SMS communication with patients

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Digital marketing is one of the most important tools used by companies and other types of institutions to communicate with users and clients. One of the most efficient techniques is SMS marketing. Text messages guarantee direct communication at a high level.

Hospitals and clinics can use SMS as a marketing strategy to establish a good relationship with their patients, obtaining benefits for both of them.

Uses of SMS

Different from what others believe, SMS has not become old. On the contrary, stats show that SMS is one of the main means of communication when it comes to establishing a marketing strategy.

SMS today has the highest open rate in the market, over 95%, contrary to email which is around 20%. This means that text messages give you a much bigger chance of contacting your patients. Similarly, the click rate in SMS is 19%, while emails have 2%.

Leaving stats aside, clinics can use SMS marketing with different functions and objectives in mind. Some of them are:

Giving promotions to encourage sales. It’s very common that businesses offer some kind of discount when using the external link sent in the SMS. For example, you can offer a 20% discount on a beauty treatment if the person buys it through the link on the same day.
Messages also allow you to communicate important information more quickly. This could be the re-scheduling of surgery or appointment or even giving results after lab results are ready.
You can also let patients know their doctor will be absent, that the hospital will be closed, that certain professionals are on holiday, among other uses. Another option is reminders, which inform patients of upcoming appointments.
Confirmation of an appointment with the client so you don’t waste time.
Getting a more personal relationship with patients. For this, SMS is sent in a more personalized way, with the name of the person. In this way, they feel more comfortable instead of just a number when receiving a generic message. For example, you can greet your patient for his or her birthday.

To carry out an SMS campaign, you will need a database with the patients’ information. LabsMobile’s software has every feature for you to carry out a successful campaign. From sending messages in a massive, quick, and easy way to storing a detailed and segmented database and a control panel to verify all the results achieved by the campaign.

The advantages of SMS campaigns

SMS marketing brings about a number of benefits for clinics. In the first place, saving time. Messages enable mass and simultaneous communication instead of having to call each client individually.

There is also an economic side to it. On the one hand, you won’t be losing money out of late cancellations by patients. On the other hand, you will be earning money by selling new treatments or products. For example, you can offer them a supplementary treatment that is attractive for certain patients in particular.