If you have a medical practice, are you marketing it? Does everyone who may need a doctor know about you and the excellent services you provide? Do they know how much you care about your patients?
Many of your patients will come to you based upon their Insurance Provider, but not always. In any cases, Insurance Plans change and relying upon them to fill your office with patients is not necessarily the most effective strategy. Some medical practices send out postcards to people’s homes, and that will work here and there, but what is a good, overall marketing strategy for your office?
Physicians Practice had some good hints on their blog, see if any of these would work for you:
“By Audrey “christie” Mclaughlin, RN
Do you worry about having enough patients? Are you having recurring nightmares that one day you will walk in and the schedule will be bare? Are you a new clinic struggling to beef up your daily schedule? Here are 10 strategies to effectively promote your medical practice:
1. Have a professional website, a well written blog, and an active Facebook page and Twitter handle. You must have a social media strategy to stay current (and continuous shameless self-promotion will not work). Post on Facebook and Google+ a minimum of 10 posts per week, and aim for about four times that amount for Twitter.
2. Be active in the community. Have a clinic presence at health fairs, sporting events, and anywhere else you can set up a booth. Make it fun and get a mascot and bring it along too!
3. Donate a physical or consultation or cosmetic service for a local charity auction.
4. Have an open house (with refreshments and door prizes). Invite the public, colleagues, and referral coordinators from other clinics and hospitals.
5. Become the expert. Make yourself available to local and national news centers and online and print publications to comment on current health issues. Give seminars and talks on health issues that you specialize in or have special knowledge in.
6. Increase patient satisfaction using customer service from the H.E.A.R.T. and your patients will do a lot of marketing for you.
7. Send a hand written thank you card to each new patient that comes in, and to the doctor that referred them.
8. On that note, send out birthday cards and/or e-mails. This is also a great way to remind people of their annual check ups.
9. Get involved in the local chamber; host lunch-and-learns at the local assisted living facility or library.
10. Give out care packages to patients with all of the brochures from your ancillary services, a pen with your office information on it, as well as a fridge magnet business card.”
It might be that some of these suggestions are a little out of your comfort zone, but we do recommend having an up to date, informative website and at least some social media activity. We know that works for other firms, and if you do it right, it will work for you. Remember, most people who are looking for your services today are very likely to search for you on their phone, tablet or computer, if you’re not there and easy to find, they are going to go elsewhere.
It’s also important to make sure that your phone calls aren’t going to voice mail. A live operator, even one who is taking messages, is always preferable to an automated answering system.
Central Comm
– See more at: http://www.physicianspractice.com/blog/ten-strategies-to-market-and-promote-your-medical-practice#sthash.Pu9EcZDI.dpuf