Email Campaign Design & Deployment

The ultimate goal of any email marketer is for deployments to have high deliverability, open, and click-through rates, leading to improved audience engagement. None of that can happen if your email ends up being routed to physicians’ spam folders.

It’s important to understand the different types of spam traps—as well as the damage they incur—in order to avoid ending up on a blacklist or blocklist.

Successful email deployments involve both art and science. The creative side encompasses content, graphics, and enticing call to actions. The scientific contribution rests heavily on the data contained in your physician email list.

Unfortunately, like in the medical and technology arenas, database science can be flawed. For example, many list vendors use methods such as scraping the web for physician email addresses or manufacturing addresses based on a health system’s presumed naming conventions (e.g. d.tompkins@healthsystem.com).

I love a good road trip. As a father of four, I realize there are a lot of moving parts when we all pile into the car—the vehicle itself, the driver, a tuned-up engine, and guidance to our destination via a trusty GPS. These necessary parts provide a helpful analogy to all the components involved in an email deployment.

In this video, I break down how each element plays an integral part.

When you send an email to your physician audience, the goal is not only for them to open it, but also to read it. You’ve spent the time and money to craft those emails and want that effort to be recognized.

Paying heed to your deployments’ read rate is imperative for ensuring you’re capturing the attention of physician recipients.

Authenticity is important in a variety of purchasing situations, from fine art to sports memorabilia. You’d be more than disappointed to find out something you spent your hard earnings on was not what it was made out to be, which is why guarantees are standard.

Is your email database compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)?

This is one of the most frequent questions we hear in our conversations with hospitals. For healthcare marketers, this is a valid concern since HIPAA is closely monitored and comes with strict penalties that can result in millions of dollars in fines.

In order to optimize your email campaigns, there is one thing you need to be doing continuously: testing. If you’re just starting to test, we suggest you begin A/B testing with one variable at a time. Although A/B testing can be simple, such as identifying if a question or statement works better as a subject line, it’s important to establish an objective and hypothesis for your tests. This ensures you know what is being tested and why.

Health system CEOs have a substantial undertaking. Given the current spirit of the holiday season, you might compare a CEO to a certain jolly fellow in the North Pole and the great responsibility that accompanies his role.

Of course, Santa’s advantage is that he has all those extra helpers. If you’ve ever seen Elf or a similar holiday movie, you know his elves are efficient, productive, and happy. To quote Will Ferrell’s character, “Smiling’s my favorite.” And, elves are always aligned in mission—something not always possible for hospital marketing and healthcare staffing departments, given their varying responsibilities.

In 2018, hospital marketers faced a number of challenges. Attracting—and retaining—referrals, building physician loyalty, and growing service lines are always top of mind for hospital marketers. As we head into the new year, the goal of maintaining top marks on the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals list takes center stage.

The good news is, a responsible email approach is an effective way to address these challenges. As 2019 inches closer by the minute, keep these three things at the top of your hospital marketing checklist:

The rise of digital communications means our inboxes are fuller than ever. Think back to the overwhelm of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when it seemed every single entity you’d ever given your email address to (and maybe some you didn’t) was emailing with some sort of offer. While those are exceptionally frantic days, using email as a regular means of communication will continue to grow.

How can you ensure your emails stand out in your healthcare providers’ overflowing inboxes? It starts with providing value. Doing so will condition your physicians to recognize your messages as important and worthwhile.