People like to choose their own channel for communicating and the effectiveness of email is declining.
Practices often struggle to convert enquiries into bookings. The issue lies in trying to get a patient to book in for a consultation once they have enquired. Texts can be a great way to follow-up for that.
People are more inclined to engage with a text message whether it be an SMS or Messenger bot, rather than email. People generally receive a high number of emails every day, so it’s no wonder that so many get deleted without even being read.
If the lead doesn't pick up the telephone when you call - we don't recommend sending emails (or leaving voicemails).
Sending an email to get a response to new patient enquiries is less effective as most emails tend to sit in the spam inbox, and response rates are very low.
Email open rates are really poor at around 25%.
That means 3 out of 4 emails won’t be read!!!
If your new patient lead doesn’t pick up and answer their phone, we recommend sending a follow-up message on Facebook Messenger or if that’s not going to be possible, send WhatsApp and/or text messages instead.
Why?
A text or SMS feels much more personable.
Also, people are always on their phones, especially these leads who've opted in through Facebook/Instagram.
Text messages appear as pop up notifications on their phone’s home screen - which results in 98% of them being opened.
It’s very effective to message someone a personalised text as opposed to a generic “automated” message, and you’ll usually get a reply.
As soon as we receive an SMS, our phone vibrates and grabs attention. And if the user doesn’t open the message right away, the phone will continue to remind them they have an unread text, making this a highly advantageous feature for your campaigns.