You’re a great medical professional. You’ve gone to school, you’ve gotten your certifications, and you have your own practice. Now you’ve grown in such a way you’re ready to take on new patients—but how do you attract them?
Here are a few marketing tips to gain new patients, and grow your practice even more.
Maintain a great online presence
Have a professional website, a well-written blog, and an active Facebook page and Twitter handle. Having a social media strategy to stay current is important but remember don’t participate in continuous shameless self-promotion because it won’t work. New patients will frequently search for a new doctor or dentist via the web. If you don’t have a site for your practice then they can’t find you. You can also make sure your practice is listed via Google Places so that it will show up on local searches.
Also be sure that your practice information is correct and current on the major insurance provider sites in your area. I recently changed my GP, and when trying to find a new one, I was shocked at how many outdated listings were posted on my insurance companies site.
Encourage referrals
Let your current patients know that you are accepting referrals. This can be through verbal confirmation when they come in, a sign posted at your practice—or even on your website. Word of mouth is a great way to gain new business and is one of the more highly regarded and trusted methods. You’re more likely to trust your friend telling you they have a great doctor than a random ad on the side of a bus stop.
Get out to events
Many communities sponsor health-related fitness events such fun runs, wellness days, and the like. This is a great opportunity to get out there and make your practice known. If you have the resources, consider becoming a co-sponsor of one of these events to meet potential patients—or even creating your own wellness event. It’s an ideal way for potential patients to meet you, and for you to gain their confidence.
Give out freebies
At first, this may seem a bit odd for a medical practice—but think about it. Everyone loves freebies. My favorite part of visiting my dentist as a kid was the stickers I got at the end of my cleaning. As a grown up, I still love stickers—but would love a free flu shot even more. Consider giving away a limited quantity of your service in an overall larger promotion. For example, at the start of the flu season, you could give away ten free flu shots to the first patients that register and come into the office.
Communication
Email marketing success can be broken down into two parts: reaching out to your future patients while maintaining contact and educating your existing patients. Automated email communications in a local healthcare practice have many effective uses and are essential in communicating with today’s Social Patient.
Make your patient’s (and office staff’s) lives easier
Many times at a medical practice, your patient’s lives are spent in the waiting room—it’s a frustration for them and for your staff. You want to see as many people as possible, and one of the major things that tie you up is paperwork. Consider emailing forms to patients the day before their appointment with you, so that they can print it out and fill it in before they even get to the office. It can cut down on wait times, and improve your overall patient experience.
We hope these tips will help you grow your practice. And if you need any financing to implement these tips and other business needs BriteCap is here to help.
