Are you the owner of an ailing medical practice? Do you want to learn how to get new patients for your business today? Do you wish to know how to maintain a high retention rate of these new patients instead of losing them to competitors? If you have been asking yourself these questions, then you have come to the right place. In this article, I am going to use some quick examples to show you how to do the following;
- Show you how I help medical clinics get new patients.
- Show you how we keep them from running to the competition.
How can medical practices get new patients?
Thing is, contrary to what you may think, marketing for medical practitioners is not that difficult. The trouble is that most people are still stuck in the past! The world in which we live today is overflowing with tools that can be used by ANY business to reach out to new clients. You just need to know where to look. It doesn’t matter what you are involved in. If you need help, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I will be very glad to help you! So, how do I do it? How does my business help those in the medical field get new clients? The answer lies in the following;
- Google and other search engines
- Social media
Getting traffic through Google
Google is the world’s largest search engine. Businesses that hope to get traffic therefore need to understand how Google works. I wont get into the technicalities here. All that I can say is that Google has the difficult task of indexing all the content that’s on the web. So, if you are the owner of a medical clinic, all the content that you produce needs to stick to the tenets of Search Engine Optimization. That way, you can be sure that your content is visible to Google and other Search Engines.
Search Intent
Here is where it gets interesting. When we talk of Google and other search engines, we talk of what is referred to as “search intent.” Thing is, not all searches that are made out there are the same. Just think of it! Let me give the following examples of people who are looking for dental care;
- The first person searches for; “dental care near me.”
- The next searches for “teeth removal near me.”
Obviously, the intents of the 2 people above is different. A person who searches for “dental care near me,” probably has limited urgency. They are probably just carrying out research because they will need the service some time in the future. The second search, on the other hand, has clear urgency. This is a person who is probably in great pain due to a toothache.
So, search intent is important. Generally, with Google, no matter what the person types into the Search Engine, they are either in the research phase or they are in the purchase phase. Using the above example, the first person is probably in the “research phase,” while the second is in the “Purchase phase.” In other words, there is purchase intent depending on the type of need.
To give another example, a person that’s looking for “urgent care,” needs a doctor right now. They will carry out a search on Google and on the first page, they will see Google Ads and Google Maps. They will choose one of the medical clinics that appear there. Note here that Google Ads and Google Maps appear before Google organic search results. What this means, particularly for local businesses such as medical clinics, is that they need to either advertise on Google or to take steps to ensure that they appear on Google Maps. Not many people are going to scroll down to Google organic search results. So, for these kind of searches, even if you are at number 1, you have your work cut out for you if you do not appear on Google Maps and in Google Ads.
Social Media
Everyone is on Social Media, and this is something that you can exploit to bring customers to your medical practice. I have previously written about Facebook Marketing for Medical Billing Companies. Most medical clinics use a combination of Google and Social Media to get customers. Thing is, with social media, you need to know where and how to do it. Facebook may have over 2.5 billion monthly active users, but if you don’t know how to target them, you will probably have limited success. I have already noted that I am a specialist in Facebook Marketing; so if you need help, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. You can also check out my DIY Facebook Ads Marketing course if you want to learn how to do it on your own. Here are a few examples to help clarify what I am trying to say here;
Marketing for a pediatric clinic
Let’s use a pediatric clinic as an example. This is a type of business that can benefit a lot by advertising on Facebook. Why? Well, because it’s possible to create Facebook Ads that target the exact type of patient that this business is looking for. On Facebook, I can target mothers with kids between 0 and 17 years old. You can see what I mean in the above screenshot. This is a pediatrician’s ideal target audience, and it’s right there on Facebook. It cant get any better than that! You can check out my Marketing Plans for Pediatric Clinic by following the provided link.
Getting customers for Primary Care Clinics
How about Primary Care Clinics? How can they get customers using Facebook? Well, with this type of business you can target people who recently moved to your area. One of the first things that people do when they move to a new area is to look for a new doctor, and you can tap into this need through Facebook Ads. These people probably haven’t even picked up a primary care clinic, so they are ripe for the taking. Check out my Primary Care Clinics Marketing Plans by following the provided link.
Marketing to people likely to suffer from depression, anxiety or diabetes
The thing that I love most about advertising on Facebook is its diversity when it comes to advertising options. Want me to target people likely to suffer from depression, anxiety or diabetes? Well, this can be done easily on Facebook. Check out the provided link for a look at available plans.
Marketing to Spanish speakers
Perhaps you are looking to target Spanish speakers who will pay in cash. The great thing is that Facebook allows you to create a target audience based on language. You can, as an example, choose to have your ads delivered only to people who speak Spanish or any other language.
How can medical clinics get a high retention rate?
Okay, now I am going to cover the second question; how does a medical clinic keep a high retention rate of their own patients instead of losing them to competitors. Thing is, though it may be easy for you to get new patients, the major challenge comes in retaining them. Repeat business is of huge importance, particular for those in the medical field. You don’t want to have someone walk in through the door today, only to have them go to your competitors the next time they need medical care. It’s easier to sell to someone who has already used your service. They already know who you are and they don’t need that much convincing. So, how do you retain your customers? How do you keep them coming back to you?
Provide the best possible service
Okay, I am going to have to put this out of the way. No matter how good your advertising may be, you are probably not going to retain customers if your provide an archaic service. So, before going to Facebook Ads or any of the tips that I offer below, you need to make sure that your service is up to scratch. Otherwise your customers are going to move to your competitors no matter what you do. It’s as simple as that! You won’t be able to retain anyone if your service sucks!
HIPAA Compliant Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
Having said that, it’s worth noting that some people are simply never going to be bothered to come back, no matter how good you are. So, how do you retain these people? How do you keep them coming to your medical clinic? If you really wish to get it right, get in touch with me today! I make use of a HIPAA compliant CRM that allows businesses to keep in contact with their previous customers. This way, your business will always stay top of mind when they need your service.
Using a CRM for Primary Care Clinics
Let’s say you run a Primary Care Clinic. Our system will text every one of your previous customers right before flu season to schedule an appointment for vaccinations. Thing is, most people know that it’s important to keep up with flu vaccinations. However, not many people are going to remember to do it. So, you need to send them an automated reminder at the relevant moment.
Using a CRM for Pediatric clinics
Let’s use a pediatric clinic as another example. How does such a business retain its customers? Well, we can send scheduled emails to remind mothers about children taking the shots. And guess what? I can track if a person opened your email and set an appointment.
This is cheaper
Think about it. You don’t need to pay Google and Facebook any money because you will be marketing to people who are already in your database. So, using my method to retain customers is cheaper. Get in touch with me today if you want to start reaping the benefits for your medical practice.
Summary: How to get and retain customers for medical practices
Okay, let me sum up what I have been discussing in this article. You will note that I gave a number of ways through which medical clinics and other businesses in the medical field can get customers. First, they can advertise via Google. Google is great, since it is the world’s largest Search Engine. Chances are high that a person is going to search for “primary care clinic near me,” or some other relevant search term using Google. So, you need to be there, and you can do this through both SEO and Google Ads. SEO takes lots of time, so Google Ads should be your friend. Medical practices also need to be on Google Maps to take advantage of local traffic. You can do so via Google My Business.
You can also do marketing through Facebook and Instagram. Facebook is the world’s largest social network, meaning there is an inexhaustible target audience on there. You just need to know how to target them, and this is where I come in. You can also use a combination of Facebook and Google.
Finally, once you have gotten your customers, you should take steps to retain them. That’s because it’s way easier to sell to an existing customer than to try and get a new one. It’s also way cheaper. So, you need to get in touch with me. I will set your business up with a great CRM that uses AI technology. This allows you to get notification to your customers at relevant times, such as when they are due to receive their shots.
Get in touch today!
Need to take your medical practice to the next level? It’s time to take advantage of these advertising platforms and CRMs to get and retain customers. My company, Planet Marketing, specializes in these platforms. I have been doing this since 2006. That’s since the Craigslist days! So, you can be sure that I know what I am talking about here. Check out the Medical Industry Marketing Plans here. If you want to test out the waters, start with the Lite Plan and use the profits to grow. Then you can go to the Plus and Professional Plan. The great thing is; this is tried and tested. Your prospective patients are going to choose someone. Why not you? If you found this article useful, leave a comment below and share it with your friends in the medical field!
