10 Marketing Techniques to Grow Your Medical Practice
Marketing your business is one of the most important keys to ensure consistent customers and revenue allowing you to grow your medical practice. To succeed in private practice today, you must have a solid marketing plan that leverages modern tools, techniques and platforms.
Here Are 5 Modern Approaches to Market and Grow Your Medical Practice
#1 – Social Media
Social media is a great way to reach your existing patients as well as potential new patients to grow your medical practice. Although you need to be careful due to patient privacy issues, if done right, the patient engagement you can generate will yield big payoffs for your practice.
For example, you could create a challenge in which you ask your Facebook followers to answer health related questions. Prizes could be awarded to those that answer correctly. This is also a great way to educate your followers, and to show that you are an authority in your field.
Consider posting videos about your practice. Employee video bios are a great way to spotlight your staff and yourself. They allow your followers a “behind the scene” look at the people that they have or may encounter at your practice. This makes a potential new patient feel more comfortable by allowing them to get to know you and your staff before they schedule an appointment.
#2 – Website
Having an online presence is vital to the success of your practice. Your website should contain a description of your services, practice location, telephone number, and a secure contact form. Use images and/or videos to highlight details about your practice. You could consider adding a dedicated page that integrates your patient portal directly to your website. Lastly, make certain that your website uses a mobile friendly design and layout as many visitors will be accessing your site from a mobile phone or tablet.
#3 – Blogging
Health information is readily available online, but not all of what’s available is accurate. Many adults search online for reliable health information. Now that you have a great website in place, load it up with informative content. Create quality blog posts on your website to help educate patients, and to establish yourself as an expert in your area.
#4 – SEO
SEO, or search engine optimization, is vital for any website. Proper SEO increases your ranking in search engines allowing you to be found more easily by patients. Although there are some specific methods that should be employed on web pages and blog posts, one thing is certain, “content is king”. You will increase your visibility in search engines by consistently creating valuable content for your readers.
#5 – Practice Marketing Software
Practice marketing software can help you manage your online reputation. It does this by monitoring and improving patient satisfaction, improving communications between you and your patients, as well as helping you to manage online reviews.
Just like reading reviews on Amazon before making a purchase, consumers of health care services will frequently read reviews before choosing a health care provider.
Your online reputation is extremely important to the success of your practice. This is also an important factor in how you will appear in search results. Preference is given to those with more positive reviews.
Here Are 5 Traditional Marketing Approaches to Grow Your Medical Practice
#1 – Reminder Calls and Emails
Keeping patients you already have is easier and less expensive than attracting new ones.
Consider setting up calls or emails about upcoming appointments, missed appointments or annual screenings. Patients are busy just like you. A simple phone call or email may be all it takes to get them back in your office.
#2 – Ask for Referrals
Referrals are the best and least expensive way to gain new clients regardless of the industry.
Try connecting with colleagues in different specialties to learn about what they do and how you might be able to refer patient to each other. Also, talk to your current patients about their family and friends. Don’t neglect an opportunity to ask them for a referral.
#3 – Direct Mail
Direct mail is a great way to connect with past, existing and potentially new patients.
Consider mailing a flyer or postcard highlighting a new service or in recognition of an upcoming event or an awareness month.
#4 – Be Active in Your Local Community
A few great ways to get word out about your practice includes: speaking events, guest writing in local publications, sponsoring an athletic team or community event, and being active in your local Chamber of Commerce.
#5 – Partnering with Local Businesses
Local business can be a great source of new patients.
Businesses in your area would likely welcome a speaker to discuss health related topics with their employees. You could also consider offering an on-site health fair in which screenings could be provided.
There are certainly additional marketing approaches that may work for you in your area, but this list is a great way to get started. Place an emphasis on reactivating established patients. Use some of these suggestions to attract new patients. Combined, you should see a new wave of patients coming to your practice that are in need of your services.
If you have any questions or need help with marketing and growing your medical practice, call (844) 424-5537 or contact us here.
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