If the year 2020 has taught people anything, it is that “change” is one of the few constants in life! As the familiar world which people once knew has been impacted by infectious disease, so have their thoughts, views, and expectations. Everyone changes with the fluidity of life, and the myriad of experiences that occur, leaving every moment different from those which preceded it. When the risk of illness, life-threatening or chronic, and its spiraling efficacy on daily life, becomes a reality, a patient’s desire for wellness, and a criteria for getting the best care and treatment, for the least cost, becomes paramount.
Physicians are often beleaguered by keeping current with the complexity of innovative treatments, while focusing on the care and management of chronic afflictions, and disease, using the very latest research data. How then, do medical practices find the bandwidth to perceive changes in patient expectancy, meet and surpass these requirements, and simultaneously attract new patients, needing quality care? Most harness a healthcare marketing agency to maximize patient acquisition, branding strategy and retention. Let’s explore several of their often-impactful strategies.
1: Embrace Marketing Technology:
- Empower Online Scheduling – This allows tech-savvy healthcare Marketing seekers and returning patients to schedule their appointments conveniently and easily, make changes in times and date, or even cancel, easily online. This accessibility demonstrates your patient comfort attributes, and that reaching out is quickly accomplished.
- Use Medical Chatbots – The software-based algorithms, or artificial intelligence, which have the capacity to interact with patients as a guide to patient portals, and connections to you and your office. These chatbots provide stellar patient (customer service) within seconds, and in 2021, and the future, quick contact is priceless.
- Telehealth – The pandemic has changed patient expectations to include avoiding being exposed to germ-laden environs. Consider the Coronavirus Time Warp whitepaper which explores the exponential surge in telehealth. Technology now provides access to healthcare Marketing remotely through virtual video consultations which lessen in-person visits, cut wait times, reduce expose to other illnesses, and its all done through an on-line patient portal. This is “techie-healthcare-heaven” for many patients with over-committed, busy lives.
2. Video Marketing – the Emotional Factor in Doctor Discernment
Online audiences today prefer videos which communicate information quickly without having to read. Videos can market a physician’s skills and the overarching practice value propositions, and they can convey much more. They are the catalyst for emotion. Your future patients get to see you, as they make a large, impactful decision in their healthcare Marketing provider. They hear your voice, notice your body language, discover your “bed-side” manner, welcoming dialogue, confidence, procedural prowess, and patience, as you articulate on your field of medicine, and frequently asked questions. Patient testimonials, added to your video, allow your viewers to see how current patients feel about you. Using video marketing, correctly, with placement on your site, YouTube and other well-chosen platforms, lets you and your brand stand out among the competition, to be the doctor patients chose in their health shopping quest.
3. Reputation Management – Building Excellent On-line Esteem
Offering the absolute best care and concern for your patients, builds your on-line, as well as real-time reputation. Physicians can, and do, proactively improve their on-line reputations by:
- Creating a reputation review strategy
- Monitoring their online reviews
- Asking their patients for truthful reviews and feedback
- Working with trusted influencers who have well-earned great respect
- Becoming reputable with the help of a strong marketing team, as being seen as a “knowledgeable, caring physician”, is priceless for yourself, your brand, and your patients.
4. Get an Expert Marketing Diagnosis for New Patients and Practice Growth
Finding the right medical marketing agency that specializes in patient acquisition and retention, as well as, branding services to help healthcare providers and larger healthcare systems thrive, is the best decision you will make to grow your brand, your reputation, and your patient numbers. Medical marketers know how to spotlight your strengths, such as longer after hours scheduling for patients, unique procedures well executed, a stand-out practitioner with rare skill, copious amounts of positive feedback, and will create strong messaging to promote these advantages. They will direct your relevant messages and conversations to the best social media platforms, to reach vast audiences, and get you the attention, and reputation you strive for and deserve.
Medical marketing experts will offer you the strategy, tactics, ideas, and fact-based data that culminate in reaching an enormous audience, through online social platforms, health directories, blogs, and much more. The future waits for no one, and its momentum is ever-increasing. Build a winning team immediately and aim for the stars.
Also Read: Why New Businesses Need to Pay More Attention to Big Data
