How to Approach Healthcare Marketing
Marketing your healthcare practice takes more than a few billboards and social media posts. Ultimately, it comes down to the environment you create and the dedicated medical professionals that help run it. Unfortunately, juggling everything that goes into developing a successful healthcare clinic can sometimes become difficult. Patients have high expectations for every step of their experience visiting your practice. Starting from your healthcare call center and ending with post-operative attention and care, you should ensure that each and every employee is dedicated to providing patients with the best possible experience.
Looking at healthcare marketing from a wide lens can be daunting – where are you supposed to begin? Should certain departments get more attention since they are more visible to patients? Should you allocate more funds to social media marketing or are there more effective avenues? With all these questions in mind, the thought of marketing your practice may seem impossible. Luckily, these seven principles can help you navigate this intricate task and guide you in your decision-making.
At NewGen Marketing, we believe in an inclusive, modern approach to healthcare marketing. This is because we have seen the significant results of clinics that choose to develop their marketing strategy before opening their doors. This includes implementing a healthcare call center, developing a social media plan, creating a modern website and relevant content, and working to build a dedicated team of medical professionals and strong leaders. Continue reading to see the NewGen approach by learning about the seven principles of healthcare marketing.
1. Put the Patient First.
For many patients, one of the most difficult steps of treatment is making the decision to seek it. After receiving a diagnosis, it can be daunting, and many individuals will try to hold off for a while in hopes their condition resolves on its own. Therefore, when a patient comes into your practice, they are trusting you with a huge responsibility. Putting the patient first is the number one rule when it comes to healthcare.
When patients feel heard and valued, they are significantly more likely to return and potentially recommend your clinic to others. Throughout a patient’s visit, you should ensure there are accommodations to make them feel comfortable. This level of care should extend to after their appointment as well. Whether a patient needs medical records or has questions about additional treatment, your medical professionals should always be available to answer any follow-up questions and provide assistance.
2. Honesty is Key.
Growing up, we are taught to trust medical professionals. Therefore, the worst thing you can do as a medical professional is to mislead your patients or not be honest with them. This is also very important when it comes to your marketing strategy. Whether you are posting on social media or writing educational articles for potential patients, it should always be your intention to stay honest.
It takes time to build trust. Think about your first visit to a therapist. Initially, it can be difficult to break down your walls and share everything that is on your mind. However, after a few visits, and built trust, you are able to open up. This is no different from any other doctor. Through time and candidness, doctors can gain the trust of their patients.
3. Be Accessible.
It has become increasingly difficult for patients to see specialty doctors and surgeons these days. Sometimes, patients need to wait months just to get in with the specialist they have been needing to see. Sometimes, this wait is associated with prestige, however, many patients do not bother waiting and continue their search for a different doctor. Therefore, accessibility is absolutely essential for any growing practice.
Accessibility extends past appointments as well. When it comes to your practice’s healthcare call center, it is important that your agents are always available to help patients with questions or access to documents that they may need. Creating an accessible environment where patients can get help when needed has become a priority for patients as they seek healthcare providers.
4. Stay Ahead.
When patients are searching for a healthcare provider, they are looking for someone that uses modern medical technology to offer them the best care. Now that minimally invasive surgical procedures and advanced imaging technologies are available, patients are constantly looking for more. It is important to ensure you have your hands on modern machinery and equipment to maintain your patients and acquire more.
Healthcare is an ever-evolving industry where new breakthroughs happen each and every day. As your patients begin hearing about these modern advances, it is only time before they begin asking about it. Make sure your patients are getting the best care by becoming a thought leader in your industry.
5. Cover Every Base.
As we were talking about earlier, healthcare marketing encompasses a broad array of mediums. For the most efficient marketing approach, it is important that your team fully utilizes each avenue of communication. A solid social media presence is nothing without a functional website. A team of expert medical professionals is nothing without quality marketing. The key to a successful healthcare practice is to dedicate time and funds to each marketing region to create a cohesive marketing strategy.
6. Value Feedback.
The only true way to see how your practice is doing is by gathering patient reviews and testimonials. This allows your team to see what they are excelling at and what may need some work. Not only do reviews help your team become better, but they can also be a great way to get new patients in the door.
Patient reviews and testimonials can also be used in many forms. Google reviews are significantly important when it comes to acquiring new patients. Research has found that 70% of individuals read online reviews before committing to an appointment at a new healthcare practice.
7. Spread Positivity.
We understand that healthcare is not always the most positive industry. In fact, it can sometimes be difficult for many patients to seek medical help out of fear that nothing can be done. Therefore, it is fully the job of healthcare professionals to stay positive and ensure patients have a good outlook on their treatment path.
How Can NewGen Help?
NewGen Marketing is a modern marketing agency specializing in healthcare. We understand the difficulties that come with healthcare marketing, and it is our goal to help our clients build a patient base and maintain it. We offer a variety of services to help clients optimize their marketing strategies. This includes social media management, content creation, call center services, and general marketing attention.
Our social media team is dedicated to creating engaging content that helps drive potential patients to your page. We do this through location targeting and SEO. When it comes to building content for your website, we utilize SEO and SEM strategies to drive more traffic to your website. Additionally, our website design team ensures that websites are easy to navigate and access. Our healthcare call center team goes above and beyond to ensure all patients feel valued and heard. Unlike traditional call centers, our agents dedicate time to building connections and trust with their patients. Contact us today for more information on working with NewGen.