The world is currently enjoying unprecedented numbers of medical practitioners available to the public than ever before. In addition, growth in the number of medical institutions has kept up churning more and more practitioners.
Over 50% of the professionals venture into private practices through the running of consultancies and clinics. Over time, competition for the same pool of clients has stiffened. As a result, it is now necessary for such practices to employ tested and proven marketing strategies to enhance their chances of getting clients. We have identified effective marketing strategies for practitioners who eye increased revenues in their practices:
1. Setting up an active and vibrant website
Websites are online platforms through which necessary information about an organization is displayed for ease of access by clients. It is available to customers all the time.
Websites have enabled many businesses to bridge the gap between enterprises and their clients. Most clients prefer the website for solutions or answers to their questions.
Well-designed and managed websites have proven to be a preferred portal through which first-time clients interact with most specialist businesses. It enables the owner to be available for consultation around the clock. Our clients prefer using limited time to capture the right information.
Building a website is no longer complicated and expensive. Many website designers can assist us in setting up our websites. Through websites, a business owner can also publish articles and upload them regularly to address emerging issues. It captures our audience and provides a competitive edge.
2. Establish ourselves as an information source for publishers and writers
The majority of journalists that write on medicine and related subjects are not necessarily medical practitioners. Therefore, when writing articles for print and video dispensation, they seek input from professionals. In some cases, clients might request us to write an entire article for publishing.
As business owners, we can take advantage and showcase our technical strengths to the market. In addition, regular writings tend to elevate the brand. Once the journalists refer to our input in writing and quoting us or our business as sources of information, our medical practice benefits through increased visits from the readers. The public tends to trust in what they perceive as genuine and authentic, especially on health matters.
Being quoted on leading papers and website depicts us as credible practitioners. That’s what most consumers look for regarding health. Alternatively, we could set up our publication through which the journalists can retrieve information and have them refer to our publishment as the source.
3. Establish a patient referral program
Word of mouth is depicted as the credible and fastest means of marketing. For businesses seeking growth in customer numbers, this model is the surest one to gain loyal clients. Once a patient experiences excellent services from the caregiver, they shall likely share the feedback with close relatives and friends.
As a result, they develop confidence in our practice and take it up with minimal reservations.
Businesses go as far as developing business cards and greetings cards to remind the client to share with their loved ones. The medical practitioner will only have to match the promised service levels. Doctors are known for their provision of top-notch care and showing genuine concern for their patients.
It makes our clients find it easy to refer others to our clinics. Doctors should ensure they follow up to let their referring patients know how much we appreciate them with a handwritten note, phone call, or small token.
4. Send an email newsletter
It is advisable that for every visit to the doctor’s office, all the clients’ contact details be recorded and stored for future interactions. Through the stored contact information, we can build a portfolio from which to generate improved business.
The easiest and most common way of making follow-ups with the client is through developing a newsletter. Such publications could be of an appropriate cycle.
We should then endeavor to have shared the newsletter through the clients’-mails by making cold calls and setting up appointments. This strategy has been used successfully for the better part of this century.
Noteworthy is the fact that it should not be a full-blown publication but a simple informative write-up. Capturing email addresses and regularly emailing our list of contacts drives traffic to our website, blog, and social network pages. In addition, it attracts additional appointment requests and referrals.
Therefore, we should start by collecting subscribers from our existing client and referral base and our social media followers.
5. Build a profile online
Modern patients carry out their searches for services and goods online through random searches. It is thus essential for a medical practice to establish a profile online. This profile should be able to pop up in most Medicare-related searches through techniques like search engine optimization.
The online presence should cut through all the popular social media platforms. The strong brand being depicted on one platform should resonate with the others.Some of the leading social media platforms to best boost our business are Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We only need access to the internet, and we are good to go.
For novices to focus on their core business, established consultants can help boost their online presence at a fee.
Through the online presence, we should respond swiftly and accurately to our customers and potential ones. Being a health-oriented enterprise, some of the online queries might be urgent. Therefore, our consistent presence is paramount.
Final thoughts
All these strategies rely on the business’s target market, budget allocation, and the expected results. Consultants can assist us in all these tasks at a more precise and cost-friendly remedy, depending on our needs. Generally, the majority of these strategies are interdependent.
They create a perfect synergy replicating excellence to a client through all the platforms. As technology keeps evolving, new avenues of marketing are developed and launched into the market. We need to keep abreast with developing concepts and technology to remain relevant in our industry. These five marketing ideas are surefire ways of growing your medical practice.
