Social media and review sites like Yelp have helped create an extremely competitive environment for modern medical practices, and knowing how to be a savvy marketer has never been more important. Whether you run one office or manage several locations, here are a few reliable tools and strategies that can help your practice grow.
1. Keep Up With Social Media
The vast majority of your prospective patients expect your practice to have a Facebook page or Twitter account, and in many cases, will look them up before they decide to make an appointment. In addition to building trust with new patients, active social media accounts can also be a great way to stay in touch with your existing patients and keep them informed. Just be sure not to let them fall by the wayside – posting just a few times a week is enough.
2. Use Effective SEO
SEO, or “Search Engine Optimization,” helps your website get higher placement in search engines like Google. This is extremely important, as websites that get better search rankings tend to get more visitors, and thus bring in more business.
There are hundreds of factors that can affect your rankings, but a few of the most important things to keep in mind are to build a clean, uncomplicated website to make it easy for the search engine to “read,” and to not be too general with the keywords on your website. Think about what people will be searching for – if you’re a plastic surgeon based in Philadelphia, you should state that often on your website. If you specialize in a particular procedure, make sure to mention that often as well.
A search engine’s job is to find and deliver what it believes to be the most relevant and up-to-date information, so having active social media accounts and a blog connected to your site to provide a steady stream of new content is also a great way to improve your ranking.
3. Keep Your Website Up-to-Date
Having a website is crucial, but a website that appears “broken” or outdated can be almost as discouraging to a potential patient as not having one at all. If it’s been a few years since you’ve had a website redesign, it may be time to consider a more modern look. A large percentage of web traffic now comes from mobile devices like phones and tablets, so you should also make sure that your website is responsive and mobile-friendly.
4. Manage Your Reviews
Bad reviews are inevitable, and they can be frustrating, as review scores are one of the biggest factors people take into consideration before they take their business somewhere. But ignoring a negative review, or responding defensively, will usually do more harm than good.
When responding to a negative review from a less-than-happy patient, keep the tone calm, professional and personal, address their complaint directly, and offer them an explanation (when appropriate) and solution. This shows that you are engaged and considerate, and you may even be able to turn a negative review into a positive one. And when someone leaves a positive review, make sure to respond to them as well!
5. Build Positive Word-of-Mouth
Even in the digital age, word-of-mouth is still far and away the most effective form of marketing. Satisfied patients will be happy to share their experiences with family and friends, who are much more likely to trust someone they know than an advertisement or online review. While professional service and quality customer care will always be the two most important factors in generating positive word-of-mouth, offering something that sets you apart from the competition can help you stand out and stay top-of-mind.
One way to do this is to modernize the way you offer your patients financing. LendingUSA is a simple, fast financing solution for medical practices that gives your patients quick loan decisions in as little as a few seconds. We’re able to offer high approvals , and with no fees for prime loans, no promotional financing fees, and no set-up, membership, annual, or monthly fees, you could save thousands a year.
Want to learn more about why thousands of doctors nationwide are using LendingUSA for patient financing? Schedule your free demo today.
