By now, every forward-thinking dentist has realized the importance of establishing a digital presence for their practice. This presence usually takes the shape of a website which lists the dental procedures they offer, their contact information, and other details they feel a prospective patient  should know. Some may even provide regular updates on the practice and dentistry in general.

But what many dentists still don't realize is that having a website alone is not enough to attract patients to your practice in the digital world. That's like building a virtual house and hoping patients will stumble across it from Google searches or real-world referrals. In today's competitive virtual landscape, you need to actively seek out patients , and the best way to do so is through online marketing . Let's take a look at why email marketing should become an essential part of your online marketing strategy:

Extremely Cost Effective
With any sort of ad campaign, the chief worry is you won't get sufficient returns on the money spent on the campaign. Email marketing has been proven to have the highest rates of return on investment out of all digital marketing strategies. Making use of professional marketing platforms like Demandforce gives you the best chance of reaching a large number of patients. You can choose who to send your carefully crafted message to, successfully raising your profile above the competition.

Establishing a Relationship
The problem with only interacting with patients through your website is that it is a one-sided conversation. You can tell potential patients about your practice, but only small percentage of the visitors take the time to reach out via your "Contact" page.

With email marketing, you get the chance to craft personalized content that would be useful for specific patients. You are knocking on their virtual door every month or so, keeping them updated on your activities. This directly affects patient retention and loyalty, as it makes them feel like they are a member of your online community.

They See You As An Expert
If you send out an email newsletter every month to patients, you can fill the letter with useful advice. This does the double work of providing value for your patient's time spent reading the newsletter, while also setting you up as an expert in your field of work, and someone whose judgment can be trusted.

You can also use your inside knowledge of dentistry to share news of the latest treatments and procedures. There may be several patients on your mailing list who you can book appointments with if they know the full scope of what you offer.

You Can Ask for Reviews
It is no secret that the kind of reviews you get online play a large part in determining how many new patients give your service a shot. You need all the positive reviews you can get; but the fact is, most patients who engage your services might not bother to leave a review afterward.

Use email marketing to correct this habit. Send a brief message to your patients, asking if they are satisfied with your work. If they answer in the negative, it's an opportunity to receive possibly helpful feedback. If they answer positively, you can ask them to leave a review. Even if 1 out of 10 patients leave positive reviews, it can do a great deal of good for the reputation of your practice.

Get Creative
Gone are the days when newsletters consisted of large tracts of written material. Nowadays, you can use various forms of media to catch the reader's attention and make your newsletter stand out. Make a brief video presentation about an interesting new procedure that your practice offers. Provide a questionnaire that the reader can fill out to tell you how you can improve the patient experience at your practice. Such imaginative content will improve the chances of a back-and-forth conversation with your patients, which a simple wall of text cannot match.

If you feel developing such content is outside your area of expertise, you can always engage a third party to develop the newsletter on your behalf. Demandforce has a long history of crafting personalized newsletters and other email marketing strategies designed to draw in your patients.

Boost in Retention and Recall
What all the above-mentioned strategies ultimately result in is an immediate boost in patient retention and recall. Partnering with Demandforce means you get to improve communications with your patients, establish an online reputation that positions you as an expert in your field, and provide an approach to marketing that is geared towards getting the best results worth your time and effort.

Call (877) 360-3869 or visit demandforce.com/VirginiaDental for more info. Be sure to mention your VDA membership to get special pricing and waived setup.