments, and the confirmation also benefits the patient by informing them.

Similarly, you can also use messaging to send reminders of the appointment. Often the appointments are scheduled a week or two in advance, which makes it easy to miss. Using SMS Messaging to send an automated reminder can help you and the patient avoid a missed appointment.

1. Related Dental Care information

After the appointment, based on the feedback from the doctor some useful information can be regularly sent to the patient. Since SMS is opened usually within 90 seconds of it being sent according to various studies, you can take advantage of the tool to convey relevant information.

While there are many ways of connecting with a patient, starting a conversation directly linked with their dental health can be more interesting and appealing to them. It also delivers a more personalized experience to each patient which can enhance the relationship they share with your organisation. Maintaining a conversation with them can also give you access to their other preferences and interests which you can use to send promotional emails.

1. Promotional messages

Since you are running a business in the medical field, a lot of new patients come in through recommendations. But through digital marketing, it is possible to reach out to new patients or maintain your existing clientele using the powerful tools it provides. Use SMS messaging to send promotional messages related to the interests of your old clients, so that they find reason to stay in touch with your practice.

Using customer history from conversations you may have had digitally, you can curate a list of their interests and send promotional posters of events, messages informing them of healthcare seminars, any relevant dental care news, etc. You can also connect with third-party businesses to promote, thus expanding your business as well. Using SMS to reach out to your customers can help you stay relevant in their minds and appear more informative to them rather than purely looking for business interests. Hence, a personalisation in this regard also will boost conversations and reliability.

1. Customer feedback

Since SMS is the most convenient platform for anyone with a cell phone, gaining personal feedback from their experience can be useful for you to improve your work. Just use SMS to send a link which they can click to fill a feedback form, or they can send a SMS message as part of their feedback. You can also use this mode to send surveys, or opinion reports.

Since SMS is usually viewed and responded to, unlike emails which lie in the inbox for quite some time, it can be an extremely useful tool if you’re looking to improve the way you work. You can use the feedback to not only reflect on your internal functioning, but also in customer service by knowing directly about how they’d like to be treated. Collecting their preferences and understanding your clientele can help you mold your business the way your customers would like to see it, thus improving the image of your business and further output.

SMS messaging is rising as a powerful tool in the digital domain and marketing experts are now recommending it to business players in every field. Dental care is no different, as it can use SMS marketing substantially in keeping contact with patients as well as expanding to newer ones.

We at Guni SMS focus on adding value to businesses with respect to engagement and sales through the power of SMS. We have helped countless businesses across Australia with Sales, Marketing, Customer Success and processes.