Patients today have a variety of choices for where they get care, and they aren’t going to choose a certain healthcare system just because they don’t have any other options. There are many factors that determine where an individual chooses to get care, and growing your practice is highly competitive. Creating a strong marketing strategy will help you stand out.
Offer Payment Options
Healthcare has become more expensive, and health insurance doesn’t always cover what patients need. This has resulted in increased medical debt and higher costs for patients. Healthcare systems also have increased costs and more complex processes. Offering payment plans gives a way to meet in the middle so patients can get treatment, while also an optimal way to grow the practice by not only retaining, but attracting new patients.
Improve the Online Experience
A good website is critical for increasing engagement, especially when it comes to providing information. A strong website is at the heart of your growth strategy because it allows you to bring your marketing strategy together with each aspect. It's important to ensure your site is optimized for both desktop and mobile devices. You should also make sure the messaging is consistent across your website and other outreach methods. Optimizing your website for search engines will get it in front of consumers looking for healthcare providers.
Every day, people search for everything from conditions to medications to symptoms, and getting reliable suggestions or advice in front of these people will garner new business. Using pay-per-click advertising is another way to get in front of as many potential patients as possible. When someone needs care quickly, they are more likely to click on a pay-per-click ad. You will only pay when someone decides to click on your ad, so it can have a high return on your investment.
Expand Your Social Media Presence
Social media is no longer optional for today’s businesses. In fact, many customers see a business as being behind the times if that business doesn’t have a strong social media presence. Social media will help you build trust with your patients because it’s a place for your patients to learn about your values and the way others view you.
Consistent posting is important but so is having direction for your social media presence. Because of HIPAA and privacy considerations, you will need to be cautious in how you approach conversations with patients on social media. Many health systems outsource their social media needs.
Retain Current Patients
It's easy to put all the focus on bringing new patients into your healthcare system and mistakenly assume they will keep coming back. While this approach may have worked in the past, it is no longer a viable method. Today, there are more healthcare choices than ever, and if a patient feels they can get better care elsewhere, they will have no concerns in leaving.
To ensure they keep coming back, it’s important to also focus on increasing satisfaction. It's a good idea to have a complete profile for each person in your system, so it will be easy to tell if there are other services or events to help them manage their health. This gives the patient a more valuable experience.
Focus on Content
Content marketing refers to a variety of strategies, including blog posts, resources, and symptom checkers. Content marketing should be focused on providing answers to frequently asked questions. Before you spend time creating content, take some time to review your business insights to see what questions are commonly being asked. You can then form your content around the things your patients want to know.
Continually Improve
Putting campaigns out is only part of the equation. You also need to watch how well specific activities work to retain and acquire new patients. Using A/B testing is a common marketing strategy to compare two campaigns to determine which one works the best. You can then invest all your efforts in the more successful of the two. You can also see how marketing campaigns are likely to perform by using predictive models. Today's consumers are looking for businesses to provide more personalized experiences, but many healthcare providers are behind in providing a more personalized experience.
Consider investing in a contact center solution, which will help you provide personalized content based on demographic information and healthcare insights. It's easy to get caught up in the things that will help you grow, but it’s still important to experiment, even if you’re not always successful. Failure is a greater learning opportunity than success, and this can help you come up with a strategy that works better than any competitors.
Ask for Reviews
Consumers are looking at reviews now more than ever, so getting reviews will help your business become more trusted. Reach out to satisfied patients to ask them to leave a positive review on your website, third-party sites, or social media.
