As you introduce telehealth services in your wellness business, the next step is to market those services to current or potential clients in order to get clients to book virtual sessions with you.  By implementing basic marketing tactics, you will be able to create a streamlined marketing strategy for your telehealth services.

To help you develop your telehealth marketing skills and best practices, this guide walks you step-by-step through tips and tactics, and ways to use Healthie to elevate your strategy.  

Step 1: Notify your current clients of telehealth offerings

The first place to market your telehealth services is to your already existing clients.  It has been shown that it is more beneficial to retain current clients than obtain new ones, so try selling your services to them first.  For many clients, switching to virtual care will be well-received. Recent research shows that 70 percent of patients are comfortable communicating with their health care providers via text, e-mail or video, in lieu of seeing them in person.

Here are some ways you can notify clients that you are offering telehealth sessions:

• Send an email blast to all customers on your mailing list
• Update your email confirmations and appointment reminders to let clients know this is an option (instead of canceling or rescheduling)
• Update your website homepage with a notification of the new services

Step 2: Add your booking calendar to your website

Embedding your calendar into your website or landing page creates a clear and professional portal for wellness clients to self-book an appointment. Research shows that people increasingly prefer to book their healthcare appointments online. Adding the ability to schedule on your website will increase the likelihood that prospective wellness clients will schedule with you.  It eliminates the “in-between” steps of calling or emailing.

Allowing existing and new clients to quickly book an appointment with your office independently not only provides the convenience they are seeking but saves your office resources.

See how easy it is to add online booking to your practice website with Healthie’s embeddable calendar.

Step 3: Create an Email Campaign

An email campaign is designed to pique the interest of your prospective client, tell them more about the services you’re offering and push them to move forward and buy a package or book a session.  While in the past you may have marketed your in-person sessions, now is the time to offer a new service that other providers don’t.  

Tips for a good email campaign:

✨ Build a real connection with prospective clients

It is unlikely that clients will be ready to book with you after just one interaction, especially if it is just over email.   It takes a little bit of time, and consistent “touch-points,” for a prospective client to feel like they trust you. Every email provides an opportunity for you to build on that relationship. Aim to be authentic and relatable. Over time, and through these series of touch-points, prospective leads can be nurtured into becoming a paying customer.

Typically, setting up a “trigger email,” campaign is used when a client (or prospective client) first signs up. They can receive a series of automated emails to help walk them through the early stages of a service or program. Keep these emails personalized, so any client that receives it still feels like they are connecting with you (as opposed to a clerical-type email).

✨ Provide a drip of valuable information over time

When marketing telehealth services, you may be marketing a concept that is completely new to some or all of your leads.  It is unlikely that they will be ready to book after just being introduced to telehealth.  Create an email campaign that, over time, shares the benefits and how-tos of telehealth.  This will give your prospective clients time to become familiar with telehealth, and understand how it could work for their nutritional care.  

✨ Add in a call-to-action, to turn a prospective client into a paying client

A “call-to-action” is a button that you include in your email, asking a lead to take the next step. Every email campaign should have an end-goal in mind: what action do you eventually want your leads to take? Is it to sign up to work with you, or to purchase a new service you’re offering? Thinking this through with each campaign will help you craft the right message, tailored for your client, and nurture them to take the next steps.

Some call-to-action examples used in nutritional care:

• Book your free discovery call
• Sign up now
• Purchase now
• Book your session
• Join our group
• Get your copy today

Step 4: Post on Social Media About New Telehealth Services

Social media is the perfect outlet for marketing to those who are mildly interested in your services but have not taken the first step towards booking with you yet.  Like a drip-email campaign, create a social media campaign for your telehealth services that educate followers over a period of time.  Be sure to share initially what your new services are, how they are beneficial, and how you will work together using telehealth.

Dripping this information over a period of time will keep your business top of mind for prospective clients, as they will repeatedly see your posts on social media when scrolling.  Each post serves as a reminder that you are available and ready to work with them.  

Step 5: Host a webinar Introducing Clients to Telemedicine

Hosting a webinar is a great way to not only introduce those interested to your services, but also to you.  Viewers will be able to hear your voice, listen to you speak, and get a better feel for your personality and if you would be a good fit for them.  It is a perfect stepping stone for getting clients to sign up for a discovery call.  

Tip: When speaking about your services, be sure to offer the webinar for free.  This will give potential clients the opportunity to get to know you and learn more about your business without the pressure of commitment.  

We suggest breaking your webinar up into three sections: 1. What is telehealth? 2. Why is it beneficial when providing nutritional care? and 3. Here are my telehealth offerings

It is important to focus your webinar on why your telehealth services are going to benefit them.  You can talk about the convenience, the new technological capabilities, and the increased support you will offer.  

Be sure to include a call-to-action at the end of the webinar, encouraging viewers to book a free discovery call, purchase a package, or even just send you an email to learn more.  

Step 6: Create a Telehealth package

Creating a telehealth package for your new services not only increases value for your clients but is a more profitable strategy for you in the long-term.  

When a client books a one-time visit, they can only achieve so much change in one interaction.  On the other hand, a package of visits will allow clients to make real strides towards change.  Offering a package gives clients the opportunity to invest in their health, by providing them the timing, accountability, and resources to achieve their long-term wellness goals.  

Building a telehealth package for clients to purchase will also help keep your schedule full.  Packages that include multiple follow-ups will ensure that a session is always on the calendar.

Sample telehealth wellness package:

• 1 initial session – 60 minutes
• 5 follow-up sessions – 30 minutes each
• Weekly food journal reviews + progress check-ins
• Between appointment chat support

Marketing Your Telehealth Services with Healthie  

The Healthie Telehealth platform allows you to easily connect with your clients for virtual nutrition and wellness sessions. Even more, virtual care goes beyond video-conferencing. Whether you meet with your clients virtually or in-person, you can utilize the Healthie Telehealth platform to chat, review photo-based food journal logs, and share e-documents to support your clients between sessions.

Your membership with Healthie provides you with the following telehealth capabilities:

• One-on-one video calls
• Group video-conferencing (Integration with Zoom)
• Screen-sharing during video sessions
• Take notes during your client video-call
• Host group webinars
• Create an online program or educational series

To make the most of the telehealth features available to you, we’ve compiled some additional Healthie resources. Utilize these resources to gain a strong understanding of practicing telehealth, connecting with your clients virtually, and marketing your telehealth services.

Learn more about telehealth.

Visit our Healthie Telehealth Guides for important information on telehealth regulations, sample telehealth forms, and telehealth billing information.