By Dr. Greg Grillo
In 2021, 2500 new chiropractors will join the profession. During the same span, dental expenditures may drop by 20%. And inflation jumped to its highest point in 13 years last month, a sign that higher prices may stretch family budgets in the months ahead.
These projections seem unrelated at first glance. But as healthcare entrepreneurs, we can’t afford to miss the intertwined forces shaping the market around us. More provider choices for consumers with tightening budgets demand that we run high quality, proactive enterprises. If we blend into the landscape, we may get overlooked. Regardless of our niche, we need to earn attention, position our brand, and tie online touchpoints to offline experiences.
My office manual contains details on 32 systems, and each one requires oversight and management. If that’s not enough to focus on, care for existing patients and intricate procedures come first. And while that’s happening, Google is updating its algorithm and creating headwinds for my SEO. As a result, we’re dealing with a complex mix, which means the big pieces sometimes get overlooked.
Take three key focus points and come back to them in a quarterly review. Then, look at each one as a team and ask:
- What are we doing well?
- What can we do better?
- What pieces need more support to deliver?
A little clarity with overarching checkpoints is a great marketing tactic that helps us stand out against our peers. This focus also allows us to compete against every other brand asking consumers to spend part of their budget with them. Filter your efforts through these standards:
Take Your Practice Online, And Make It Shine
We may be the best provider in town, but who knows it? Patients have more ways than ever to share about our practices. And brands that learn how to get their story in front of the most eyes often win. If we don’t promote our brand story, another practice will.
Mental real estate belongs to those who proactively get after it. Here’s how to take your practice online and rise above the competition.
Create an unofficial focus group from your circle of friends and ask them for feedback. Send them to your website and the pages of your closest competition. Ask them to tell you what they like and dislike about each.
Prospective patients spend over two hours daily on social media, so we need a constant presence there. An optimized business page on Facebook offers current information, including a link for online appointment booking.
Our practices are usually listed on third-party websites like Vitals and WebMD. These sites appeal to search engines, so patients often click on your profiles. Once we claim these profiles and update them, they must remain updated and accurate.
ASK: What is our story, and how can we tell it better? What tools do we need to add to deliver a dynamic website, consistent campaigns, and clear insights to direct future strategies? Legwork Digital Marketing provides the framework to put us on top.
Focus On How to Grow Your Practice Through Exceptional Experiences
The best marketing strategy in the world can’t compensate for subpar service. And in 2021, it’s not enough to meet last year’s expectations. A friendly smile won’t ever go out of style, but consumers expect a new level of convenience. So if you’ve tried grocery pick-up or delivery, paid your electrical bill on your phone, or scheduled a virtual visit with a physician, you know how to grow your practice by looking at other industries.
We’re under pressure to deliver a seamless experience that extends far beyond in-office appointments. Consider these three ways to drive your practice to the top:
- Convenience starts with scheduling the first appointment. One study showed that over 51% of people said access to care is the top factor when choosing a provider. Patients love the ease of scheduling from their phones without worrying about calling during business hours. Place online booking directly on our websites and add payment portals to score extra points, too .
- Most patients who no-show appointments don’t intend to blow us off. They’re busy and need help remembering their commitments. Customize your appointment reminders delivered by phone, text, or email to keep the patient experience moving.
- Great experiences give people a reason to share, but negative interactions do, too. Negative patient reviews may cause up to 40% of potential patients from moving to the next touchpoint. After providing an exchange worth talking about, we need to send automated online review requests via text and email to help patients publicize our brand on Facebook, Google, and other review sites.
ASK : What do we do better than any other practice in our region, and what do people have to say about us? Legwork Online Booking and Legwork Reviews are just two tools that deliver and showcase excellence.
Turn The Flywheel To Keep Growing
The modern car engine relies on about 30,000 parts to generate power, and a new Ferrari doesn’t do much unless the parts work together. Likewise, a healthcare practice needs the same integrated effort to stay ahead of the pack. When all touchpoints of the patient journey fit, the brand story and treatment experience we work so hard to create pushes us to the top.
But it’s critical to remember that one missing part can undermine all our efforts. So here’s how to create a flywheel that drives a steady flow of new patients into our practice:
- Map out the patient journey from start to finish. Do a “near me” search and see where you stand in the results. Take a close look at Google Maps; this indispensable tool serves as the top local search tool followed by Facebook and Yelp.
- Evaluate your practice website for tools that pull patients deeper into engagement. The average visitor leaves a site in 15 seconds , but we can do better. For example, embed assessments that gather contact info and add videos for interest. And don’t overlook mobile optimization.
- Patients appreciate it when we ask about their appointments and show that we’re willing to make adjustments. But this also serves us by identifying areas that need modification to prevent breakdowns on the patient journey. Sending patient surveys allows us to go from good to great.
- Empower your staff to achieve more in less time. Systems that rely on manual labor in a busy practice stand a higher chance of breakdown. Digital tools maximize efficiency and support first-class service.
ASK: Do we have an integrated patient journey that runs consistently 99.9% of the time? Are there potholes we keep hitting, and what tools will fill them in? The Legwork Marketing Dashboard gives our teams the control they need, and Legwork Websites & SEO put critical components right where they belong.
How to Bring More Patients to Your Practice and Flourish
Healthcare spending in the U.S. runs 42% higher per capita than the next closest country, and expenditures will continue to grow. But it takes a concentrated effort to capture and hold consumer attention. We’re not just competing against other practices in our professions. We’re battling for mental real estate as consumers consider countless ways to allocate their budgets.
Legwork offers a single-platform solution that shows us how to bring more patients to our practices and solidify loyalty with those who already love us. Explore more of the tools that can help us rise to the top–and stay there–by watching Legwork Co-Founder & Co-SEO, Korey Korfiatis, conduct a live of a client’s healthcare marketing strategy. Register to watch, “ Health Practice Live Search Engine Marketing Critique: Discover Digital Marketing Secrets .”