Today’s marketing technology allows medical professionals to grow their practices faster than they were able to with traditional marketing. If you implement the right medical practice marketing strategies, you can reach more people more cost-effectively than ever before.
But first things first: Whether you’re an individual or a group of physicians, properly planning your marketing campaigns to target the right audience in the right way is crucial.
Most patients have their own ways to find their ideal physician. They rely on things like online reviews, referrals from other physicians, and search engines.
If you are a new doctor or your business you’ll need to leverage every available option to introduce your services to a broader audience. Finding a reliable marketing strategy is the first step.
How’s Your Online Presence?
Based on recent research and surveys, 80% of patients check the internet for detailed health care information, customer feedback, doctor referrals, and the closest doctor near them with an established online presence.
To build a solid online presence, one of the key factors is investing in well planned marketing campaigns for your medical practice. And if you don’t have time to wait around for your site to rank organically, you’ll need to plan an effective advertising campaign.
How To Plan An Effective Medical Practice Marketing Campaign That Works
An effective campaign will enhance your credibility and introduce your medical practice to a broader audience. Done right, this should lead to an increased volume for patients. Here’s how to plan a great medical practice marketing campaign that will quickly lead to more patients.
Conduct Intensive Market Research
Intensive research is vital to any marketing campaign’s success. Who’s your target market? Who’s your competition? What are your practice’s strengths and weaknesses? What are the opportunities and threats that currently exist in the market?
Prioritize Your Marketing Goals
After comprehensive market research, you can take a systematic approach to building out your campaign. Are you focused on getting patients in the door? Raising brand awareness? Retaining current patients?
This will play a big part in determining what channels to utilize.
Determine Your Budget
In order to collect enough data to make informed decisions, you’ll need to spend a certain amount on your advertising. For example, $100/mo is not going to get you anywhere. You should aim to generate at least 1,000 conversion actions.
Do determine how much you can afford to spend to generate those conversions, you’ll need to think about how much a patient is worth to you. How much is your average visit worth? How much revenue do you bring in per patient each year?
Based on that information and your close rate (how many leads become patients) you’ll have a rough estimate of how much you can spend per lead.
To get a better idea, you can use our free Ad Spend Calculator.
Create A Strategic Marketing Plan
The final step is to determine what channels you’ll focus on, your messaging, and your targeting. Remember your goal and determine what channels will best help you get there.
Some tactics to consider:
- Paid Search (e.g., Google, Bing): Paid search is great because you know exactly what they’re looking for. They’re in the market for what you’ve got or they wouldn’t be searching for it!
- Paid Social (e.g., Facebook, Instagram): Social is great for remarketing, which will help you stay top-of-mind with current and potential patients.
- Display Advertising (e.g., Google Display Ads): Display advertising is a great way to raise brand awareness and make potential patients feel warmer about your brand. You can also use remarketing for display advertising. Or, through a platform like Choozle, you can use third-party data to target people who just moved and are going to find new medical providers.
- Email Marketing: It’s cheaper to retain a patient than to get a new one. Make sure you do what it takes to make it easy for your patients to remember their appointments and to stay with you.
Don’t Be Afraid to Bring in a Professional
If all this sounds like a lot of work or you’re worried about what might go wrong. There are medical practice marketing experts who can help. It might cost a little more money up front, but it could be worth it if it leads to increased revenue for your practice.
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