If you want to increase the flow of new patients and their loyalty, this article is just what you need right now because I will share 52 simple but effective marketing strategies for doctors.
Note: Most medical marketing tactics mentioned
here will also work to grow any health establishment in the medical sector.
They are not just for doctors.
Table of Contents
- Marketing strategies to increase the flow of new
patients
- Strategies to gain the trust of potential patients and
retain current patients
- Strategies to improve the experience that your patient
has in your medical office
- Strategies to improve your sales skills
- Advanced Digital Medical Marketing Strategies
- Schedule a call with us or send us your questions
Marketing strategies
to increase the flow of new patients
The following digital
and traditional marketing strategies focus on quickly attracting first-time
patients.
1. Hire a Healthcare Marketing Agency
If you don't want to rack your brain, you can
simply hire a medical marketing agency (or hire an agency that at least has
experience in the medical industry) to do the hard work for you.
I cordially invite you
to schedule a no-obligation telephone consultation with me, one of our
collaborators, to create the medical marketing strategy of your private
practice or medical center.
2. Create your
website, your main asset in digital media
And make sure your web
pages are mobile-friendly (meaning they display smoothly on them). Having a
site with good web design is currently essential in medical marketing. Even
referred patients check out your site before coming to you to learn more about
you.
Consult our guide to
know what a website for doctors should have when making your web design.
3. Advertise on Google
Ads
Google Ads campaigns
are one of the most effective types of advertising digital media and allow you
to appear on the Internet just when a potential patient is looking for a doctor
with your medical specialty. Out of all the medical marketing strategies
mentioned in this article, the Google Ads strategy is my favorite.
4. Sign up for Google
My Business
With Google My Business, you will appear on
the Google map when a potential patient is looking for a private office to be
attended.
5. Position yourself
in Google (SEO positioning)
Although it is a long-term tactic, you can
rank your web pages in Google without paying a penny. To achieve that, you need
to implement SEO techniques (also known as SEO positioning) on your website.
The combination of Google Ads, Google My Business, and natural positioning in
Google will obtain the best results for your practice.
Checklist: 6 Steps To
Increase Your Patients In Less Than 30 Days
6. Use Facebook Ads or
Instagram Ads
Paid Facebook and Instagram ads are commonly
used by doctors with plastic and bariatric surgery specialties. Some of them
attract dozens of surgeries each month through this medium.
7. Register in
internet medical directories
Most medical directories are useless. However,
in each country, 1 or 2 leading directories provide new patients to their
doctors and Health professionals. Therefore, it is worth considering if you are
looking for an effective medical office marketing strategy.
8. Advertise with
influencers on social networks
Influencers charge a lot of money for a
mention on their networks, but you can get extraordinary results when you
select the right influencer from one day to the next.
9. Build relationships
with colleagues
Again, it takes time and effort, but there can
be a flood of new patients when you have relationships with the right
colleague.
10. Create a referral
plan
It is not a very popular option among doctors,
but creating a referral plan can increase your patients' chances to refer you
to their friends and family.
11. Make a commercial
on local television
Running local TV advertising campaigns can be
extremely powerful (although very expensive).
12. Do a commercial on
local radio
In small towns, radio advertising campaigns
can be very effective in attracting new patients.
Strategies to gain the
trust of potential patients and retain current patients
The following digital marketing in
healthcare strategies focus on gaining the trust of the potential patient
who has not yet visited you and of the one who already knows you. With them,
you will increase their chances of choosing you over your competitors.
13. Develop a personal
brand
A personal brand is not just about having a
good web design or a good medical logo. Instead, developing a personal brand is
about creating and executing a strategy to stay present in the mind of your
patient and your potential patient. You can accomplish this by implementing one
or more of the tips below.
14. Content creation
on Instagram
This social network is today's reality show.
Posting useful content and content about your personal life will keep your
patient engaged. Posting content very frequently is an extremely effective
physician marketing strategy.
15. Creation of
content on Facebook
Facebook is worldwide used social networking
site on the planet, and your patient is on it. So posting content frequently
will keep you top of mind.
16. Open your YouTube
channel
Many doctors and health professionals have
become YouTubers. Thanks to this social network, their patients remain loyal
and make themselves known to new patients.
17. Post content on
your website blog
If you are one of the doctors afraid of
cameras, you can create a blog on your website and publish articles written
with useful information for your patients. Make sure your blog has a great web
design and a good experience for the potential patient.
18. Give your patients
a behind-the-scenes experience
Patients love to learn
about the doctor's personal and professional life. You can share your life's
"behind the scenes" on social networks to hook your patients.
19. Make helpful
videos for your patients
Currently, video is
the Internet's communication vehicle par excellence. Creating helpful videos
with information that makes your patients' lives easier will help you be
perceived as a leading doctor.
20. Get testimonials
from your patients
Nothing convinces you more than the fact of
seeing another person recommending you. You can get written testimonials, but
video testimonials are the most powerful. Wherever possible, use testimonials
in your physician marketing strategy.
21. He gives lectures
It's hard work, but
lecturing to the general public can help you build a large audience of
patients. In addition, you can record these conferences and share them as
content on your website and your social networks.
22. Write a book for
your patients
Not everyone is encouraged to do this, but
writing and publishing a book instantly positions you as an expert in your
patient's eyes. Even your colleagues perceive you as someone more professional,
increasing the chances that they will also refer patients to you.
23. Create your
podcast (an audio program)
More and more people have a podcast that they
post on Spotify and other audio platforms, and some doctors are doing it too.
Although most do it for fashion, podcasts can be a useful tool to retain
patients. However, it is worth knowing that popularizing a podcast is an
extremely difficult marketing strategy for doctors to implement and that the
results will come in the long term.
24. Create a webinar
Another powerful tool is to create an online
presentation (or webinar) and share it live or pre-recorded on social media.
25. Implement an email
marketing strategy
Email is one of the most personal means of
communication out there. With email marketing, you can send useful information
to your patients from time to time through their email.
26. Create a PDF ebook
You can also offer
your patients the option to download a PDF on your website with useful tips for
their day-to-day life.
27. Hire a public
relations specialist
These advisers can get mentions and interviews
on television, radio, and websites. Once you have these mentions or interviews,
you can feature them in your practice or website to improve the patient's
perception of you.
28. Place buttons on
your website to follow you on social networks.
Buttons should not be
missing on your website so that your patients can also follow you on your
social networks.
29. Tell patients who
visit you to follow you on social networks It is worth reminding the patient who visits
you that there is the option of following you on networks to obtain advice to
improve their health.
30. Obtain positive
opinions from your patients on your digital platforms
Potential patients who don't know you yet
consider the opinions that other patients left you on your digital platforms.
Try to have a good amount of positive opinions to convince the patient that he
is considering seeing you. I always say that this is one of the doctors' most
powerful marketing strategies. The time you spend soliciting these opinions
from your patients is well spent.
31. Make a physical
gallery in your doctor's office with all your recognitions
You can't verbally brag to the patient about
everything you've accomplished because he'll perceive you as cocky and
arrogant. However, you can hang or place your awards, publications, and
interviews in your office so that the patient can see them without you having
to say so. Let your practice speak for you.
32. Create an FAQ
section on your website
Something that the patient also likes is the
websites that answer their questions. Most of the time, patients ask the same
questions. So adding an FAQ section to your website will help the patient
perceive you as the doctor who helped them solve part of their problem. And
that makes you earn their trust, which is very important to build loyalty.
33. Make sure all your
advertising materials have a persuasive copy
For example, suppose you have a website or
informational brochures that explain your medical services or procedures. In
that case, you must make sure that the texts and the arrangement of the
information are persuasive enough for the patient to be convinced that you are
the most suitable option—indicated for him.
34. Always accept when
you are invited to participate in an interview or a question and answer panel
Recording or photographing this type of event
can enhance the gallery mentioned in one of the previous points. In addition,
these photos or videos can also boost the credibility of your marketing by
mentioning such entries on your website.
35. Create an
attractive logo and brand for your patient
Although this does not
make a huge difference, having a well-designed logo and colors that identify
your brand can make the patient perceive you as a more professional doctor.
Strategies to improve
the experience that your patient has in your medical office
These strategies are
focused on improving the experience that the patient experiences when visiting
your office in person.
36. Make sure your
secretary answers the phone in a friendly and helpful manner
This point is extremely important, but most
doctors ignore it.
37. Improve the
experience that your patient lives in your medical office
What does your patient feel when they visit
your office? It will always be important that you try to control what the
patient experiences during the entire process he goes through when he comes to
consult with you, from the call, until the end of his treatment. At this point,
it is worth considering the decoration and design of your medical office.
38. Make sure your
prescriptions and other stationery look professional
I have seen recipes that are half a sheet of
paper cut in half with a ruler, and I have seen recipes that the doctor had
professional designers design. Both serve the same purpose, but each generates
a different perception in the patient.
39. Decorate your
office attractively
An office with folding chairs is not the same
as an office with modern armchairs. All this provokes a perception and experience
in the patient. We leave you our guide with design and decoration tips for your
medical office.
40. Create printed
materials with useful information for your patient
Creating support material for your patient is
a way to improve their experience. For example, a doctor who cares for patients
with diabetes can create paper guides with indications of foods that the
patient can eat and what she can not eat. This type of support material
improves the patient's experience during his care process with you because it
makes things less complicated for him.
41. Put a screen with
educational videos in your office's reception
Many doctors have a screen in their reception,
but not all take advantage of it to show videos that educate the patient.
42. Implement WhatsApp
for Business or an online chat on your website
Potential patients today use WhatsApp and
other messaging applications a lot. WhatsApp for Business offers you facilities
that regular WhatsApp lacks. You can also add a chat on your website to serve
the potential patient by this means before their consultation.
43. Offer
teleconsultation
For a few medical specialties,
teleconsultation is very useful, while for others, it is useless. Therefore, if
you have a medical specialty that can take advantage of teleconsultation, you
should.
Strategies to improve
your sales skills
It is not only about
attracting patients with digital marketing strategies. It is also important to
learn to persuade them. The following four tactics will tell you how to do it.
44. Learn to sell
The word "sell" usually generates
conflict in the philosophy of doctors. However, selling is a resource that even
serves to help persuade the patient that they need your help. I love the SPIN
selling method.
45. Read your
patient's body language
Understanding your patient's body language
will help you better understand what they are feeling, and this, in turn, will
allow you to be more persuasive and empathic when talking to them.
46. Empathize with
your patient's pains and concerns
It is always important to understand your
patient's pain and concerns. When the patient feels that you listen to him and
understand him, a bond of trust facilitates the sales process.
47. Improve your way
of speaking and expressing yourself
Just because you're a
doctor doesn't mean your communication skills are the best. I know doctors who
are very good in their clinical skills but lack eloquence when speaking. Being
more eloquent and a better communicator is a powerful resource for selling your
medical services.
Advanced Digital
Medical Marketing Strategies
This section focuses
on providing you with digital marketing strategies that most of your
competitors ignore.
48. Use Google
Analytics
Tools like Google Analytics help you
understand your patient's behavior when interacting with your website. This
allows you to learn more about what interests them to later optimize your
marketing strategy for doctors.
49. Research your
competitors
Analyzing the marketing strategies of
competing doctors is an invaluable source of information for improving your
medical marketing.
50. Try to always be
at least one step ahead of your competitors
When doing medical marketing, it's always
important to stay ahead of the competition as much as possible.
51. Use lookalike
audiences in Facebook Ads
If you're a doctor who invests aggressively in
paid Facebook advertising, using lookalike audiences will provide you with a
powerful option to reach more patients who need your medical services.
52. Always experiment
with your advertising
When you do marketing, you should always be
experimenting with new things to keep your results and your return on
investment to the maximum. Never stop experimenting.
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