Healthcare consumerism has completely changed the strategy of healthcare professionals must market and deliver their services. Nowaday consumer expect a healthcare experience that is as innovative and digitally advanced as any other industry.
The hospitals, healthcare systems, and medical practices must evolve to meet these changing needs to remain competitive or risk of falling behind.
As more and more healthcare professionals offer accessible online services and sever the link between doctor and patient, consumers no longer feel the need to drive to a choice nearest. Instead, they have the power to choose a healthcare company that delivers a consumer experience that meets or exceeds their expectations.
Even if your current patient volumes are satisfactory, healthcare marketing requires well-thought-out medical marketing methods to maintain your healthcare brand infront of individuals mind. Consider the following reasons why someone might opt to change healthcare providers:
- Their healthcare insurance is no longer accepted by providers.
- Costs are higher for the same service.
- Same-day appointments are difficult to come by, if at all.
- They have limited or no direct communication with their doctor.
- Virtual care appointments are limited or unavailable (e.g., telehealth).
- Access to secure online appointment scheduling, bill payment, and medical records is limited or non-existent.
- Wait times are causing dissatisfaction.
- A poor customer experience.
- There is no way to monitor patients remotely if you do not have access to a computer.
That is why it’s crucial to have a well-planned and budgeted healthcare marketing strategy to reach new and returning consumers in your area at the right time.
Here is a list of some of the best points to include in your healthcare marketing strategy:
1. Create educational content for patients and doctors
People use the internet to stay informed about all facet of their lives, including health and wellness. You can tap into this interest by creating content that talks about what potential patients might be interested in. Fortunately, click-generating — Healthy content like those listed below doesn’t always require hiring a content marketing agency.
Blog or article:
You can feature educational content on your website or look for guest blogging opportunities, or can get featured in other online publications. Guest blogging has the built-in benefit of presenting you as an expert in the field and can bring a new audience of patients and other doctors to your practice. Being featured on another page also promotes backlinks to your site, which can improve SEO (search engine optimization).
Video:
You may have heard that video is the king of social media right now, and healthcare marketing is no exception. Video does not only improve rankings on Google, but it can also improve your social media profiles and boost engagement in digital marketing channels like YouTube and Facebook. Check out Tik-Tok for how to make short, easy-to-understand videos without rocket science.
2. Know Your Competitors and Healthcare Marketing Trends
Online research of other healthcare professionals can give your insight into how to make your own prominent. Ensure your clinic or hospital details showing up easily in search and are registered in directories ranging from Yelp to Yahoo and Google. And don’t forget industry-specific sites like Healthgrades.
Also, know about the types of digital technology your competitors are offering to patients. Telemedicine and health apps are leading the digital healthcare revolution, and using these tools can signal to patients and doctors that you’re an industry leader.
3. Encourage customer feedback and be responsive on social media
The Genuine specifics of a patient’s experience, when it comes to reviews, are a few things that promote positive impressions quite like authentic details of a patient’s experience. Also, keep in mind that the patient experience encompasses more than just the medical treatment or physician encounter. It’s also about how you handle patient fear, financial details like billing, and creating an environment that encourages open communication.
Surveying patients and soliciting online reviews are also important healthcare marketing methods but don’t forget about your social media presence. Staying in touch with patients entails being present in an online environment that they perceive as an extension of their community.
4. Leverage existing and past patient relationships
While attracting new patients is often at the heart of many medical activities, remember that your current and past patients can be a gold mine. Retargeting this group not only to promote services and procedures can be an overlooked part of healthcare marketing, while rewarding these patients for their loyalty can lead to increased satisfaction.
Other doctors and past patients can be your best sources of referrals, so make sure reaching out to this group is central to your healthcare marketing strategy.
5. Efficient communication is one of the best healthcare marketing strategies
When every individual in the team communicates effectively and consistently, it can dramatically improve patient experience and care outcomes and healthcare. Misinformation is the cause of nearly a third of medical malpractice lawsuits, according to a 2016 study by CRICO Strategies.
However, overcoming bottlenecks, parts silos, and other dynamics can often make it difficult to clean up communications between clinics and hospitals. Leveraging technology to provide two-way consultation channels, setting up team meetings, modeling patient communication, and fostering cross-functional collaboration are all solid strategies for improving communication at your clinic or hospital.
Bottom line:
The best thing about a good healthcare marketing strategy is that you can spend more time and energy improving your healthcare operations and leave the rest to the digital marketing team. People who will work on strategies to help you achieve short and long-term marketing goals.
Schedule a call with Daveron Networking for establishing a winning healthcare marketing strategy that can undoubtedly help you achieve the success you’re looking for!
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