Think about all the email lists you’ve signed up for. How many of those emails do you delete without even reading? How many have you unsubscribed from?
Too many businesses send emails that annoy customers.
Maybe they’re unhelpful or too sales-driven. Or, maybe they lack a clear, desired action.
Email marketing needs a place in your pharmacy’s marketing strategy, but you want to execute it properly. Or it won’t work.
Because you’ll annoy your patients.
Follow these tips to run an email campaign that will help discourage unsubscribes and encourage patients to actually read your pharmacy’s emails.
Don’t start with a sales pitch
You want to sell your pharmacy through your email campaign, but you have to build trust with patients before pushing them to try your services or make purchases in your front end.
For example, maybe a patient signed up for your email list during a promotion when you were offering a free health screening to those who sign up. He probably won’t appreciate being immediately ambushed with emails about shopping your front end.
Instead, first send an email thanking him for signing up, and then give instructions on how to claim his free gift.
Provide value in your email campaign
If you don’t provide value, patients won’t read your emails.
Include something useful in each email, like information on your pharmacy’s vaccination services during flu season or seasonal health and wellness tips. You can also direct patients to a resource for more information, such as a webpage or blog post.
The more value you provide to your email subscribers, the more likely they’ll turn into loyal patients.
Keep your emails interesting
No one wants to read boring, repetitive emails that waste their time.
Try switching up your email templates and hitting a variety of different topics. Include a mix of emails aimed to sell your pharmacy’s services and emails that simply offer helpful information, tips and advice.
Be genuine in your emails
Patients love that your independent community pharmacy is genuine.
You employ people from your community and take an active role in improving this place you call home. And, you offer a customer experience that national chain pharmacies and big box stores can’t match.
Let that genuine personality shine through in your email campaigns.
For example, share stories that will allow patients to get to know your pharmacy and your brand better. Be honest about your pharmacy’s values and what you bring to the community.
Include a clear call-to-action in each email
An email campaign can’t be successful without a clear call-to-action. A call-to-action states the purpose of your email by telling patients what you want them to do.
And receiving an email with no clear goal or purpose will annoy patients.
For example, if you want patients to read a specific blog post or visit your website, make that clear in your email. Or, if you simply want patients to visit your pharmacy, make sure your call-to-action clearly states that.
Put yourself in your patients’ shoes
Think back to those email lists again, but this time focus on the ones you still subscribe to and actually read.
What is it about those email campaigns that keeps you interested?
If you can figure out what you enjoy as a consumer, you can use those insights to create an email campaign your patients will look forward to.
Want to know more about email marketing? Follow these basic principles when creating an email marketing campaign for your pharmacy.
