For a medical practice to grow, doctors must focus on two things: seeing a steady flow of new patients every month and retaining existing patients. Nurturing existing relationships with patients is a priority, but new patients are what make the practice thrive. And how do you get these patient leads?
Marketing healthcare can be tricky. You cannot go to a person suffering from severe stomach pain and try to sell medicines for a headache. People appreciate customization. This article focuses on finding the best leads to help you grow your healthcare business.
How to get the best patient leads
Marketing is the lifeblood of any medical practice, but getting new patient leads is often a struggle. If you want to boost your new patient roster, consider these six lead gen techniques other medical practices are using:
1. Start a Patient-Focused Medical Blog
Blogging is king OF digital marketing and combats many of the barriers of traditional advertising. Rather than serving up ad after ad, you can build greater connections with potential patients through valuable content.
For example, a patient experiencing back pain may go to Google to find ways to relieve their back pain. You could write a blog post on the topic and include a call to action to schedule a visit at your practice.
Blogs are powerful for building brand recognition. You’re providing real insight and solutions to problems patients are experiencing, and your brand is in the spotlight. Patients who enjoy reading your content (and learn something from it) might be more likely to visit your practice over another practice when they need to see a doctor.
2. Pay for Online Ads
Blogs are useful for growing your organic rankings on search engines, but it can take months before you see any results. Paying for ads can help you bypass the rankings altogether and get results quicker.
When you do a search for a service online, you’ll notice that some results are ads while others are not. The paid ads are placed above the organic rankings, which means patients will see your ad before they get into the actual search results. For example, if you are building marketing strategies for ophthalmology, then target keywords like eye treatment or eye care.
Your ads will only appear when searches meet your criteria. This way, you’re not wasting valuable ad dollars marketing to people who have no interest in what you offer.
3. Host Community Seminars, Webinars, or Events
Building trust as a medical provider is critical in growing your patient volume. Patients need to feel confident you can treat their needs and provide them with the best experience.
To share more about your brand, consider hosting community events, seminars, or online webinars that are equal parts educational and promotional. For example, if you’ve had great experience in treating a particular condition, you might host a seminar that talks about that condition. People who also experience that condition will be likely to attend because it speaks directly to their needs. They’ll learn more about the condition and treatment options, and you’ll become the local expert on that condition.
Your leads come directly from the seminar. Patients will be eager to get treatment for their condition and already know how you might be able to help them.
You may also find other events in your community to attend. For example, you could set up a booth at a fair or conference and pass out information or giveaways to grow brand recognition.
4. Create a Video Marketing Strategy
Video marketing is often considered the single most effective form of modern marketing. 51% of marketers worldwide claim it has the highest ROI compared to other forms of marketing. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given that more than one-third of all online activity is spent watching videos.
Similar to the seminar marketing strategy, you can create videos that focus on specific conditions, exercises, treatment options, or other topics that will speak directly to the audience you want to target. You can share these videos on your website or via social media to increase your reach, then add a call to action to encourage patients to book appointments.
5. List Yourself on Online Directories
Patients who are searching for a doctor in India don’t just use search engines. Online directories like Practo.com, Doc Suggest, Medecure, and MeetMyDoctor.in can help connect patients directly with doctors and medical practices in their area. (Ref. online directories: indianweb2.com/2013/07/10/30-health-wellness-websites-india)
If you’re not listed on any online directories, you’re missing out on a major opportunity to get in front of patients who are actively searching for medical care.
Get More Patient Leads with LeadSquared!
Are you putting the above lead gen methods to work in your medical practice? LeadSquared can not only help you earn patient leads, but also track their progress all the way through your sales funnel. Learn more about how LeadSquared can help you improve new patient acquisition and provide a better experience for patients and sales teams alike.
Also read:
