Posted on April 6, 2020 in General
Top 5 Ways To Attract New Healthcare Patients
One of the biggest challenges healthcare practices face is bringing new patients to your door.
Of course, we all dream about having a steady client base, but it takes some work to get there. And even when you do, things will ebb and flow as patients may not stay up with their regular visits, some will move away, and others may seem to just drop off the map for reasons unknown.
So the work never really stops! Unless you are completely overrun with an overflow of patients, you want to be in recruitment mode always. So what can you do to bring new patients to your healthcare practice? Here are five tried-and-true recruitment strategies.
1. Leverage Your Existing Patients
There’s an old saying in business to “take care of your own backyard,” and it applies well to healthcare practices.
Sometimes, in our efforts to attract new patients we forget about the ones we already have, and our quality of service may begin to decline. Taking care of your own backyard means you are still putting your current patients first, no matter what. If your patients are happy, the chances are that they will share their experience with their friends and family, which is an unparalleled recruitment tool because it costs you nothing at all!
Always make sure to check in with your current patients and ask them if they are satisfied. Their opinions could help you transform your patient experience and bring in new clientele. Bottom line: You never want to get comfortable.
By using a patient-first marketing strategy, including using patient testimonials, will help you improve your customer engagement while boosting loyalty and interest at the same time. It may also significantly improve your standings in search rankings, which helps new patients find your business.
Patient referrals and testimonials are incredibly powerful marketing tools right there at your fingertips which are too often overlooked. They can help you establish yourself as a respected authority in your field and help you take your healthcare practice to the next level.
2. Provide High-quality Services
Knowing that your existing patients are your most powerful recruitment tool is only half the battle. You still need to be able to get them to get you referrals or write you a five-star testimonial. So the question is… how?
In a crowded field of physicians offering the same services as your business, how do you stand out? It’s not your credentials that are going to do it — it’s positive feedback from your patients. It will be word of mouth, online testimonials, and social media posts that help bring new business in more than anything else.
To entice your current client-base to provide you with these sterling reviews, you need to make sure you’re providing them with top-notch service. And this goes well beyond delivering high-quality medical care.
That’s the first step, of course, but consider the other elements of your business. Here are some questions to consider:
- Is the look and feel of your office pleasing/welcoming?
- Is your staff friendly and personable?
- Is everything clean and up-to-date?
- What’s the status of your exterior/parking lot?
- Do you offer web services such as tel-a-doc and online scheduling?
Taking an honest look at these vital components to your business can take your quality of service to the next level and earn you high marks from your current patients, which significantly improves your chances of getting a referral or testimonial, speaking of which…
3. Harness The Power of Strong Testimonials
Simply put: Good patient testimonials can drive patient traffic to your healthcare practice? But bad testimonials? You guessed it… they do the opposite.
Studies show that three out of every four patients use patient reviews first when looking for a new doctor, according to Software Advice. For many, online reviews are also the single most crucial factor in their decision-making process.
Patient success stories are one of the best ways to leverage your current patients to bring in new business. This creates a strong reputation for you online and increases your prospects’ comfort level. People are much more likely to share a bad experience online than they are to write a useful review, so having patients share their positive experiences can be a massive boost to your business.
Of course, things happen, and you may face the occasional negative review. But as long as your positive reviews far outweigh the bad ones, your online reputation will still be healthy, and your standing in Google results will be high on the page.
4. Embrace Social Media
Beyond referrals that come directly from your current patients, social media is the biggest driver of new patients.
People are now more connected to businesses than ever, thanks to social media, and your healthcare practice likely has an active social media presence. You should be using your social media channels to engage with your current patients as much as you can.
Prospective patients will see your online interactions and value how you engage with people online.
- Are you abrasive to negative posts, or does your team handle them with care and class?
- Do you keep up with posting and answer people’s questions?
- Do you engage in fun banter with your community?
- Are you providing content that gives your followers real value?
Through your social media accounts, you can create a personal connection with your potential patients before they even schedule an appointment. Value your virtual community and leverage them to the benefit of your healthcare practice. This is the best organic traffic you will get so use it wisely!
5. Use A Healthcare Lead Management Tool
Are you looking to leverage real patient data to bring new clients to your door without having to spend the man-hours to do it? If it sounds too good to be true, we’re happy to say that in this specific scenario, it isn’t! You don’t have to do it yourself.
Instead of trying to mine the data and launch a marketing campaign on your own, you can leave it to the experts and use a web-based lead management software tool like MDprospects.
MDprospects will manage your leads, maximize your patient conversion rates, and increase your healthcare practice revenues. You’ll create a more efficient office, spend your marketing dollars wisely, and ultimately reach your healthcare practice’s goals.
Sound like what you need to bring more patients to your door? Schedule a demo today to see how MDprospects can help your practice.
