When it comes to marketing your medical practice, you have a lot of choices. There are so many strategies you can use – including using medical marketing companies – to connect with patients. Most physicians don’t know where to start. But medical marketing is crucial to the success of your practice, which is why we want to show you some simple things you can do right now to improve your medical marketing game.
- Look at the data you’re EHR is already collecting. The demographic data you collect from patients – age, address, gender, etc. – gives you insight into who your patients are, where they are in life and even their outside interests. The clinical data in your EHR describes your patients’ health conditions and their medical histories. And your practice-level data indicates how your practice is doing metrics- and revenue-wise. You can use all of this data to make strategic medical marketing decisions, i.e. choosing the best social media platform and creating the best deals on certain products and services.
- Monitor your online reputation. Almost 100% of patients research online reviews of medical practices before deciding on a doctor. You need to monitor what patients are writing about you. Start by researching your practice on review sites like Yelp and HealthGrades. FYI, if nothing has been written about you, that can be just as damaging as having a slew of negative reviews.
- Start a blog. This is an inexpensive, if not free, way to engage with your patients. Task someone on your staff who can write well with writing blog posts about health tips and topics that are relevant to your patients. Docs should also take turns writing blog posts.
- In the exam room, face the patient, not your computer. Make a point to begin your exam facing away from your computer or any technology. Only look at your computer when you enter data. Make sure that your EHR templates include a lot of drop-down lists and clickable screens so that you don’t have to free-type anything. Click a few times, then look back to the patient. Patients will feel cared for, which will keep them coming back, and encourage them to write a positive online review about your practice.
- Get involved in your community. Consumers love supporting businesses with a philanthropic mission, like TOMS shoe company. Find a volunteer activity for you and your staff to participate in. Donate your services to an underserved area. Invite patients to join, if appropriate. Promote what you’re doing on your website, blog and social media.