Pizza night in my house can get pretty competitive. Everyone hovers around the table, ready to dive in for a slice, wanting to grab their share before anyone else gets it. In some ways, this reminds me of how healthcare organizations today compete for the limited attention of physicians in order to build and strengthen relationships, increase referrals, and ultimately grow their systems.

Personalization Matters

But just as there are different pizza toppings for different tastes, not all physicians will have the same needs. For health systems then, the need to tailor their messages to specific physicians is key, especially when trying to engage the physicians with the greatest potential to bring in more business. One way to start tailoring your communications is by segmenting your physician database.

Deploy very strategic campaigns that make it easy for physicians to see the benefits you offer

For instance, you can narrow down your list by:

• Physician specialty
• Geographic location
• Hospital affiliations
• Prescribing data

Understanding Your Recipients

These details allow you to get a clear picture of the physicians you are targeting so you can tailor your messages to their interests. This enables you to deploy very strategic campaigns that make it easy for physicians to see the benefits you offer.

In addition, you can use metrics to understand the referral patterns of your physicians to identify those who are sending patients outside of your network. This information can be used to identify which physicians needs more information about the services you provide. You can also promote the benefits of keeping patients in your system, such as: the level of expertise your physicians bring to patients, procedure success rates, high patient satisfaction scores, and convenience of electronic health records.

Responding to Physician Needs

Incorporating data into your messages will be particularly well-received by physicians

Knowing the preferred email address (work or home) of a physician can also make a big difference in getting physicians to open your content and engage with it. Also, be sensitive to a physician’s busy schedule. If you understand their email open patterns, you can send messages at a day and time they are most likely to read and respond. Keep in mind that most recipients read on mobile devices, so you’ll want to be sure your message renders correctly.

Demonstrating Value

Finally, developing clear subject lines and preheaders also lets busy healthcare professionals know what the email is about up front. If your message is tailored to their interests and your subject line hooks them in, they are more likely to open and engage with your email. Incorporating data into your messages will be particularly well-received by physicians.

When it comes to claiming your piece of the pie as you strive to grow your health system, remember that using email strategically to engage your physicians can bring lots of benefits.