Social media is the way that word-of-mouth happens in the 21st century, and it is growing at record rate. For example, the popular social networking site, Facebook, has over 200 million active users. Chances are that your employees and patients are already using Facebook, among other social media websites. Rather than letting your patients and prospects have conversations about your practice, ensure that they can have conversations with your medical practice via social media. Social media isn’t going away anytime soon, and most likely, it is going to continue to grow exponentially over the next several years. Rather than waiting until the last minute to incorporate social media into your medical marketing campaign, it’s better to learn how to use social media now and become fluent in social media marketing.
When determining whether or not it would make sense for your medical practice to join the social media revolution, you must first determine what it is you hope to accomplish and if those goals are realistic. If your patients are very happy with your practice, it is a good idea to jump on the social media bandwagon because you can amplify all of the positive conversations about your practice that are taking place in order to promote your medical practice. However, if you are having problems with employees or your patients are unhappy with something, it would be best for you to resolve those issues first before attempting to build your social media presence. Otherwise, you could end up being sucked into a reputation management nightmare.
Getting Started
In order to get started with social media marketing for medical marketing purposes, join free social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. You will find plenty of relevant communities already established on those sites. After tinkering around on these sites for a while, you can determine whether or not it would be worthwhile to establish your own community.
Rather than relying so heavily on a strategy that’s set in stone when launching a social media campaign for medical marketing, use different methods of low-cost experimentation to determine what works and what doesn’t. Time spent planning and theorizing could be spent learning through doing. Just outline your goals and do your best to meet those goals based on the tools and resources you have available.
Proving ROI
Many traditional PR and marketing folks have difficulty embracing social media marketing because they can’t see a clear ROI. In medical marketing or any field for that matter, the ROI of social media marketing is infinite because the cost using social media is so low. Social media marketing can easily be integrated into various marketing and communications efforts in a medical marketing campaign. It isn’t very hard to demonstrate the ROI of running a social media campaign because the overhead costs are miniscule. For example, publishing a blog that allows comments is a very cost-effective way to reach out to patients, potential patients, and media looking for newsworthy stories to cover. You can install an analytics program to determine how many people visit your blog, what they click on, etc., to improve your blog as well as the ROI of your campaign.
Hiring a Consultant
If you’re new to social media and would like to incorporate it into your overall medical marketing campaign, your best bet is to start small and train your current employees that are already working on marketing and communication tasks to integrate social media marketing strategies into their work. Your best bet is to hire a social media marketing consultant to train your employees. If you ever launch a major project and don’t have sufficient internal resources to pull it off, you can always partner up with a social media marketing agency.
Major Social Media Networks
Some major social media websites that anyone interested in medical marketing should be a part of include Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and SlideShare.net. SlideShare.net allows you to share your ideas in the form of Power Point presentations. You can easily embed the slide presentations in your blog to engage your blog readers in your presentations.
On Facebook, medical practices can create fan pages, enabling their patients and potential patients to become “fans.” Anyone who becomes your fan on Facebook will be notified of all of the updates you post. Furthermore, the fact that a user is your fan will be visible to all of their Facebook friends.
Twitter allows you to connect with like-minded people and broaden the scope of your interactions. Two hastags on Twitter that are related to medical marketing include #hcsm and #hcsmktg. Do a search for these hashtags to find out who else in the Twitterverse is talking about medical marketing. You can also find out what kind of conversations are taking place about your medical practice by searching for the name of your medical practice on Twitter. Twitter is a great brand monitoring and reputation management tool. Some companies have gone as far as to use Twitter to address customer service issues.
So there you have it. There’s no better time than now to dive into the world of social media. The effectiveness of your medical marketing campaign can increase significantly with the promotional and networking power of social media. Rather than waiting until you develop an intricate strategy, dive into it now so you can learn the ropes and start connecting with patients and potential patients immediately.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
The 7 Biggest Medical Marketing Mistakes You Can Make
Contrary to what it was like 50 years ago, providing great medical care and customer service is simply not enough if you want your medical practice to survive and thrive today. In order for medical practices to prosper, doctors must learn important medical marketing tactics and apply them consistently. It’s particularly important to have a strong marketing plan when the economy is in a slump, as it is now. The following are the 7 biggest medical marketing mistakes that you should avoid when promoting your medical practice.
1. Only putting an ad in the yellow pages and local newspaper
For many doctors, the extent of their medical marketing plans is to put an ad in the yellow pages and in the local newspaper. Not only is this the least cost effective of all marketing/advertising solutions, it is not nearly as effective as it used to be. Doctors need to update their marketing strategies, such as through leveraging the power of social media. By learning to market their practices on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, doctors can reach more people and build a stronger reputation.
2. Cutting down the marketing budget during a slow economy
Many medical practices cut down their marketing budget when the economy is slow. Although it may seem logical to spend less when money is harder to come by, cutting down on marketing costs during a slow economy can be detrimental to the prosperity of your medical practice. Your practice will shrink and by the time the economy picks up again, you won’t be in the financial position to take advantage of the economy’s improvement.
3. Focusing on just one marketing action
In order to achieve success in medical marketing, you cannot focus on just one marketing action and expect it to bring you prosperity. Your best bet is to develop an effective marketing strategy that consists of a combination of different marketing actions. You will only end up overworked and in financial trouble if you pin all of your hopes on one strategy alone. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket when planning your medical marketing campaign.
4. Not hiring a consultant or company to oversee your marketing campaign
It is critical to hire a consultant or company to oversee all of your marketing activities to ensure that your campaign is headed in the right direction and that all of your staff members are a part of the campaign. A consultant can implement an ongoing training program so your staff can understand the fundamentals of medical marketing. Furthermore, a consultant or medical marketing company can be in charge of developing your campaign, enabling you and your employees to focus on other priorities, such as patient care. When hiring a marketing company or consultant to oversee your campaign, make sure they have plenty of relevant experience, credentials, and a track record for success to back them up.
5. Implementing a medical marketing strategy that only consists of putting out a newsletter
While newsletters can be an effective part of a larger medical marketing campaign, putting out a newsletter alone is simply not sufficient as a marketing strategy. Marketing requires daily activities on your part to ensure success. Most of your patients and prospects will throw newsletters out without even reading them. The key to success is building a marketing campaign that enables you to develop a stronger connection and communication with your patients and prospects.
6. Not getting involved in the community
It’s a good idea for any doctor to get involved in the local community in order to generate some free PR and credibility. Learn about what is going on in your community and how you can help. Contribute time or funds into helping the community in order to generate positive PR. This kind of publicity can go a lot further than advertising. Not only will your visibility in the community increase, you will earn people’s respect and they will look up to you and recommend you to potential patients.
7. Marketing without a strategy
Before launching your medical marketing campaign, it’s essential to set objectives, goals, and strategies for achieving those goals. You can’t jump into marketing blindly in hopes that everything will work itself out. Make sure you have a clear cut roadmap that will lead you to achieving your goals. If you need assistance building a plan, hire a medical marketing consultant to help you determine what your goals are, whether or not they are realistic, and how you can achieve your goals. If you work through trial and error, it can take you a lot longer to learn what works and what doesn’t. Save yourself time and money by hiring a medical marketing company or consultant to spearhead your campaign.
1. Only putting an ad in the yellow pages and local newspaper
For many doctors, the extent of their medical marketing plans is to put an ad in the yellow pages and in the local newspaper. Not only is this the least cost effective of all marketing/advertising solutions, it is not nearly as effective as it used to be. Doctors need to update their marketing strategies, such as through leveraging the power of social media. By learning to market their practices on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, doctors can reach more people and build a stronger reputation.
2. Cutting down the marketing budget during a slow economy
Many medical practices cut down their marketing budget when the economy is slow. Although it may seem logical to spend less when money is harder to come by, cutting down on marketing costs during a slow economy can be detrimental to the prosperity of your medical practice. Your practice will shrink and by the time the economy picks up again, you won’t be in the financial position to take advantage of the economy’s improvement.
3. Focusing on just one marketing action
In order to achieve success in medical marketing, you cannot focus on just one marketing action and expect it to bring you prosperity. Your best bet is to develop an effective marketing strategy that consists of a combination of different marketing actions. You will only end up overworked and in financial trouble if you pin all of your hopes on one strategy alone. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket when planning your medical marketing campaign.
4. Not hiring a consultant or company to oversee your marketing campaign
It is critical to hire a consultant or company to oversee all of your marketing activities to ensure that your campaign is headed in the right direction and that all of your staff members are a part of the campaign. A consultant can implement an ongoing training program so your staff can understand the fundamentals of medical marketing. Furthermore, a consultant or medical marketing company can be in charge of developing your campaign, enabling you and your employees to focus on other priorities, such as patient care. When hiring a marketing company or consultant to oversee your campaign, make sure they have plenty of relevant experience, credentials, and a track record for success to back them up.
5. Implementing a medical marketing strategy that only consists of putting out a newsletter
While newsletters can be an effective part of a larger medical marketing campaign, putting out a newsletter alone is simply not sufficient as a marketing strategy. Marketing requires daily activities on your part to ensure success. Most of your patients and prospects will throw newsletters out without even reading them. The key to success is building a marketing campaign that enables you to develop a stronger connection and communication with your patients and prospects.
6. Not getting involved in the community
It’s a good idea for any doctor to get involved in the local community in order to generate some free PR and credibility. Learn about what is going on in your community and how you can help. Contribute time or funds into helping the community in order to generate positive PR. This kind of publicity can go a lot further than advertising. Not only will your visibility in the community increase, you will earn people’s respect and they will look up to you and recommend you to potential patients.
7. Marketing without a strategy
Before launching your medical marketing campaign, it’s essential to set objectives, goals, and strategies for achieving those goals. You can’t jump into marketing blindly in hopes that everything will work itself out. Make sure you have a clear cut roadmap that will lead you to achieving your goals. If you need assistance building a plan, hire a medical marketing consultant to help you determine what your goals are, whether or not they are realistic, and how you can achieve your goals. If you work through trial and error, it can take you a lot longer to learn what works and what doesn’t. Save yourself time and money by hiring a medical marketing company or consultant to spearhead your campaign.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The Role of Social Media in Medical Marketing
In most industries, overcoming objections to social media can be a daunting task. Not only is social media marketing difficult to measure, it is relatively new and many people are still not so sure how it works. Social media also plays an important role in medical marketing, but physicians face a number of challenges when it comes to making the case for social media in the promotion of their practice.
Physicians have to deal with numerous obstacles, including privacy regulations, staff shortages, and an increasing amount of demand for their services, thanks to the Baby Boomers who are hitting retirement age. Although social media medical marketing does not require a significant financial investment, it does require an investment of time, something which most doctors have very little of.
Although, social media has taken a while to catch on in the medical marketing arena, physicians and hospitals are slowly but surely jumping onto the social media bandwagon. The following are a few reasons why investing time and resources into social media is well worth it for medical professionals.
The Movement is Growing… and Succeeding
Although doctors have been slow to adopt social media marketing, there are an increasing number of medical professionals and hospitals that are using social media to promote themselves and connect with patients and potential patients. According to a recent survey, 367 US hospitals are using social media outlets, including Twitter. For example, the Henry Ford Hospital performed a live brain surgery on Twitter while taking questions from other users. Other hospitals use Twitter to answer patient questions as well as provide customer service. There are also community websites dedicated specifically to the discussion of healthcare, disease, and other relevant topics, for both patients and doctors.
According to a March 2009 Nielsen Report, 67% of the global population uses social media. That percentage is likely to continue growing. Clearly, many patients and potential patients are using social media. Doctors and hospitals can promote themselves on social media sites by answering questions about illnesses and healthcare or providing general medical information.
Many patients use social media sites to get information about different doctors and hospitals in order to comparison shop. By building a presence on social media sites and connecting with patients and potential patients, doctors and hospitals can build a stronger reputation online and attract more patients to their practice. Social media gives doctors greater visibility. Even if you are an amazing doctor, no one will think to go to your practice if they have never heard of you. If a potential patient has seen you on social media, it is often enough to sway his decision to your advantage when he has to choose between your practice and that of a competing doctor with no social media presence.
Patients aren’t the only ones using social media. Doctors are too. According to statistics from Manhattan Research, 89% of physicians rely on the internet and use it in their professional practice. 41% of all research that physicians do takes place online. Around 64% of doctors use smartphones. Simply put, doctors are already online so it only makes sense for them to plunge into the social media world, given the many benefits it can provide doctors with in promoting their practices. When doctors allow their employees to share information via social media networks with other medical professionals, it helps to create an exchange of information about best practices and more. Furthermore, when a doctor’s employees are involved in social networks, it can make recruiting new employees easier because it gives you access to a network of people in the same field.
Not only is social media usage for medical marketing a highly efficient promotional method, it is also very cost-effective. Social media medical marketing does not require a significant investment. Since budget cuts are very common in healthcare these days, it certainly is beneficial to have access to a low cost method for marketing and advertising.
If you want to determine whether it is worthwhile for your hospital or medical practice to pursue social media medical marketing, it’s essential to clarify exactly what it is you would like to accomplish and if the goals you have set forth are realistic. Your medical organization must also be comfortable with the idea of openness and transparency, both of which are inevitable in social media involvement.
If your patients are happy with the services you provide and your employees are content with working for your organization, launching a social media campaign would probably help to further your achievements. However, if you are having problems with current employees or your patients are dissatisfied for whatever reason, it’s advisable to address these issues prior to launching a social media campaign. Whether you build a social media presence or not, your patients will be talking about you online, but if you want to ensure that your social media campaign promotes positive talk rather than criticism, you’ll want to sort out any issues prior to a campaign launch.
Physicians have to deal with numerous obstacles, including privacy regulations, staff shortages, and an increasing amount of demand for their services, thanks to the Baby Boomers who are hitting retirement age. Although social media medical marketing does not require a significant financial investment, it does require an investment of time, something which most doctors have very little of.
Although, social media has taken a while to catch on in the medical marketing arena, physicians and hospitals are slowly but surely jumping onto the social media bandwagon. The following are a few reasons why investing time and resources into social media is well worth it for medical professionals.
The Movement is Growing… and Succeeding
Although doctors have been slow to adopt social media marketing, there are an increasing number of medical professionals and hospitals that are using social media to promote themselves and connect with patients and potential patients. According to a recent survey, 367 US hospitals are using social media outlets, including Twitter. For example, the Henry Ford Hospital performed a live brain surgery on Twitter while taking questions from other users. Other hospitals use Twitter to answer patient questions as well as provide customer service. There are also community websites dedicated specifically to the discussion of healthcare, disease, and other relevant topics, for both patients and doctors.
According to a March 2009 Nielsen Report, 67% of the global population uses social media. That percentage is likely to continue growing. Clearly, many patients and potential patients are using social media. Doctors and hospitals can promote themselves on social media sites by answering questions about illnesses and healthcare or providing general medical information.
Many patients use social media sites to get information about different doctors and hospitals in order to comparison shop. By building a presence on social media sites and connecting with patients and potential patients, doctors and hospitals can build a stronger reputation online and attract more patients to their practice. Social media gives doctors greater visibility. Even if you are an amazing doctor, no one will think to go to your practice if they have never heard of you. If a potential patient has seen you on social media, it is often enough to sway his decision to your advantage when he has to choose between your practice and that of a competing doctor with no social media presence.
Patients aren’t the only ones using social media. Doctors are too. According to statistics from Manhattan Research, 89% of physicians rely on the internet and use it in their professional practice. 41% of all research that physicians do takes place online. Around 64% of doctors use smartphones. Simply put, doctors are already online so it only makes sense for them to plunge into the social media world, given the many benefits it can provide doctors with in promoting their practices. When doctors allow their employees to share information via social media networks with other medical professionals, it helps to create an exchange of information about best practices and more. Furthermore, when a doctor’s employees are involved in social networks, it can make recruiting new employees easier because it gives you access to a network of people in the same field.
Not only is social media usage for medical marketing a highly efficient promotional method, it is also very cost-effective. Social media medical marketing does not require a significant investment. Since budget cuts are very common in healthcare these days, it certainly is beneficial to have access to a low cost method for marketing and advertising.
If you want to determine whether it is worthwhile for your hospital or medical practice to pursue social media medical marketing, it’s essential to clarify exactly what it is you would like to accomplish and if the goals you have set forth are realistic. Your medical organization must also be comfortable with the idea of openness and transparency, both of which are inevitable in social media involvement.
If your patients are happy with the services you provide and your employees are content with working for your organization, launching a social media campaign would probably help to further your achievements. However, if you are having problems with current employees or your patients are dissatisfied for whatever reason, it’s advisable to address these issues prior to launching a social media campaign. Whether you build a social media presence or not, your patients will be talking about you online, but if you want to ensure that your social media campaign promotes positive talk rather than criticism, you’ll want to sort out any issues prior to a campaign launch.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tips for Using Facebook in Your Medical Marketing Campaign
Social media is a hot topic right now in the medical marketing world. And when it comes to social media networking, Facebook is certainly one of the big players that come to mind. Although Facebook is frequently recommended as a way to promote a medical practice, actually understanding how to use it as a medical marketing tool can be a daunting task. Once you can figure out how to take advantage of Facebook’s powerful social networking abilities, however, you will be able to experience several benefits.
The Challenge of Medical Marketing via Social Media
Social media is still new territory for most medical professionals. The methods of effectively using Facebook and other social media sites as a promotional tool are vague at best since social media was not conceived for the purpose of commercial marketing. Since there are no universally accepted best practices established for marketing via social media and measuring the results, skeptics and traditionalists claim that there are no effective ways to use social media for marketing purposes, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Currently, 59 percent of brand marketing professionals are using social media in some way. However, a large percentage of marketing professionals are reluctant to use social media because they are unsure of how to do it effectively. Other marketers don’t use social media marketing at all because there are no clear-cut methods for measuring the results of social media marketing campaigns.
Facebook as a Social Media Marketing Tool for Medical Professionals
Twitter, although it has substantially fewer users than Facebook, is more popular as a marketing tool. This probably stems from the fact that most people’s Twitter profiles and updates are public whereas the vast majority of Facebook users have private profiles, making it more difficult to interact and connect on a personal level. However, Facebook has unique tools such as fan pages and groups, which enable businesses to promote themselves and build a following.
The first step in developing a medical marketing strategy on Facebook should be to create a Facebook fan page, which has a custom URL. Fan pages are free and easy to set up, enabling you to create a custom “home page” of sorts on Facebook. There are multimedia components and social networking tools on Facebook fan pages that make it easier for you to connect with others and build a branded presence. For example, you can add videos and images, fans can comment on photos, and you can announce events and let people RSVP on the site. Any Facebook users can join/subscribe to your fan page.
A sustainable, effective medical marketing strategy must be diversified. Direct returns on investment are typically minimal when it comes to social media marketing. This explains why most doctors and hospitals are hesitant to embark on a social media medical marketing campaign. However, medical marketing through social media outlets should not be viewed as one-way channel for spreading marketing messages. This is where many businesses fail. A social media network like Facebook is supposed to help you engage with your customers and interact with them on a personal level. Facebook can also be used to generated leads, build your brand, and drive traffic to your main website. Ultimately the aim is to increase conversions on your main website.
You can also connect your content across different social networks. For example, if you have a Twitter account and post updates on it, you can add the #fb hashtag to your updates to automatically connect your Twitter account to your Facebook fan page. Your Facebook fans that don’t use Twitter can still keep up with and respond to your messages.
In many medical practices, browsing Facebook and other social media networks is against their policies. It is seen as wasting time and being counter-productive. However, medical practices may want to consider altering their policies and allowing the use of social media networks in order to reach out to prospects and patients. Your Facebook page can be as basic as simply posting your address, phone number, and operating hours or it can go deeper by sharing photos, patient stories, videos, podcasts, press releases, and much more.
Tips for Increasing Facebook Fans
You probably won’t be able to accumulate a ton of Facebook fans overnight but don’t fret – your efforts will eventually pay off. After all, it’s more valuable to have just a few fans who you engage with regular basis rather than fans you never connect with at all. In order to increase your Facebook fans, include a link to your Facebook fan page in your email signature so your patients will see it. Make the URL to your Facebook fan page easy to remember and put the URL on magnets, business cards, and other marketing materials. You can also use Facebook ads to advertise your Facebook fan page on Facebook itself. Only three ads are shown at a time on Facebook and you can target the ads to the desired audience. You only have to pay per click or impression so it’s a very cost-effective way to advertise.
Although your website is the nucleus of your online marketing efforts, your Facebook fan page, group, and presence on other social media networks will help you maintain and expand the dissemination and sharing of information about your medical practice. Once you establish a social media medical marketing strategy and determine some practical marketing methods, your network will expand and your messages will become viral, enabling your medical practice to fully experience the benefits of social media marketing.
The Challenge of Medical Marketing via Social Media
Social media is still new territory for most medical professionals. The methods of effectively using Facebook and other social media sites as a promotional tool are vague at best since social media was not conceived for the purpose of commercial marketing. Since there are no universally accepted best practices established for marketing via social media and measuring the results, skeptics and traditionalists claim that there are no effective ways to use social media for marketing purposes, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Currently, 59 percent of brand marketing professionals are using social media in some way. However, a large percentage of marketing professionals are reluctant to use social media because they are unsure of how to do it effectively. Other marketers don’t use social media marketing at all because there are no clear-cut methods for measuring the results of social media marketing campaigns.
Facebook as a Social Media Marketing Tool for Medical Professionals
Twitter, although it has substantially fewer users than Facebook, is more popular as a marketing tool. This probably stems from the fact that most people’s Twitter profiles and updates are public whereas the vast majority of Facebook users have private profiles, making it more difficult to interact and connect on a personal level. However, Facebook has unique tools such as fan pages and groups, which enable businesses to promote themselves and build a following.
The first step in developing a medical marketing strategy on Facebook should be to create a Facebook fan page, which has a custom URL. Fan pages are free and easy to set up, enabling you to create a custom “home page” of sorts on Facebook. There are multimedia components and social networking tools on Facebook fan pages that make it easier for you to connect with others and build a branded presence. For example, you can add videos and images, fans can comment on photos, and you can announce events and let people RSVP on the site. Any Facebook users can join/subscribe to your fan page.
A sustainable, effective medical marketing strategy must be diversified. Direct returns on investment are typically minimal when it comes to social media marketing. This explains why most doctors and hospitals are hesitant to embark on a social media medical marketing campaign. However, medical marketing through social media outlets should not be viewed as one-way channel for spreading marketing messages. This is where many businesses fail. A social media network like Facebook is supposed to help you engage with your customers and interact with them on a personal level. Facebook can also be used to generated leads, build your brand, and drive traffic to your main website. Ultimately the aim is to increase conversions on your main website.
You can also connect your content across different social networks. For example, if you have a Twitter account and post updates on it, you can add the #fb hashtag to your updates to automatically connect your Twitter account to your Facebook fan page. Your Facebook fans that don’t use Twitter can still keep up with and respond to your messages.
In many medical practices, browsing Facebook and other social media networks is against their policies. It is seen as wasting time and being counter-productive. However, medical practices may want to consider altering their policies and allowing the use of social media networks in order to reach out to prospects and patients. Your Facebook page can be as basic as simply posting your address, phone number, and operating hours or it can go deeper by sharing photos, patient stories, videos, podcasts, press releases, and much more.
Tips for Increasing Facebook Fans
You probably won’t be able to accumulate a ton of Facebook fans overnight but don’t fret – your efforts will eventually pay off. After all, it’s more valuable to have just a few fans who you engage with regular basis rather than fans you never connect with at all. In order to increase your Facebook fans, include a link to your Facebook fan page in your email signature so your patients will see it. Make the URL to your Facebook fan page easy to remember and put the URL on magnets, business cards, and other marketing materials. You can also use Facebook ads to advertise your Facebook fan page on Facebook itself. Only three ads are shown at a time on Facebook and you can target the ads to the desired audience. You only have to pay per click or impression so it’s a very cost-effective way to advertise.
Although your website is the nucleus of your online marketing efforts, your Facebook fan page, group, and presence on other social media networks will help you maintain and expand the dissemination and sharing of information about your medical practice. Once you establish a social media medical marketing strategy and determine some practical marketing methods, your network will expand and your messages will become viral, enabling your medical practice to fully experience the benefits of social media marketing.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
How to Use Twitter to Market Your Medical Practice
The use of Twitter as a medical marketing tool is becoming increasingly common. Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows you to post updates of 140 characters. Twitter can be a very useful tool for physicians to market their practice because it enables them to expand your web presence, connect with patients, network with other physicians, and much more. However, according to a study conducted by the Nielson Co., only 40% of Twitter users remain active after one month of creating an account. The doctors who stick around on Twitter must recognize the incredible value that Twitter has in medical marketing.
How to Get Started
If you want to get started using Twitter for medical marketing but don’t know how to go about it, make a personal account first. By doing so, you can observe the community and learn how Twitter works. You won’t have to worry about making mistakes and tarnishing your brand if you create an anonymous account in the beginning. Once you get the drift, you can create an account to market your practice. You may choose to use your full name or the name of your practice as your Twitter name. If you choose to use a name besides your full name, consider registering a Twitter account with your full name any way to protect your personal brand identity. You can redirect users to the Twitter account you actually use in case they come upon the account you made with your full name.
As you accumulate followers on Twitter, keep in mind that it is usually looked down upon if you follow many people but have few followers in comparison. You can also be considered a Twitter snob if you have many followers and do not reciprocate. If you’re ultimately trying to promote your business on Twitter, you can’t really afford to not reciprocate when someone follows you.
Be Authentic
Unlike other marketing tools, Twitter is not a one-way conversation. Twitter allows you to build relationships and facilitate dialogue. Authenticity is valued on Twitter so make sure to let your personality shine through your Tweets. Although your Twitter account may have been created to represent your business, forging personal connections and building relationships is an important aspect of succeeding in social media marketing.
Avoid Being Sales
Avoid blatant self-promotion. It is an unwritten rule on Twitter that it is taboo to promote yourself and market your goods unless you have already established a place in the community. You must provide value without expecting anything in return.
Protect Your Brand Image
Keep in mind that Google indexes Tweets. So never tweet anything that you wouldn’t want to reveal to the general public. Upon searching for your brand on Google, people may come across your individual Tweets, even years after they were posted.
Use Hashtags
There are an increasing number of healthcare-related communities popping up on Twitter. These communities are formed around hashtags. When using Twitter, you can add a hashtag such as #healthcare or #medical to your Tweets and they will be visible anytime someone searches for those particular hashtags. Searching for hashtags is also a good way to find influential people in the healthcare community to follow on Twitter. Furthermore, you can use hashtags to monitor what is being said about your practice or field.
Extend the Reach of Your Marketing Messages
The real power of Twitter lies in the fact that you can reach thousands of people in one place. Many people will choose a physician simply because they have noticed their presence on Twitter. Some physicians have even used Twitter to post a play-by-play of surgery live. Doing so is an inexpensive way to attract media attention as well as connect with patients and prospects. After tweeting about surgeries, medical practices may find that they can double or even triple their following on Twitter. Furthermore, they are likely to attract new patients who found out about their services via Twitter.
Using Twitter is also an effective way for doctors to communicate with their patients and prospects. However, most doctors probably have few patients who are actually using Twitter so at this point Twitter is more useful when it comes to connecting with anyone in the general population who is seeking healthcare information. Twitter is an excellent tool for physicians to use to educate the masses and help them make healthier lifestyle choices.
Twitter has also proven to be an effective tool for disseminating information during public health scares, such as the one that took place with H1N1 flu. There was lots of hysteria and misinformation floating around on Twitter. The CDC and other health organizations used Twitter to educate people about the H1N1 flu and spread information.
Physicians can also use Twitter to connect with other physicians. It is hard to facilitate much dialogue in tweets of 140 characters, but you can share links to articles of interest and valuable resources. Rather than treating their Twitter presence as an authoritative presence, many doctors use Twitter to connect with other doctors on a personal level.
If you decide to create an account on Twitter, keep in mind that you will need to dedicate time and resources to maintain your account. Building a Twitter presence for medical marketing purposes requires an ongoing investment so you must be sure that you can indeed keep up with the commitment
How to Get Started
If you want to get started using Twitter for medical marketing but don’t know how to go about it, make a personal account first. By doing so, you can observe the community and learn how Twitter works. You won’t have to worry about making mistakes and tarnishing your brand if you create an anonymous account in the beginning. Once you get the drift, you can create an account to market your practice. You may choose to use your full name or the name of your practice as your Twitter name. If you choose to use a name besides your full name, consider registering a Twitter account with your full name any way to protect your personal brand identity. You can redirect users to the Twitter account you actually use in case they come upon the account you made with your full name.
As you accumulate followers on Twitter, keep in mind that it is usually looked down upon if you follow many people but have few followers in comparison. You can also be considered a Twitter snob if you have many followers and do not reciprocate. If you’re ultimately trying to promote your business on Twitter, you can’t really afford to not reciprocate when someone follows you.
Be Authentic
Unlike other marketing tools, Twitter is not a one-way conversation. Twitter allows you to build relationships and facilitate dialogue. Authenticity is valued on Twitter so make sure to let your personality shine through your Tweets. Although your Twitter account may have been created to represent your business, forging personal connections and building relationships is an important aspect of succeeding in social media marketing.
Avoid Being Sales
Avoid blatant self-promotion. It is an unwritten rule on Twitter that it is taboo to promote yourself and market your goods unless you have already established a place in the community. You must provide value without expecting anything in return.
Protect Your Brand Image
Keep in mind that Google indexes Tweets. So never tweet anything that you wouldn’t want to reveal to the general public. Upon searching for your brand on Google, people may come across your individual Tweets, even years after they were posted.
Use Hashtags
There are an increasing number of healthcare-related communities popping up on Twitter. These communities are formed around hashtags. When using Twitter, you can add a hashtag such as #healthcare or #medical to your Tweets and they will be visible anytime someone searches for those particular hashtags. Searching for hashtags is also a good way to find influential people in the healthcare community to follow on Twitter. Furthermore, you can use hashtags to monitor what is being said about your practice or field.
Extend the Reach of Your Marketing Messages
The real power of Twitter lies in the fact that you can reach thousands of people in one place. Many people will choose a physician simply because they have noticed their presence on Twitter. Some physicians have even used Twitter to post a play-by-play of surgery live. Doing so is an inexpensive way to attract media attention as well as connect with patients and prospects. After tweeting about surgeries, medical practices may find that they can double or even triple their following on Twitter. Furthermore, they are likely to attract new patients who found out about their services via Twitter.
Using Twitter is also an effective way for doctors to communicate with their patients and prospects. However, most doctors probably have few patients who are actually using Twitter so at this point Twitter is more useful when it comes to connecting with anyone in the general population who is seeking healthcare information. Twitter is an excellent tool for physicians to use to educate the masses and help them make healthier lifestyle choices.
Twitter has also proven to be an effective tool for disseminating information during public health scares, such as the one that took place with H1N1 flu. There was lots of hysteria and misinformation floating around on Twitter. The CDC and other health organizations used Twitter to educate people about the H1N1 flu and spread information.
Physicians can also use Twitter to connect with other physicians. It is hard to facilitate much dialogue in tweets of 140 characters, but you can share links to articles of interest and valuable resources. Rather than treating their Twitter presence as an authoritative presence, many doctors use Twitter to connect with other doctors on a personal level.
If you decide to create an account on Twitter, keep in mind that you will need to dedicate time and resources to maintain your account. Building a Twitter presence for medical marketing purposes requires an ongoing investment so you must be sure that you can indeed keep up with the commitment
Monday, September 21, 2009
How to Position Yourself as an Expert in Your Field with Medical Marketing
Do you want to position yourself as an expert in your medical field? If so, medical marketing can help you accomplish that feat. In your medical marketing strategy, you must focus on your medical specialty, launch a website with your goals in mind, promote your website, and much more. Here are essential steps to take if you want to use medical marketing to come to be considered an authority in your field of expertise.
Launch a Website
In this day and age, a web presence is vital to the success of most doctors. Approximately 50% of adults search the internet for medical information. In fact, searching for health information is one of the most popular online activities after using email and researching products to buy.
If you don’t have a website, the fact is that many potential patients will not even consider you since they will have no idea that your practice exists. One of your medical marketing priorities should be to create a high quality website that contains details about your medical expertise and training, research, publications, testimonials from patients, and contact information. If you don’t already have a website, your first priority should be to get one as soon as possible.
Focus on Your Medical Specialty
When you build a website and create other marketing materials, make sure that you focus on your medical specialty. People will come to associate you with your specialty and look to you for information about it. On your website, narrow your focus to the procedures you offer that set you apart from other physicians in your field.
Outline Your Website Goals
Don’t create a medical website without outlining your goals first. A medical marketing plan with no goals is bound to fail. A doctor’s website is the face of his/her practice. If it is consists of an old, outdated template, what kind of message does it send to potential patients? Make sure your website design enhances and complements your brand, expertise, and image. If your website looks outdated, get it redesigned and revamped so it meets up to the medical marketing challenge.
Promote Your Website
So you’ve had a killer website designed and added some excellent content. Now what? If nobody sees your website, you may as well not have one. Your ultimate goal should be to attract tons of traffic. Website traffic is life in the online world. Find a company that can help you use search engine optimization, social media optimization, and pay per click advertising to bring droves of traffic to your new website.
Publish Articles Featuring Your Research and Findings Both Online and Offline
As a doctor, your aim should be to frequently publish information and research about your area of expertise both online and offline. Webmasters, editors, and other professionals search online and beyond for informative articles about disease diagnosis, research, and medical advancements. If they find your articles and refer to them in their articles, reports, or websites, it brings you further exposure and potential media attention. Furthermore, when you teach people about your area of expertise, you become a recognized authority in your field and your services become more in demand.
Participate in Public Speaking Engagements
When you write informative articles about your area of expertise, and they get published, you will find yourself receiving an increasing number of invitations to participate in public speaking engagements. Speaking in public gives you instant credibility and establishes you as an expert in your field. The majority of people feel highly uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups comfortably. If you can manage to speak in public confidently and articulately, you are bound to boost your reputation dramatically.
Focus on the Patient, Not Your Practice
When creating a website for your practice online, your aim should be to focus on your prospects rather than your practice. Although it’s important to provide details about your educational background, training, and level of expertise, you don’t want that to overpower your entire site. Your prospects need to know what’s in it for them when they visit your website. Hire a competent copywriter to write your website copy so that it really speaks to your potential patients. You want your prospects to feel that there are several reasons why they should choose you over your competitors, and that you will be able to solve their medical issues.
To add depth to your website, make sure to include plenty of testimonials from your current patients. Website visitors love to read patient testimonials because it gives them a better idea of the kind of services you offer.
Start a Blog
Blogging is an essential part of medical marketing because it helps you position yourself as an expert in your medical field and allows you to provide useful information to your patients and prospects on a regular basis. Your blog must be updated regularly with excellent content in order to be optimally effective. When people search online for information in your area of expertise, they may come across your blog, which will further improve your positioning in your field. Blogs are also beneficial to your website’s search engine ranking because search engines love regularly updated content, which blogs provide.
Launch a Website
In this day and age, a web presence is vital to the success of most doctors. Approximately 50% of adults search the internet for medical information. In fact, searching for health information is one of the most popular online activities after using email and researching products to buy.
If you don’t have a website, the fact is that many potential patients will not even consider you since they will have no idea that your practice exists. One of your medical marketing priorities should be to create a high quality website that contains details about your medical expertise and training, research, publications, testimonials from patients, and contact information. If you don’t already have a website, your first priority should be to get one as soon as possible.
Focus on Your Medical Specialty
When you build a website and create other marketing materials, make sure that you focus on your medical specialty. People will come to associate you with your specialty and look to you for information about it. On your website, narrow your focus to the procedures you offer that set you apart from other physicians in your field.
Outline Your Website Goals
Don’t create a medical website without outlining your goals first. A medical marketing plan with no goals is bound to fail. A doctor’s website is the face of his/her practice. If it is consists of an old, outdated template, what kind of message does it send to potential patients? Make sure your website design enhances and complements your brand, expertise, and image. If your website looks outdated, get it redesigned and revamped so it meets up to the medical marketing challenge.
Promote Your Website
So you’ve had a killer website designed and added some excellent content. Now what? If nobody sees your website, you may as well not have one. Your ultimate goal should be to attract tons of traffic. Website traffic is life in the online world. Find a company that can help you use search engine optimization, social media optimization, and pay per click advertising to bring droves of traffic to your new website.
Publish Articles Featuring Your Research and Findings Both Online and Offline
As a doctor, your aim should be to frequently publish information and research about your area of expertise both online and offline. Webmasters, editors, and other professionals search online and beyond for informative articles about disease diagnosis, research, and medical advancements. If they find your articles and refer to them in their articles, reports, or websites, it brings you further exposure and potential media attention. Furthermore, when you teach people about your area of expertise, you become a recognized authority in your field and your services become more in demand.
Participate in Public Speaking Engagements
When you write informative articles about your area of expertise, and they get published, you will find yourself receiving an increasing number of invitations to participate in public speaking engagements. Speaking in public gives you instant credibility and establishes you as an expert in your field. The majority of people feel highly uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups comfortably. If you can manage to speak in public confidently and articulately, you are bound to boost your reputation dramatically.
Focus on the Patient, Not Your Practice
When creating a website for your practice online, your aim should be to focus on your prospects rather than your practice. Although it’s important to provide details about your educational background, training, and level of expertise, you don’t want that to overpower your entire site. Your prospects need to know what’s in it for them when they visit your website. Hire a competent copywriter to write your website copy so that it really speaks to your potential patients. You want your prospects to feel that there are several reasons why they should choose you over your competitors, and that you will be able to solve their medical issues.
To add depth to your website, make sure to include plenty of testimonials from your current patients. Website visitors love to read patient testimonials because it gives them a better idea of the kind of services you offer.
Start a Blog
Blogging is an essential part of medical marketing because it helps you position yourself as an expert in your medical field and allows you to provide useful information to your patients and prospects on a regular basis. Your blog must be updated regularly with excellent content in order to be optimally effective. When people search online for information in your area of expertise, they may come across your blog, which will further improve your positioning in your field. Blogs are also beneficial to your website’s search engine ranking because search engines love regularly updated content, which blogs provide.
Friday, September 18, 2009
How to Position Yourself as an Expert in Your Field with Medical Marketing
Do you want to position yourself as an expert in your medical field? If so, medical marketing can help you accomplish that feat. In your medical marketing strategy, you must focus on your medical specialty, launch a website with your goals in mind, promote your website, and much more. Here are essential steps to take if you want to use medical marketing to come to be considered an authority in your field of expertise.
Launch a Website
In this day and age, a web presence is vital to the success of most doctors. Approximately 50% of adults search the internet for medical information. In fact, searching for health information is one of the most popular online activities after using email and researching products to buy.
If you don’t have a website, the fact is that many potential patients will not even consider you since they will have no idea that your practice exists. One of your medical marketing priorities should be to create a high quality website that contains details about your medical expertise and training, research, publications, testimonials from patients, and contact information. If you don’t already have a website, your first priority should be to get one as soon as possible.
Focus on Your Medical Specialty
When you build a website and create other marketing materials, make sure that you focus on your medical specialty. People will come to associate you with your specialty and look to you for information about it. On your website, narrow your focus to the procedures you offer that set you apart from other physicians in your field.
Outline Your Website Goals
Don’t create a medical website without outlining your goals first. A medical marketing plan with no goals is bound to fail. A doctor’s website is the face of his/her practice. If it is consists of an old, outdated template, what kind of message does it send to potential patients? Make sure your website design enhances and complements your brand, expertise, and image. If your website looks outdated, get it redesigned and revamped so it meets up to the medical marketing challenge.
Promote Your Website
So you’ve had a killer website designed and added some excellent content. Now what? If nobody sees your website, you may as well not have one. Your ultimate goal should be to attract tons of traffic. Website traffic is life in the online world. Find a company that can help you use search engine optimization, social media optimization, and pay per click advertising to bring droves of traffic to your new website.
Publish Articles Featuring Your Research and Findings Both Online and Offline
As a doctor, your aim should be to frequently publish information and research about your area of expertise both online and offline. Webmasters, editors, and other professionals search online and beyond for informative articles about disease diagnosis, research, and medical advancements. If they find your articles and refer to them in their articles, reports, or websites, it brings you further exposure and potential media attention. Furthermore, when you teach people about your area of expertise, you become a recognized authority in your field and your services become more in demand.
Participate in Public Speaking Engagements
When you write informative articles about your area of expertise, and they get published, you will find yourself receiving an increasing number of invitations to participate in public speaking engagements. Speaking in public gives you instant credibility and establishes you as an expert in your field. The majority of people feel highly uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups comfortably. If you can manage to speak in public confidently and articulately, you are bound to boost your reputation dramatically.
Focus on the Patient, Not Your Practice
When creating a website for your practice online, your aim should be to focus on your prospects rather than your practice. Although it’s important to provide details about your educational background, training, and level of expertise, you don’t want that to overpower your entire site. Your prospects need to know what’s in it for them when they visit your website. Hire a competent copywriter to write your website copy so that it really speaks to your potential patients. You want your prospects to feel that there are several reasons why they should choose you over your competitors, and that you will be able to solve their medical issues.
To add depth to your website, make sure to include plenty of testimonials from your current patients. Website visitors love to read patient testimonials because it gives them a better idea of the kind of services you offer.
Start a Blog
Blogging is an essential part of medical marketing because it helps you position yourself as an expert in your medical field and allows you to provide useful information to your patients and prospects on a regular basis. Your blog must be updated regularly with excellent content in order to be optimally effective. When people search online for information in your area of expertise, they may come across your blog, which will further improve your positioning in your field. Blogs are also beneficial to your website’s search engine ranking because search engines love regularly updated content, which blogs provide.
Launch a Website
In this day and age, a web presence is vital to the success of most doctors. Approximately 50% of adults search the internet for medical information. In fact, searching for health information is one of the most popular online activities after using email and researching products to buy.
If you don’t have a website, the fact is that many potential patients will not even consider you since they will have no idea that your practice exists. One of your medical marketing priorities should be to create a high quality website that contains details about your medical expertise and training, research, publications, testimonials from patients, and contact information. If you don’t already have a website, your first priority should be to get one as soon as possible.
Focus on Your Medical Specialty
When you build a website and create other marketing materials, make sure that you focus on your medical specialty. People will come to associate you with your specialty and look to you for information about it. On your website, narrow your focus to the procedures you offer that set you apart from other physicians in your field.
Outline Your Website Goals
Don’t create a medical website without outlining your goals first. A medical marketing plan with no goals is bound to fail. A doctor’s website is the face of his/her practice. If it is consists of an old, outdated template, what kind of message does it send to potential patients? Make sure your website design enhances and complements your brand, expertise, and image. If your website looks outdated, get it redesigned and revamped so it meets up to the medical marketing challenge.
Promote Your Website
So you’ve had a killer website designed and added some excellent content. Now what? If nobody sees your website, you may as well not have one. Your ultimate goal should be to attract tons of traffic. Website traffic is life in the online world. Find a company that can help you use search engine optimization, social media optimization, and pay per click advertising to bring droves of traffic to your new website.
Publish Articles Featuring Your Research and Findings Both Online and Offline
As a doctor, your aim should be to frequently publish information and research about your area of expertise both online and offline. Webmasters, editors, and other professionals search online and beyond for informative articles about disease diagnosis, research, and medical advancements. If they find your articles and refer to them in their articles, reports, or websites, it brings you further exposure and potential media attention. Furthermore, when you teach people about your area of expertise, you become a recognized authority in your field and your services become more in demand.
Participate in Public Speaking Engagements
When you write informative articles about your area of expertise, and they get published, you will find yourself receiving an increasing number of invitations to participate in public speaking engagements. Speaking in public gives you instant credibility and establishes you as an expert in your field. The majority of people feel highly uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups comfortably. If you can manage to speak in public confidently and articulately, you are bound to boost your reputation dramatically.
Focus on the Patient, Not Your Practice
When creating a website for your practice online, your aim should be to focus on your prospects rather than your practice. Although it’s important to provide details about your educational background, training, and level of expertise, you don’t want that to overpower your entire site. Your prospects need to know what’s in it for them when they visit your website. Hire a competent copywriter to write your website copy so that it really speaks to your potential patients. You want your prospects to feel that there are several reasons why they should choose you over your competitors, and that you will be able to solve their medical issues.
To add depth to your website, make sure to include plenty of testimonials from your current patients. Website visitors love to read patient testimonials because it gives them a better idea of the kind of services you offer.
Start a Blog
Blogging is an essential part of medical marketing because it helps you position yourself as an expert in your medical field and allows you to provide useful information to your patients and prospects on a regular basis. Your blog must be updated regularly with excellent content in order to be optimally effective. When people search online for information in your area of expertise, they may come across your blog, which will further improve your positioning in your field. Blogs are also beneficial to your website’s search engine ranking because search engines love regularly updated content, which blogs provide.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The 5 Ps of Medical Marketing
Nowadays, people choose medical practitioners based on their perceptions rather than relying on endorsements from local authorities and so on. It has become increasingly important for doctors to market their medical practices in order to build their brand, reach out to new patients, and increase business from current patients.
No matter how great of a doctor you are, your skills will mean little if no one knows you are out there. Some doctors are reluctant to embrace marketing strategy because they think that being a great doctor is all you need to do in order to find new patients and keep your current ones. However, the truth is that visibility is incredibly important in this competitive marketplace. The only way to achieve visibility is through launching a medical marketing campaign. Here are the 5 Ps of medical marketing.
1. Product
The product of a medical practice is the service you are offering your patients. For example, if you are a cosmetic surgeon, your product is the cosmetic operations and treatments you offer. The atmosphere of your practice is also important. It is crucial to make a very good first impression so when patients come to your practice, you must ensure that the atmosphere of your practice is relaxing, comforting, and friendly. Make sure that your practice is clean, well-maintained, and well-lit. The colors of your décor and the lighting can make a massive difference in the way patients perceive your practice. Although the most important aspect of your product is providing excellent cosmetic operations and treatments, you have to give the overall impression that your practice is ideal for your target market.
2. Price
The price of your products is not only what you charge for your services – it is also defined by the perceived value of your services. The expectations of your customers will depend on the price you charge. For example, if you go to a five-star restaurant, you expect to receive top level service and food. If you service you receive at the five-star restaurant is comparable to the service you would receive at a fast food restaurant, and the food is mediocre at best, you will be disappointed and feel that you did not receive the perceived value of the product. This will probably lead you to tell everyone you know to avoid the restaurant. Likewise, people will spread the word that your practice should be avoided if you do not live up to the perceived value of your product. On the other hand, when your service matches its price, you will get a lot of word-of-mouth referrals. This provides you with free viral marketing benefits for your practice.
3. Place
The place of your medical practice is where it is located. The location of your practice is essential to your success. Factors such as its visibility and whether or not there is public transport that takes patients there will make a big difference in how many new patients you can attract on a consistent basis. If there are any logistical challenges that get in the way of patients arriving at your practice, try to eliminate them if possible. If your practice is far away and hard to get to for the majority of your target market, you may want to consider relocating, unless you offer such highly specialized services that people would be willing to travel far to receive them.
4. Position
Your position in your market is defined by the competitive advantages you offer. What makes your practice unique and stand out from the rest? You must define your unique position in your market in order to develop an effective marketing plan. Your perception of your practice may be very different from how your patients perceive it. Determine how your patients perceive your medical practice in comparison to competing medical practices by doing surveys and providing them with feedback cards.
5. Promotion
Although many people mistakenly believe that medical marketing is solely about promotion, the truth is that promotion should be the very last step in your marketing campaign. In order to promote your practice successfully, you have to plan extensively. The first 4 Ps are very important and must come first because they help you determine your competitive advantage and which areas of your practice you need to change or improve. Promotion of your medical practice involves a combination of PR, advertising, and direct marketing. Promotion requires a lot of resources so it is very important to plan carefully in order to ensure that you get a high ROI on your medical marketing campaign.
Once you define what the 5 Ps of your medical practice are, you need to find a professional medical marketing firm that can help you put your plan into action and build a highly successful medical marketing campaign. There are several medical marketing firms to choose from so your best bet is to narrow down your choices and compare them based on the results of their previous campaigns. Results must be measurable so you can be sure that the firm will be able to live up to their promises.
No matter how great of a doctor you are, your skills will mean little if no one knows you are out there. Some doctors are reluctant to embrace marketing strategy because they think that being a great doctor is all you need to do in order to find new patients and keep your current ones. However, the truth is that visibility is incredibly important in this competitive marketplace. The only way to achieve visibility is through launching a medical marketing campaign. Here are the 5 Ps of medical marketing.
1. Product
The product of a medical practice is the service you are offering your patients. For example, if you are a cosmetic surgeon, your product is the cosmetic operations and treatments you offer. The atmosphere of your practice is also important. It is crucial to make a very good first impression so when patients come to your practice, you must ensure that the atmosphere of your practice is relaxing, comforting, and friendly. Make sure that your practice is clean, well-maintained, and well-lit. The colors of your décor and the lighting can make a massive difference in the way patients perceive your practice. Although the most important aspect of your product is providing excellent cosmetic operations and treatments, you have to give the overall impression that your practice is ideal for your target market.
2. Price
The price of your products is not only what you charge for your services – it is also defined by the perceived value of your services. The expectations of your customers will depend on the price you charge. For example, if you go to a five-star restaurant, you expect to receive top level service and food. If you service you receive at the five-star restaurant is comparable to the service you would receive at a fast food restaurant, and the food is mediocre at best, you will be disappointed and feel that you did not receive the perceived value of the product. This will probably lead you to tell everyone you know to avoid the restaurant. Likewise, people will spread the word that your practice should be avoided if you do not live up to the perceived value of your product. On the other hand, when your service matches its price, you will get a lot of word-of-mouth referrals. This provides you with free viral marketing benefits for your practice.
3. Place
The place of your medical practice is where it is located. The location of your practice is essential to your success. Factors such as its visibility and whether or not there is public transport that takes patients there will make a big difference in how many new patients you can attract on a consistent basis. If there are any logistical challenges that get in the way of patients arriving at your practice, try to eliminate them if possible. If your practice is far away and hard to get to for the majority of your target market, you may want to consider relocating, unless you offer such highly specialized services that people would be willing to travel far to receive them.
4. Position
Your position in your market is defined by the competitive advantages you offer. What makes your practice unique and stand out from the rest? You must define your unique position in your market in order to develop an effective marketing plan. Your perception of your practice may be very different from how your patients perceive it. Determine how your patients perceive your medical practice in comparison to competing medical practices by doing surveys and providing them with feedback cards.
5. Promotion
Although many people mistakenly believe that medical marketing is solely about promotion, the truth is that promotion should be the very last step in your marketing campaign. In order to promote your practice successfully, you have to plan extensively. The first 4 Ps are very important and must come first because they help you determine your competitive advantage and which areas of your practice you need to change or improve. Promotion of your medical practice involves a combination of PR, advertising, and direct marketing. Promotion requires a lot of resources so it is very important to plan carefully in order to ensure that you get a high ROI on your medical marketing campaign.
Once you define what the 5 Ps of your medical practice are, you need to find a professional medical marketing firm that can help you put your plan into action and build a highly successful medical marketing campaign. There are several medical marketing firms to choose from so your best bet is to narrow down your choices and compare them based on the results of their previous campaigns. Results must be measurable so you can be sure that the firm will be able to live up to their promises.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Essential Elements of an Online Medical Marketing Plan
There are several different ways that the internet can be used for medical marketing purposes. The internet can serve as an advertising medium, a direct marketing channel, an information resource, a customer service center, and much more.
In order to succeed in online medical marketing, you must first assess internal factors such as your strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities. Then you need to size up your competition and lastly, come up with a game plan.
While planning for traditional marketing could take anywhere from six months to a year, planning for online medical marketing is much faster. What used to take weeks to implement offline only takes days online. Give yourself three to six months max to plan your online marketing strategy. This is enough time to integrate online marketing tactics into your overall marketing strategy. When getting started, your best bet is to leverage the internet through your existing marketing plan.
The ten major areas that need to be assessed for you to build an effective online medical marketing plan are the following, in no particular order:
• Goal – Determine what it is you want to accomplish with your online marketing plan. Are you providing health information? Are you building brand awareness? Are you conducting public relations activities? Are you trying to improve customer service?
• Objective – Now you must define objectives that address the goals you set for your online medical marketing plan. You can have several objectives for each goal you set. Objectives are measurable and thus allow you to determine the success of your campaign. If your goal is to generate leads for a new program, your objective can be to do so by encouraging them to visit your website and sign up for a giveaway. Set the objective of generating a specific number of leads in a specific time frame so you can measure the results of your campaign later.
• Target Audience – You need to specify who you are targeting in your online medical marketing efforts. The audience may be the same as the one you target in your traditional marketing campaign or it may be different.
• Marketing Integration – Outline which elements of your traditional marketing campaign you will be integrating into your online marketing program.
• Strategy – Outline your strategy for working towards your goals, objectives, and integration efforts. Determine what offers you will be using online, and if they will be graphically similar to your offline marketing and advertising materials or not.
• Tactics – Specify exactly what types of content you are going to develop and how you are going to deliver it, whether by email, web, download, or newsletter.
• Logistics – Determine what the technical requirements are of implementing and executing the tactics you have defined. You also need to be sure that you have the database capabilities, staffing, and competencies to go through with your marketing plan. If not, determine how you will address your shortcomings and where you can outsource. If you are running an online campaign and expect to receive emails, assign someone to answer all of those emails.
• Metrics – Measuring the success of online marketing campaigns is far easier than with other types of marketing campaigns. Determine what information you want to track, implement a tracking tool, and then collect and analyze the results. Figure out what criteria you will use to measure the success of your campaign.
• Budget – Create an overview of all the different costs associated with developing your online marketing campaign. This includes the costs of developing online content, reworking broadcast materials, and paying programmers, consultants, developers, etc.
• Timeline – When planning a timeline for your online marketing efforts, the shorter the timeline, the better. Set specific dates in your timeline for content creation, beta testing, campaign launch, etc. as milestones.
Some medical marketing campaigns focus on maximizing the potential of the current patient base whereas others focus on recruiting new patients. When you are attempting to recruit new patients, applying the fundamental marketing principle of product differentiation is useful. You must focus on the aspects of your practice that make it different from the competition. Examples of aspects of your practice that may stand out include low cost services, superior customer service, and offering services that competing practices in the area do not offer. However, given the nature of healthcare, it is not as easy for medical practices to focus on these aspects as it is for other types of businesses.
For example, Southwest Airlines may be able to cut drinks and peanuts out from their flight service in order to offer lower cost tickets. On the other hand, doctors cannot give off the impression that they would compromise operational efficiency in order to offer lower cost services. Crafting the right marketing message is very important in the medical marketing arena.
In order to succeed in online medical marketing, you must first assess internal factors such as your strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities. Then you need to size up your competition and lastly, come up with a game plan.
While planning for traditional marketing could take anywhere from six months to a year, planning for online medical marketing is much faster. What used to take weeks to implement offline only takes days online. Give yourself three to six months max to plan your online marketing strategy. This is enough time to integrate online marketing tactics into your overall marketing strategy. When getting started, your best bet is to leverage the internet through your existing marketing plan.
The ten major areas that need to be assessed for you to build an effective online medical marketing plan are the following, in no particular order:
• Goal – Determine what it is you want to accomplish with your online marketing plan. Are you providing health information? Are you building brand awareness? Are you conducting public relations activities? Are you trying to improve customer service?
• Objective – Now you must define objectives that address the goals you set for your online medical marketing plan. You can have several objectives for each goal you set. Objectives are measurable and thus allow you to determine the success of your campaign. If your goal is to generate leads for a new program, your objective can be to do so by encouraging them to visit your website and sign up for a giveaway. Set the objective of generating a specific number of leads in a specific time frame so you can measure the results of your campaign later.
• Target Audience – You need to specify who you are targeting in your online medical marketing efforts. The audience may be the same as the one you target in your traditional marketing campaign or it may be different.
• Marketing Integration – Outline which elements of your traditional marketing campaign you will be integrating into your online marketing program.
• Strategy – Outline your strategy for working towards your goals, objectives, and integration efforts. Determine what offers you will be using online, and if they will be graphically similar to your offline marketing and advertising materials or not.
• Tactics – Specify exactly what types of content you are going to develop and how you are going to deliver it, whether by email, web, download, or newsletter.
• Logistics – Determine what the technical requirements are of implementing and executing the tactics you have defined. You also need to be sure that you have the database capabilities, staffing, and competencies to go through with your marketing plan. If not, determine how you will address your shortcomings and where you can outsource. If you are running an online campaign and expect to receive emails, assign someone to answer all of those emails.
• Metrics – Measuring the success of online marketing campaigns is far easier than with other types of marketing campaigns. Determine what information you want to track, implement a tracking tool, and then collect and analyze the results. Figure out what criteria you will use to measure the success of your campaign.
• Budget – Create an overview of all the different costs associated with developing your online marketing campaign. This includes the costs of developing online content, reworking broadcast materials, and paying programmers, consultants, developers, etc.
• Timeline – When planning a timeline for your online marketing efforts, the shorter the timeline, the better. Set specific dates in your timeline for content creation, beta testing, campaign launch, etc. as milestones.
Some medical marketing campaigns focus on maximizing the potential of the current patient base whereas others focus on recruiting new patients. When you are attempting to recruit new patients, applying the fundamental marketing principle of product differentiation is useful. You must focus on the aspects of your practice that make it different from the competition. Examples of aspects of your practice that may stand out include low cost services, superior customer service, and offering services that competing practices in the area do not offer. However, given the nature of healthcare, it is not as easy for medical practices to focus on these aspects as it is for other types of businesses.
For example, Southwest Airlines may be able to cut drinks and peanuts out from their flight service in order to offer lower cost tickets. On the other hand, doctors cannot give off the impression that they would compromise operational efficiency in order to offer lower cost services. Crafting the right marketing message is very important in the medical marketing arena.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Medical Marketing Advice – Tips for Designing an Effective Medical Website
The main purpose of your medical website is to make you money and in this day and age, there is no excuse for you not to have an online presence. Websites are one of the most important medical marketing tools out there since so many people search online when they need information about medical conditions or when they need to look for a doctor in their area. Make sure your online presence is powerful by investing in an excellent website.
In the past, the yellow pages were important in medical marketing. However, they are no longer a valid option because they are costly, and produce very little results. In fact, the majority of people today rely on the internet to research medical services and procedures. Online, they can view videos, testimonials, and photos, and make instant contact. Just imagine… even if you spend just half of the money it would cost you to get an ad on the yellow pages to market yourself online, you will still get far more patients out of your efforts. If you get a full page ad in the yellow pages, it will just sit amongst hundreds of other similar ads and be seen by far fewer people.
A good medical website will create a positive cash flow for you. If you are a doctor, however, it probably means that your web developing/designing skills are limited. Furthermore, you’re probably too busy to bother with the details of building an effective website and promoting it. That’s why it’s important to hire an internet marketing company with experience in medical marketing to build your website for you and run its search engine optimization campaign.
If you hire a quality company to take care of all of your medical marketing needs, there won’t be much to do on your part besides monitor the results of the campaign. However, there are a few tips you should follow that will minimize hassle and allow you to make the most out of your campaign.
Prior to hiring an internet marketing company to lead your medical marketing campaign, purchase your own domain name. It is important that you are the owner of your domain because you never know what could happen in the future. For example, if you hire an internet marketing company, and they buy your domain and build your website for you, if you ever have any problems with them and would like to switch to another company, they may not transfer the domain to your name unless you pay them a fee. To avoid these kinds of problems, make sure you own the domain of your medical website prior to signing any contracts.
Find a company who can both build your website and take care of SEO. A common mistake that many doctors make is that they hire a web design company with no clue about SEO to design their website and then hire an SEO company to optimize their website for the search engines. The SEO company ends up having to make a lot of changes to what the web design company did in order to make the website SEO-friendly. As a result, you end up paying more for a website that is less effective. For optimal results, search engine optimization must be built into your website rather than added as an afterthought.
When looking for a company that can provide you with both search engine optimization and web design/development services, ask to see examples of their previous work and ask them to show you verifiable results of the success of their previous campaigns. Most companies will have a long and convincing sales pitch but you should prepare plenty of questions to ask to ensure that you don’t get lost in their sales message.
When interviewing companies, find out whether or not they charge for updating your content and website. Some internet marketing companies charge each time you request to have new content added or information changed. These charges can add up and end up being a substantial amount of money. Furthermore, when such charges are tacked onto your bill, it may make you reluctant about updating your website. This is bad since a constantly updated website is essential to your online success. Find out what the company’s SEO and web development package includes. Ideally, updates will be included in your monthly fee.
In order to research the background of a company and determine whether or not they are reliable, search for the company name on Google. It should be relatively easy for you to find the names of some of their clients that way. You can contact their clients to get feedback about their services. This is more effective than asking the company directly for references since they will obviously give you the names of clients that they know will only say good things about them. To get real information and answers, do your homework.
In the past, the yellow pages were important in medical marketing. However, they are no longer a valid option because they are costly, and produce very little results. In fact, the majority of people today rely on the internet to research medical services and procedures. Online, they can view videos, testimonials, and photos, and make instant contact. Just imagine… even if you spend just half of the money it would cost you to get an ad on the yellow pages to market yourself online, you will still get far more patients out of your efforts. If you get a full page ad in the yellow pages, it will just sit amongst hundreds of other similar ads and be seen by far fewer people.
A good medical website will create a positive cash flow for you. If you are a doctor, however, it probably means that your web developing/designing skills are limited. Furthermore, you’re probably too busy to bother with the details of building an effective website and promoting it. That’s why it’s important to hire an internet marketing company with experience in medical marketing to build your website for you and run its search engine optimization campaign.
If you hire a quality company to take care of all of your medical marketing needs, there won’t be much to do on your part besides monitor the results of the campaign. However, there are a few tips you should follow that will minimize hassle and allow you to make the most out of your campaign.
Prior to hiring an internet marketing company to lead your medical marketing campaign, purchase your own domain name. It is important that you are the owner of your domain because you never know what could happen in the future. For example, if you hire an internet marketing company, and they buy your domain and build your website for you, if you ever have any problems with them and would like to switch to another company, they may not transfer the domain to your name unless you pay them a fee. To avoid these kinds of problems, make sure you own the domain of your medical website prior to signing any contracts.
Find a company who can both build your website and take care of SEO. A common mistake that many doctors make is that they hire a web design company with no clue about SEO to design their website and then hire an SEO company to optimize their website for the search engines. The SEO company ends up having to make a lot of changes to what the web design company did in order to make the website SEO-friendly. As a result, you end up paying more for a website that is less effective. For optimal results, search engine optimization must be built into your website rather than added as an afterthought.
When looking for a company that can provide you with both search engine optimization and web design/development services, ask to see examples of their previous work and ask them to show you verifiable results of the success of their previous campaigns. Most companies will have a long and convincing sales pitch but you should prepare plenty of questions to ask to ensure that you don’t get lost in their sales message.
When interviewing companies, find out whether or not they charge for updating your content and website. Some internet marketing companies charge each time you request to have new content added or information changed. These charges can add up and end up being a substantial amount of money. Furthermore, when such charges are tacked onto your bill, it may make you reluctant about updating your website. This is bad since a constantly updated website is essential to your online success. Find out what the company’s SEO and web development package includes. Ideally, updates will be included in your monthly fee.
In order to research the background of a company and determine whether or not they are reliable, search for the company name on Google. It should be relatively easy for you to find the names of some of their clients that way. You can contact their clients to get feedback about their services. This is more effective than asking the company directly for references since they will obviously give you the names of clients that they know will only say good things about them. To get real information and answers, do your homework.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
5 Easy Steps for Developing Your Medical Marketing Plan
If you want to establish a strong referral base, increase the number of patients you receive in your practice, and build a positive reputation for yourself in the local community, you must have a solid medical marketing plan. Carrying out medical marketing activities without a plan will lead you to walk in circles without arriving anywhere at all.
Build a medical marketing plan so you have a course of action to follow and objectives to meet. Contrary to popular belief, developing a marketing plan for your practice doesn’t have to be a long and tedious process. Follow these 5 easy steps to craft a plan of action so you can start marketing your practice today.
1. Analyze Your Situation
The first step in developing an effective medical marketing plan for your practice, and a very important one at that, is looking at your current situation. You have to analyze your competitors and understand your target market and environment. Start out by analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats relating to your practice and marketplace.
In order to determine what your strengths and weaknesses are, you have to look at your practice’s internal situation. Analyze areas such as your services, the credentials of medical staff, office hours, financial policies, the location of your office, the office itself, and the attitude of staff members. Determine what your weaknesses are so you can improve those areas and determine what your strengths are so you can use them as competitive advantages.
Factors that are external to your practice are opportunities and threats. Find opportunities in your marketplace to improve the reputation of your practice and build your brand. You have to counteract threats in the marketplace that could put your practice in jeopardy. Threats include variations in referral patterns, fluctuations in your population base, an increase in competition, or changes in reimbursement.
When you assess your practice and marketplace, be honest in your analysis. You need to be honest in order to uncover your weaknesses and emphasize your strengths. Discover what your obstacles are as you develop strategies.
2. Set Marketing Objectives
After you analyze your situation internally and externally, you need to set marketing objectives. Objectives in your medical marketing plan must be specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant to the mission of your practice. You should set timelines for achieving your objectives.
Examples of objectives that meet these requirements include:
“The practice will expand by opening a satellite clinic in Toronto by October 2010.”
“The practice will increase the number of referring positions by 20 in 2009.”
Your objectives should relate to your clients, the services you offer, your image/brand/reputation, customer service, and the profitability and growth of your practice.
3. Determine What Strategies You Will Use to Meet Your Objectives
In order to meet your objectives, you must develop specific marketing strategies. Strategies you can use include introducing a new form of technology or service, using advertising and media relations campaigns to market your practice, providing superior customer service to achieve higher patient retention, doing community outreach to improve reputation, and conducting activities that would lead to the development of referrals.
You have to choose marketing strategies based on the type of market you are targeting. Obviously if you are trying to target physicians for referrals, you wouldn’t use the same marketing strategies as you would if you were targeting the general public. Your best bet is to use a combination of different strategies. That way you aren’t putting all of your eggs into one basket. The marketing strategies you choose will also depend on the specific objectives you have and the budget and resources you have available.
4. Ready, Set, Action!
Write down the steps that need to be taken for each marketing strategy you plan to use. Also include a timeline and budget for your plan. Assign staff members to be in charge of different parts of the campaign. Once you’ve done all of the above, put your plan into action.
5. Measure and Track Your Progress
You need to develop indicators of your progress to ensure that your campaign stays on track. Evaluate key indicators on a regular basis so you can see the rewards that have come out of all of your hard work. Tweak your campaign and make revisions as necessary based on your findings.
When you talk to new patients, ask them how they heard about you. Then you’ll know whether or not they found you as a result of one of your marketing/advertising campaigns. Keep track of any mentions of your practice by paying attention to media and counting all the times the name of your practice is mentioned. Assess the number of new patients you receive each month and keep track of the numbers of patients coming from physician referral sources. Evaluate any variations in the number of patients coming from physician referral sources over time.
Build a medical marketing plan so you have a course of action to follow and objectives to meet. Contrary to popular belief, developing a marketing plan for your practice doesn’t have to be a long and tedious process. Follow these 5 easy steps to craft a plan of action so you can start marketing your practice today.
1. Analyze Your Situation
The first step in developing an effective medical marketing plan for your practice, and a very important one at that, is looking at your current situation. You have to analyze your competitors and understand your target market and environment. Start out by analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats relating to your practice and marketplace.
In order to determine what your strengths and weaknesses are, you have to look at your practice’s internal situation. Analyze areas such as your services, the credentials of medical staff, office hours, financial policies, the location of your office, the office itself, and the attitude of staff members. Determine what your weaknesses are so you can improve those areas and determine what your strengths are so you can use them as competitive advantages.
Factors that are external to your practice are opportunities and threats. Find opportunities in your marketplace to improve the reputation of your practice and build your brand. You have to counteract threats in the marketplace that could put your practice in jeopardy. Threats include variations in referral patterns, fluctuations in your population base, an increase in competition, or changes in reimbursement.
When you assess your practice and marketplace, be honest in your analysis. You need to be honest in order to uncover your weaknesses and emphasize your strengths. Discover what your obstacles are as you develop strategies.
2. Set Marketing Objectives
After you analyze your situation internally and externally, you need to set marketing objectives. Objectives in your medical marketing plan must be specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant to the mission of your practice. You should set timelines for achieving your objectives.
Examples of objectives that meet these requirements include:
“The practice will expand by opening a satellite clinic in Toronto by October 2010.”
“The practice will increase the number of referring positions by 20 in 2009.”
Your objectives should relate to your clients, the services you offer, your image/brand/reputation, customer service, and the profitability and growth of your practice.
3. Determine What Strategies You Will Use to Meet Your Objectives
In order to meet your objectives, you must develop specific marketing strategies. Strategies you can use include introducing a new form of technology or service, using advertising and media relations campaigns to market your practice, providing superior customer service to achieve higher patient retention, doing community outreach to improve reputation, and conducting activities that would lead to the development of referrals.
You have to choose marketing strategies based on the type of market you are targeting. Obviously if you are trying to target physicians for referrals, you wouldn’t use the same marketing strategies as you would if you were targeting the general public. Your best bet is to use a combination of different strategies. That way you aren’t putting all of your eggs into one basket. The marketing strategies you choose will also depend on the specific objectives you have and the budget and resources you have available.
4. Ready, Set, Action!
Write down the steps that need to be taken for each marketing strategy you plan to use. Also include a timeline and budget for your plan. Assign staff members to be in charge of different parts of the campaign. Once you’ve done all of the above, put your plan into action.
5. Measure and Track Your Progress
You need to develop indicators of your progress to ensure that your campaign stays on track. Evaluate key indicators on a regular basis so you can see the rewards that have come out of all of your hard work. Tweak your campaign and make revisions as necessary based on your findings.
When you talk to new patients, ask them how they heard about you. Then you’ll know whether or not they found you as a result of one of your marketing/advertising campaigns. Keep track of any mentions of your practice by paying attention to media and counting all the times the name of your practice is mentioned. Assess the number of new patients you receive each month and keep track of the numbers of patients coming from physician referral sources. Evaluate any variations in the number of patients coming from physician referral sources over time.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Medical Marketing Tips that Will Help Medical Practitioners Thrive During an Economic Crunch
Very few doctors will admit that making lots of money lies in their marketing and public relations abilities since it conflicts with their professional ego. However, most doctors can agree on the fact that attracting new patients, return patients, and patients with more disposable income is the key to running a successful practice. In order to achieve these goals, you must have a medical marketing plan. A successful plan will prevent you from wasting money on unnecessary advertising and get the public and media exposure you need in a cost-effective manner. Particularly during these difficult economic times, it is increasingly important to expand your practice using precise marketing strategies.
The Importance of Visibility
Visibility is essential because it helps to make you an authority in your field. For example, if you are a dentist with visibility in your local area, the first person people will think of when they need to go to the dentist is you. In order to create a positive reputation for yourself and establish yourself as an authority, you have to become a beloved figure in your community. This means that people come to trust you on a personal level. You can have the latest and greatest tools and all the credentials but they won’t mean much if you don’t have visibility. Professional qualifications are overrated, in fact. In order to survive an economic crunch, you must use precise medical marketing and PR techniques.
Many medical practitioners mistakenly believe that they are not affected by economic slumps due to the simple fact that people always need to go to the doctor. However, the fact of the matter is that many people will put off the medical care they need as their discretionary income shrinks.
How to Become More Visible
Be much more visible than any other medical practitioner in your field in the local market. Public relations are far more effective than advertising so focus your efforts on that instead. When you get third party endorsements from the media and community, it boosts your credibility substantially. PR is great since it is cost-effective. As many doctors are forced to cut advertising costs during grim economic times, they can take advantage of smart PR methods to survive and thrive.
The goal should be to become a beloved figure in the local community. This gives you positive press and more word-of-mouth advertising. People come to trust you on a personal level. Your level of expertise matters little if you can manage to get yourself known by sending out the right message to the right people, at the right time.
Developing an Effective Marketing Mix
There is not one single medical marketing method that works all the time so you need to mix the strategies you use. Use a variety of long-term and short-term messages and avenues. The first place to start when developing your marketing plan is to define who your preferred patients are. You then have to make sure you send your marketing messages out to wherever they are so anytime they require medical services in your field, they think of you and not your competitor. Learn the demographic and needs of your preferred patients. You can’t be everything to everyone so make sure you only send your message out to your niche market.
Keep Current Patients
Rather than focusing fully on attracting new patients, you should focus your strategy on keeping current ones because it is cheaper. Your current patients will refer you to others they know and come back to you time and time again for treatments. You can stay in touch with your current patients that are individually-oriented. Develop a database with your patients’ contact information and use sophisticated software to personalize your marketing messages.
Use Long-Term and Short-Term Strategies
Long-term strategies include branding, search engine optimization, community outreach and public relations. Short-term strategies include gift certificates, direct mail, in-house events, and internet marketing. Long-term strategies build awareness of your brand and practice whereas short-term strategies boost revenue immediately while you build your reputation. Let’s take a look at some of the most important strategies.
Branding – Branding is your image and it is what patients see, hear or read about you. It constitutes the feeling that people get about you when they hear about your practice. Fine tune your marketing message to ensure that you’re building the reputation you intend to.
Community Outreach – Get involved in your community through attending fundraising events and joining local charities. When you give off the image of being caring and committed to your community, it is highly beneficial to your PR campaign.
Direct Mail – Promote a product or treatment with persuasive direct mail pieces sent out to both prospects and current patients.
In-House Events – Hold an event at your practice and invite patients, telling them to invite their friends and family. Educate them about some of the treatments you offer and promote your products/services.
Remember, your prospects may not become patients immediately. It could even take months for them to actually give you a call and set up an appointment. It takes different messages and avenues to connect with your target market so be sure your marketing strategy is constant so they know you are there to address their needs when the time comes.
The Importance of Visibility
Visibility is essential because it helps to make you an authority in your field. For example, if you are a dentist with visibility in your local area, the first person people will think of when they need to go to the dentist is you. In order to create a positive reputation for yourself and establish yourself as an authority, you have to become a beloved figure in your community. This means that people come to trust you on a personal level. You can have the latest and greatest tools and all the credentials but they won’t mean much if you don’t have visibility. Professional qualifications are overrated, in fact. In order to survive an economic crunch, you must use precise medical marketing and PR techniques.
Many medical practitioners mistakenly believe that they are not affected by economic slumps due to the simple fact that people always need to go to the doctor. However, the fact of the matter is that many people will put off the medical care they need as their discretionary income shrinks.
How to Become More Visible
Be much more visible than any other medical practitioner in your field in the local market. Public relations are far more effective than advertising so focus your efforts on that instead. When you get third party endorsements from the media and community, it boosts your credibility substantially. PR is great since it is cost-effective. As many doctors are forced to cut advertising costs during grim economic times, they can take advantage of smart PR methods to survive and thrive.
The goal should be to become a beloved figure in the local community. This gives you positive press and more word-of-mouth advertising. People come to trust you on a personal level. Your level of expertise matters little if you can manage to get yourself known by sending out the right message to the right people, at the right time.
Developing an Effective Marketing Mix
There is not one single medical marketing method that works all the time so you need to mix the strategies you use. Use a variety of long-term and short-term messages and avenues. The first place to start when developing your marketing plan is to define who your preferred patients are. You then have to make sure you send your marketing messages out to wherever they are so anytime they require medical services in your field, they think of you and not your competitor. Learn the demographic and needs of your preferred patients. You can’t be everything to everyone so make sure you only send your message out to your niche market.
Keep Current Patients
Rather than focusing fully on attracting new patients, you should focus your strategy on keeping current ones because it is cheaper. Your current patients will refer you to others they know and come back to you time and time again for treatments. You can stay in touch with your current patients that are individually-oriented. Develop a database with your patients’ contact information and use sophisticated software to personalize your marketing messages.
Use Long-Term and Short-Term Strategies
Long-term strategies include branding, search engine optimization, community outreach and public relations. Short-term strategies include gift certificates, direct mail, in-house events, and internet marketing. Long-term strategies build awareness of your brand and practice whereas short-term strategies boost revenue immediately while you build your reputation. Let’s take a look at some of the most important strategies.
Branding – Branding is your image and it is what patients see, hear or read about you. It constitutes the feeling that people get about you when they hear about your practice. Fine tune your marketing message to ensure that you’re building the reputation you intend to.
Community Outreach – Get involved in your community through attending fundraising events and joining local charities. When you give off the image of being caring and committed to your community, it is highly beneficial to your PR campaign.
Direct Mail – Promote a product or treatment with persuasive direct mail pieces sent out to both prospects and current patients.
In-House Events – Hold an event at your practice and invite patients, telling them to invite their friends and family. Educate them about some of the treatments you offer and promote your products/services.
Remember, your prospects may not become patients immediately. It could even take months for them to actually give you a call and set up an appointment. It takes different messages and avenues to connect with your target market so be sure your marketing strategy is constant so they know you are there to address their needs when the time comes.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Important Services in Medical Marketing
No matter how great of a doctor you are, you won’t be able to make much of a difference and find lots of new patients unless people can find you easily. This is where medical marketing comes in. Medical marketing involves building your brand, coming up with a strategic plan, and standing out from the crowd. Here are several important services that you may want to consider when planning your medical marketing campaign.
Branding
The key to success in marketing your medical practice is through establishing and building a brand. In order to develop your own brand as a doctor, you must deliver a healthcare experience that is unique. It can be helpful to consult a company that specializes in medical marketing in order to identify what your brand image will consist of. From there, you have to implement strategies that allow you to communicate and manage your brand’s message to prospects.
After you have established and defined your brand, you must position it. Positioning involves getting the right message out to your target market at the appropriate time. You must ensure that the message of your brand is properly communicated to patients and prospects.
Strategic Planning
Identify your goals and plot your path to success. You must craft measurable objectives and combine them with creative strategies in order to achieve your goals. It is ideal to create a marketing plan that is easy to update and reference. It is essential to use practical tools to measure your progress so you can avoid having to go through stacks of papers that will probably just sit on your shelf most of the time anyway.
Media and Community Relations
Whether you are offering a new service/product/procedure or you have some other interesting news to share, using media outlets is a great way to get your name out there and garner some attention. You can target local and national media outlets in your medical marketing campaign in order to maximize your exposure and position yourself as an authority in your medical field.
Thanks to mass media, it is also possible to make a name for yourself in the local community. Community relations are incredibly important to medical practices because they position you as an authority in your field as well as a friend of the community, where most of your patients will be coming from. Getting involved in community relations can be a very cost-effective marketing strategy that enables you to build a very positive reputation for your practice.
Creative Advertising Campaigns
In order to attract attention and stand out from the crowd, it is essential to hire a professional marketing team to help you build an advertising campaign. Whether you want to reach your audience via print media, television, internet, or radio, it is essential to devise creative, enticing ads that maximize your advertising dollar. Powerful messages and compelling visuals are important. Hire a professional team that can help you craft an advertising campaign that increases your bottom line.
Addressing Your Patients’ Needs
Healthcare today revolves more and more around patient satisfaction. It is vital to provide your patients with the most pleasant experience possible in your practice. The four A’s of customer service in medicine are accommodation, access, availability, and accountability. Address these four areas and you are sure to provide a positive patient experience. You can use marketing audits, patient surveys, and organizational assessments to evaluate your progress and ensure that you are addressing your patients’ needs.
Communications
Some important aspects of building a well-connected and communicative practice are having an online presence, staying in touch with patients and prospects via mail, providing patients with brochures and education materials, and establishing a referral network. A referral network consists of other doctors who refer their patients to you for the procedures and expertise you provide. Have a medical marketing specialist assist you in building your referral network.
Stay connected to your patients and referral sources by sending out newsletters. Newsletters give you an opportunity to keep everyone in your network informed about what’s new at your practice. You can also send out direct mail letters and post cards to prospects or current patients to advertise new procedures or increase awareness about the services you already provide.
A medical practice without a website in this day and age is a lot less likely to be found by new patients. Most of your patients are probably tech-savvy so you have to build an attractive website that features cutting-edge design and compelling copy in order to increase clientele. Whether you need to revamp your old website or build a new one from scratch, hire a marketing company with experience designing and writing websites for medical practices to assist you.
Creating brochures and patient education materials is a good idea because it strengthens the relationship between you and your patients. Ensure that any brochures and education materials you create reflect your brand image and communicate your message. Most importantly, make sure that any materials you create meet your patients’ needs and provide them with ultimate value.
Branding
The key to success in marketing your medical practice is through establishing and building a brand. In order to develop your own brand as a doctor, you must deliver a healthcare experience that is unique. It can be helpful to consult a company that specializes in medical marketing in order to identify what your brand image will consist of. From there, you have to implement strategies that allow you to communicate and manage your brand’s message to prospects.
After you have established and defined your brand, you must position it. Positioning involves getting the right message out to your target market at the appropriate time. You must ensure that the message of your brand is properly communicated to patients and prospects.
Strategic Planning
Identify your goals and plot your path to success. You must craft measurable objectives and combine them with creative strategies in order to achieve your goals. It is ideal to create a marketing plan that is easy to update and reference. It is essential to use practical tools to measure your progress so you can avoid having to go through stacks of papers that will probably just sit on your shelf most of the time anyway.
Media and Community Relations
Whether you are offering a new service/product/procedure or you have some other interesting news to share, using media outlets is a great way to get your name out there and garner some attention. You can target local and national media outlets in your medical marketing campaign in order to maximize your exposure and position yourself as an authority in your medical field.
Thanks to mass media, it is also possible to make a name for yourself in the local community. Community relations are incredibly important to medical practices because they position you as an authority in your field as well as a friend of the community, where most of your patients will be coming from. Getting involved in community relations can be a very cost-effective marketing strategy that enables you to build a very positive reputation for your practice.
Creative Advertising Campaigns
In order to attract attention and stand out from the crowd, it is essential to hire a professional marketing team to help you build an advertising campaign. Whether you want to reach your audience via print media, television, internet, or radio, it is essential to devise creative, enticing ads that maximize your advertising dollar. Powerful messages and compelling visuals are important. Hire a professional team that can help you craft an advertising campaign that increases your bottom line.
Addressing Your Patients’ Needs
Healthcare today revolves more and more around patient satisfaction. It is vital to provide your patients with the most pleasant experience possible in your practice. The four A’s of customer service in medicine are accommodation, access, availability, and accountability. Address these four areas and you are sure to provide a positive patient experience. You can use marketing audits, patient surveys, and organizational assessments to evaluate your progress and ensure that you are addressing your patients’ needs.
Communications
Some important aspects of building a well-connected and communicative practice are having an online presence, staying in touch with patients and prospects via mail, providing patients with brochures and education materials, and establishing a referral network. A referral network consists of other doctors who refer their patients to you for the procedures and expertise you provide. Have a medical marketing specialist assist you in building your referral network.
Stay connected to your patients and referral sources by sending out newsletters. Newsletters give you an opportunity to keep everyone in your network informed about what’s new at your practice. You can also send out direct mail letters and post cards to prospects or current patients to advertise new procedures or increase awareness about the services you already provide.
A medical practice without a website in this day and age is a lot less likely to be found by new patients. Most of your patients are probably tech-savvy so you have to build an attractive website that features cutting-edge design and compelling copy in order to increase clientele. Whether you need to revamp your old website or build a new one from scratch, hire a marketing company with experience designing and writing websites for medical practices to assist you.
Creating brochures and patient education materials is a good idea because it strengthens the relationship between you and your patients. Ensure that any brochures and education materials you create reflect your brand image and communicate your message. Most importantly, make sure that any materials you create meet your patients’ needs and provide them with ultimate value.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Medical Marketing 101 – How to Get More Patients and Increase Profits
Perhaps you became a doctor because you love to help people or because you have a passion for medicine. No matter what brought you to become a doctor, you have to face the fact that patients equal profits. Many doctors are reluctant about marketing their practice but it is essential if you want to grow your practice and attract new patients.
Many doctors mistakenly believe that if you are busy as a doctor, it is because you are a good at what you do. That may be the case sometimes but the majority of doctors who maintain busy schedules also have an effective marketing plan. There is a stigma attached to medical marketing but if you want to stay busy and avoid the dreaded famines that follow feasts, you need to get more patients through marketing your practice.
Why All Doctors Should Market
All doctors should market and promote their practice because no matter how great of a doctor you are, no one will know you exist unless you promote yourself. Contrary to popular belief, medical marketing is not always about having a huge advertising budget and placing expensive ads. There are several low-cost methods of marketing that doctors can use to match their practice with their patients’ needs.
Medical Marketing Basics
Many times doctors forge personal connections with their patients and thus attract new patients based on word-of-mouth. Current patients are an important resource when it comes to marketing your practice. Your patients already have trust in you so you can ask them for referrals, follow up with them, and encourage them to spread the word about your practice. Ensuring that you give each and every one of your patients a great experience is important if you want to cultivate strong relationships with them and increase patient loyalty.
Many doctors feel uncomfortable about asking their patients for referrals but it is necessary if you want to increase your clientele. Patients often tend to think that a doctor is too busy to take new patients and doesn’t really think of referring their doctor to friends and family in most instances. In order to encourage people to make referrals, take the time to provide them with the best service possible. Treat them as individuals, not numbers. Smile at them, make the billing process easier for them, and do whatever you can to make them have a great experience in your practice. This type of medical marketing is known as “internal marketing.” Essentially, every time a patient comes into contact with your practice, you are marketing.
Points in Your Practice to Review
In order to determine in which areas your practice needs work when it comes to marketing, here are some points to review.
Find Your Identity – How would you describe your practice in five adjectives? What kinds of services does your practice offer? How does your practice stand out from the pack? Answer these questions and then meet with your staff to ensure that you are living up to your proposed identity. If you want to come across as a friendly practice, you need to be sure that your staff members are smiley and friendly with patients.
Improve Your Workspace – Take a look at your practice as if you were a patient. Is it easy to navigate? Is the atmosphere pleasant? Does it take long to get in and out? Make sure the experience of being in your practice is as pleasant as possible and work on areas that need improvement.
Live Up to Your Price Tag – How much do you charge for your services in comparison to other doctors in the local area? Make sure your prices are appropriate for the services you offer and the market you are targeting. Don’t go too high or too low.
Market Consistently – Whether you rely solely on internal marketing or you are doing external marketing in addition, make sure your marketing efforts are consistent and professional. Even a little effort can make a huge difference down the line, whether you are ready to embrace traditional marketing methods or not.
Good Promotion, Good Product
The key to success in medical marketing is consistently providing quality medical service and promoting it well by sending out leaflets and brochures to potential patients and follow-up notes welcoming new patients to the practice. Brochures and leaflets can describe the treatments you offer to educate potential patients and inform them of the services you provide. You can also provide current patients with information packets detailing the treatments and procedures they are undergoing to improve the level of customer service you provide. To give your practice an efficient and organized image, have your staff call patients for appointment reminders. Another good way to promote your practice and build your reputation as a caring, compassionate doctor is through getting involved in community events.
Volunteering and attending community events can also lead to positive media coverage.If you are a doctor and want to stay ahead of your game, you need to start planning your medical marketing strategy now. As the market becomes increasingly competitive, it is more important than ever to boost your marketing strategy so you can stand out from the crowd.
Many doctors mistakenly believe that if you are busy as a doctor, it is because you are a good at what you do. That may be the case sometimes but the majority of doctors who maintain busy schedules also have an effective marketing plan. There is a stigma attached to medical marketing but if you want to stay busy and avoid the dreaded famines that follow feasts, you need to get more patients through marketing your practice.
Why All Doctors Should Market
All doctors should market and promote their practice because no matter how great of a doctor you are, no one will know you exist unless you promote yourself. Contrary to popular belief, medical marketing is not always about having a huge advertising budget and placing expensive ads. There are several low-cost methods of marketing that doctors can use to match their practice with their patients’ needs.
Medical Marketing Basics
Many times doctors forge personal connections with their patients and thus attract new patients based on word-of-mouth. Current patients are an important resource when it comes to marketing your practice. Your patients already have trust in you so you can ask them for referrals, follow up with them, and encourage them to spread the word about your practice. Ensuring that you give each and every one of your patients a great experience is important if you want to cultivate strong relationships with them and increase patient loyalty.
Many doctors feel uncomfortable about asking their patients for referrals but it is necessary if you want to increase your clientele. Patients often tend to think that a doctor is too busy to take new patients and doesn’t really think of referring their doctor to friends and family in most instances. In order to encourage people to make referrals, take the time to provide them with the best service possible. Treat them as individuals, not numbers. Smile at them, make the billing process easier for them, and do whatever you can to make them have a great experience in your practice. This type of medical marketing is known as “internal marketing.” Essentially, every time a patient comes into contact with your practice, you are marketing.
Points in Your Practice to Review
In order to determine in which areas your practice needs work when it comes to marketing, here are some points to review.
Find Your Identity – How would you describe your practice in five adjectives? What kinds of services does your practice offer? How does your practice stand out from the pack? Answer these questions and then meet with your staff to ensure that you are living up to your proposed identity. If you want to come across as a friendly practice, you need to be sure that your staff members are smiley and friendly with patients.
Improve Your Workspace – Take a look at your practice as if you were a patient. Is it easy to navigate? Is the atmosphere pleasant? Does it take long to get in and out? Make sure the experience of being in your practice is as pleasant as possible and work on areas that need improvement.
Live Up to Your Price Tag – How much do you charge for your services in comparison to other doctors in the local area? Make sure your prices are appropriate for the services you offer and the market you are targeting. Don’t go too high or too low.
Market Consistently – Whether you rely solely on internal marketing or you are doing external marketing in addition, make sure your marketing efforts are consistent and professional. Even a little effort can make a huge difference down the line, whether you are ready to embrace traditional marketing methods or not.
Good Promotion, Good Product
The key to success in medical marketing is consistently providing quality medical service and promoting it well by sending out leaflets and brochures to potential patients and follow-up notes welcoming new patients to the practice. Brochures and leaflets can describe the treatments you offer to educate potential patients and inform them of the services you provide. You can also provide current patients with information packets detailing the treatments and procedures they are undergoing to improve the level of customer service you provide. To give your practice an efficient and organized image, have your staff call patients for appointment reminders. Another good way to promote your practice and build your reputation as a caring, compassionate doctor is through getting involved in community events.
Volunteering and attending community events can also lead to positive media coverage.If you are a doctor and want to stay ahead of your game, you need to start planning your medical marketing strategy now. As the market becomes increasingly competitive, it is more important than ever to boost your marketing strategy so you can stand out from the crowd.
Monday, July 13, 2009
How to Expand Your Online Presence through Online Medical Marketing
Marketing your medical practice is no longer just about putting an ad in the phone book or local newspaper. The internet has become an incredibly important marketing tool in medicine because it allows you to reach your target audience easily. However, competition is fierce in online medical marketing so having a great website alone is not sufficient in attracting a steady flow of new clients to your practice.
Google indexes over a trillion pages of content so the chances of your patients finding your practice’s website via search engines is slim to none. Having an effective, appealing website to share your contact information as well as more information about your practice is a great start. But unless you take the necessary action to optimize your website and apply online medical marketing strategies, your website will sink into oblivion.
How to Make Your Website Stand Out
The first step you must take in order to boost your online presence is to optimize your website for the search engines. Search engine optimization involves on-site and off-site strategies. By optimizing your website through search marketing, you will be able to attract a steady flow of traffic from the search engines. Ideally you would target search terms for your geographical area. The goal is to have it so that your website comes up on the top page of search results when people are searching for the medical services you offer.
The next step you must take is to spread good information about your practice around the internet and build a strong online reputation. The best way to do this is through encouraging satisfied patients to write positive reviews detailing their experiences at your practice and then posting them on your website. You should also create separate websites that feature positive reviews of your practice. Most potential patients are craving to read firsthand reviews from past patients to get a better idea of what to expect at your practice. Don’t encourage your patients to write reviews on sites like Citysearch or Yelp because by doing so, you are bound to receive the occasional negative review on those sites and taint your reputation.
Tips for Using Attraction Marketing
Another way you can attract attention to your website and build awareness of your practice online is through attraction marketing techniques. Attraction marketing involves the use of websites, blogs, and social media websites to build awareness of your “brand” as a medical practitioner. Doctors obviously have very busy schedules so it’s best to outsource this work to an experienced marketing company. Writing blogs and website content that establishes you as an authority in your medical field can be helpful in building trust with potential clients and spreading your name around the web.
Social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter are an effective way to network with current customers and potential clients. For example, on Twitter, you can share information about the latest happenings in your practice and post tweets that include links to relevant articles. When people search for your name on the internet and come across these tweets and blog posts you have written, you become an expert in their eyes and they come to trust you more.
Doctors who have their own websites featuring Q&A about their medical field and other advice tend to do very well because people look up to them as experts in their field. Giving away free information is a very effective way to build authority and boost your online presence because as they say, “teaching sells.” People feel more eager to become the patients of a doctor whom they trust. You can build that trust by syndicating articles about your medical field, answering frequently asked questions, and networking with your patients online.
One of your goals should be to dominate the top ten search engine results for your name with your blogs, social media profiles, and websites. That way when people search for your name, they will only find positive reviews and information about your business. If you do occasionally find a negative review in the search results for your name, don’t retaliate. Simply work hard to market the content on your websites and blogs. You can also hire someone to participate in relevant forums to talk favorably about your practice. As long as you remain persistent, the negative reviews will eventually get bumped off the first page of search results.
Build your online presence strategically for the best results. The most effective way to manage your medical marketing campaign is with the assistance of an online marketing company that has a proven track record in this field. The more widespread your online presence is the better. If you have blogs, social media profiles, forum posting accounts, and review sites all pointing back to your main website, it will help you achieve a higher search engine ranking as well as attract a steady flow of traffic from a variety of sources.
Google indexes over a trillion pages of content so the chances of your patients finding your practice’s website via search engines is slim to none. Having an effective, appealing website to share your contact information as well as more information about your practice is a great start. But unless you take the necessary action to optimize your website and apply online medical marketing strategies, your website will sink into oblivion.
How to Make Your Website Stand Out
The first step you must take in order to boost your online presence is to optimize your website for the search engines. Search engine optimization involves on-site and off-site strategies. By optimizing your website through search marketing, you will be able to attract a steady flow of traffic from the search engines. Ideally you would target search terms for your geographical area. The goal is to have it so that your website comes up on the top page of search results when people are searching for the medical services you offer.
The next step you must take is to spread good information about your practice around the internet and build a strong online reputation. The best way to do this is through encouraging satisfied patients to write positive reviews detailing their experiences at your practice and then posting them on your website. You should also create separate websites that feature positive reviews of your practice. Most potential patients are craving to read firsthand reviews from past patients to get a better idea of what to expect at your practice. Don’t encourage your patients to write reviews on sites like Citysearch or Yelp because by doing so, you are bound to receive the occasional negative review on those sites and taint your reputation.
Tips for Using Attraction Marketing
Another way you can attract attention to your website and build awareness of your practice online is through attraction marketing techniques. Attraction marketing involves the use of websites, blogs, and social media websites to build awareness of your “brand” as a medical practitioner. Doctors obviously have very busy schedules so it’s best to outsource this work to an experienced marketing company. Writing blogs and website content that establishes you as an authority in your medical field can be helpful in building trust with potential clients and spreading your name around the web.
Social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter are an effective way to network with current customers and potential clients. For example, on Twitter, you can share information about the latest happenings in your practice and post tweets that include links to relevant articles. When people search for your name on the internet and come across these tweets and blog posts you have written, you become an expert in their eyes and they come to trust you more.
Doctors who have their own websites featuring Q&A about their medical field and other advice tend to do very well because people look up to them as experts in their field. Giving away free information is a very effective way to build authority and boost your online presence because as they say, “teaching sells.” People feel more eager to become the patients of a doctor whom they trust. You can build that trust by syndicating articles about your medical field, answering frequently asked questions, and networking with your patients online.
One of your goals should be to dominate the top ten search engine results for your name with your blogs, social media profiles, and websites. That way when people search for your name, they will only find positive reviews and information about your business. If you do occasionally find a negative review in the search results for your name, don’t retaliate. Simply work hard to market the content on your websites and blogs. You can also hire someone to participate in relevant forums to talk favorably about your practice. As long as you remain persistent, the negative reviews will eventually get bumped off the first page of search results.
Build your online presence strategically for the best results. The most effective way to manage your medical marketing campaign is with the assistance of an online marketing company that has a proven track record in this field. The more widespread your online presence is the better. If you have blogs, social media profiles, forum posting accounts, and review sites all pointing back to your main website, it will help you achieve a higher search engine ranking as well as attract a steady flow of traffic from a variety of sources.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Medical Marketing: A Powerful Way to Promote Your Practice
Contrary to popular belief, doctors are not exempt from the necessity of advertising and marketing. Doctors these days have a lot of competition and more and more medical professionals are recognizing the need for medical marketing in order to stay ahead. It’s an area that not a lot of practices are familiar with but actively promoting your business can really boost the number of patients coming in.
Back when each area only had one doctor, marketing just wasn’t necessary. Now, however, it’s not uncommon to find three to four doctors, even in the smallest towns, competing for the same patients. By increasing the visibility of your practice, you will find that no matter where you are located, competition won’t be a big issue and you will have a steady stream of new patients coming in. for more
Why Promotion is Valuable
Gone are the days when word of mouth was the chosen method of finding a doctor to suit the patient’s needs. As a medical practitioner, you must actively bring in client leads on a regular basis to keep your business running smoothly. It’s normal for your patient base to be in a state of flux – some patients may only come in once a year or less while others who schedule appointments on a regular basis may leave the area or choose another practitioner. While no one wants to lose a loyal patient, the only way to keep the appointment book full is to continue to bring in new ones.
For those medical practices looking to expand, it’s necessary to find enough clients to make it worthwhile to bring another doctor on board and medical marketing is the ideal way to do this. Good publicity and making your practice easy to find will lead to new patients flocking to your door.
Another benefit of attracting more clients is increasing the mix of patient types. Nearly every practice has some wealthier patients, while others have only patients with company insurance. Patients from a wider range of economic backgrounds means more money earned – something that is always advantageous because it enables the practice to continue treating those with less money.
How to Market Your Practice
There are a number of ways to get your practice in front of potential clients, but perhaps the best method is the Internet. When patients are fed up with their current GP or have just moved to the area, the vast majority turn to online research to help them choose a professional to see. If you aren’t online and visible, then your chances of being found by these potential patients are virtually nil.
With a number of websites and directories available to list your medical practice, it’s important to choose the right ones. Spend your advertising dollars on campaigns that will give you results. That means looking for directories that allow you to keep your listing in front of patients over a long-term period and that also provide space for vital information such as which insurance companies are accepted, as well as basic contact info.
Of course, there are other methods of increasing public visibility of your practice, though the Internet offers the lowest cost with the highest return. Other options include the following:
Television: While it can be expensive, a television spot on a local channel can really boost public awareness of your practice in particular. Ads aren’t the only way to go, however – providing news or an interview to the local news channel or morning show can also be a great way to get some publicity.
Print: The more traditional method of medical practice marketing is through print media, but you have a lot of options in this area. Many newspapers these days are online so when you place an ad, it usually appears both in the print version and the online version, giving you more bang for the buck. The Yellow Pages are another print medium that every doctor should use, as well as any local directories such as phones, service booklets or Welcome Wagon listings. Even in this digital era, there are quite a few opportunities to have your listing in print just as long as you know where to look.
Interacting: This is an area that many practices no longer engage in, but if you have the time, it’s a great trust builder. Simply connecting to the people in your community, whether or not they are patients can be invaluable. While there are a number of ways to do this, just getting out and meeting people is an excellent method of reaching the community. When people feel that they know you, they will be more likely to trust you with their health.
Medical marketing is valuable and necessary for doctors who want to continue growing and improving their business. Whether through online promotion, print media or another means, it’s important to continue bringing in new patients on a regular basis to keep your practice earning.
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