Are you looking for some marketing magic?
Are you looking for a powerful marketing tool that you can implement almost immediately?
Are you looking for something where you don't have to do any of the work?
If your answer to any of these questions is YES, then pay close attention.
Monthly newsletters help develop customer (patient, client, referral source) loyalty and solidify long-term relationships by building trust and confidence in you, your staff and your practice. Mailing direct response, print newsletters are not new. The concept is right on but their cost and the effort can VERY quickly outweigh their effectiveness.
O&P is a business.
You've got all kinds of economic pressures. HIPAA compliance. Medicare regulations. OSHA regulations, facility accreditation....the list goes on. You need to run your practice like a business
You need to use basic marketing principles to retain existing patients, referral sources and influencers (customers) and to prospect for new ones. The Internet is redefining how an O&P practice is run and how you communicate with and market.
You are an expert. Shouldn't you be seen that way?
Perception is everything in the eyes of potential customers.
Do they see you as the practitioner who will do the best job, kept up with all the new technology, components and techniques? Have you them about all the continuing education courses you've taken? Meetings you've attended?
The best way to communicate this and to position your practice - to make your business look the way you think it should - is to communicate regularly and consistently with your target markets. Pictures. Articles. Office news. Staff changes. Insurance updates. Industry news.
Even your most loyal patients need to be reminded about who you are, what services you provide, what charitable organizations and activities you support. People are busy. They forget unless they are reminded - often. Stay in front of people and you'll stay top of mind.
You can communicate with all your patients, referral sources, potential patients and referral sources, colleagues, media AND track how successful and cost-effective your efforts are.
If you wanted to keep in touch the old-fashioned way, you could send a color newsletter to your mailing list every month.
Who's going to write it? Who's going to print it? How much is it going to cost if you print it out yourself versus sending it to the printer? How will you get it to patients? Will you mail it out? Who's going to address them and put the postage on? How large is your list? Is everyone going to get one? Once it's mailed, how do you know who's received it and who's read it?
Lots of work for you (or someone on your staff) and LOTS of money and - unless someone calls to tell you they read it - NO quantifiable results. Wow, bummer!
The answer?
The answer is a program is called "Horn Tooter" - Customer Relationship Builder.
We design and format your email newsletter for you. We provide your web developer with the code for your sign up box for your website. We develop all the content. Remember, all web sites are reactive in that you have to rely on people to consciously make a decision to search for and visit your site. Your email newsletter is proactive. It is sent out to your list and it brings people back to your site. Talk about proactively driving traffic to your site! Every month your professionally designed, full-color email newsletter will be sent out with informative articles, eye-catching images and links. POWERFUL, REPETITIVE MARKETING. And you don't have to do any work.
The "Horn Tooter" allows you to target specific categories - as simple as orthotics or prosthetics - or more specific - such as upper extremity prosthetics or pediatrics. They can be forwarded easily so customers who forward your newsletter to their friends and family become part of your marketing team. Nothing is more powerful than a personal recommendation.
How will you know if it works? As part of your "Horn Tooter" program, you'll receive tracking reports. You'll be notified every time someone signs up to receive your newsletter. Whenever an issue goes out, you'll receive statistics on who opened the email newsletter - right down to the date and time they opened it, what links they clicked on and who they forwarded it to. In addition, as part of the program, everyone who signs up for your newsletter will receive a custom email thank you letter from you, thanking them for signing up and becoming part of your online community.
They'll love it. Every time an issue goes out, people will respond. You'll see - they love being kept up to date on what's new in orthotics and prosthetics, what's new with your staff and they love to read stories and testimonials.
By now, you should be emotionally involved in the belief that using an email newsletter as part of your overall marketing plan can be fun, effective and can instantly set you apart from your competition. You might still have some c0ncerns.
"We don't have very many email addresses so it wouldn't be cost-effective." It doesn't matter. Just get started and everything will quickly fall into place. Unlike print newsletters, the cost doesn't fluctuate and once you start informing people - on your website and using word of mouth - they'll sign up. Just think about how many patients you see in a month.
"I don't have time for marketing" OR "I hate 'marketing"." You don't have to do anything. We do it for you. You don't have to like "marketing." We do it for you. (You'll love the results, though!)
"My patients don't all have email addresses. Not everybody will get the email newsletter." You're right. But, alot of them do have email addresses and more and more people are online every single day (there are over 1.7 billion internet users worldwide) AND unlike sending them something in the mail and never, ever knowing if they got it or opened it up, you'll know right away.
The one-time cost to get started with the "Horn Tooter" - set up consists of design and layout of your custom email newsletter; sign up box code for placement on your website; email welcome letter; introductory email postcard announcement to existing customer email list, and input of existing customer emails is $1500.
The monthly cost is $299 a month. The monthly cost includes content research and development, email contact list database management, distribution of the newsletter and all tracking reports, report generation .
