The techniques used today to effectively market a medical practice have changed dramatically from what was used just a few years ago. Patient’s expectations have changed and they are vocal about what they want from their healthcare provider. In order to not only survive, but also prosper in this changing marketplace, you must be willing to meet the needs of the community. Here are some tips to help your practice grow that you can implement today.

1. Get Creative – Effective medical marketing means not doing the same thing again and again. It requires trying new things and measuring results. Brainstorm with your marketing team to discuss new ways to connect with prospective patients as well as reignite relationships with existing ones. Is there a new procedure, product or service you can offer that is unique in your community? If you can unlock what your patients are looking for and deliver on that before the competition, you are on the fast track to success.
2. Host a Contest – Contests on social media channels, when executed properly, can offer a great return with minimal investment. Photo contests and giveaways are very popular and often deliver high engagement rates. Be sure to promote your contest both internally, through email and on social sites to get the best results.
3. Make the Patient Experience a Priority – The patient experience is what makes or breaks a medical practice. If the doctor is top notch, but his staff is sub par, patients will often go elsewhere for their medical needs. Consumers do not have patience for poor service and expect the red carpet treatment. Give it to them. Ask questions, engage them in conversations. Don’t just prescribe and say bye. Make it your goal to pull a genuine smile out of each patient while they are in your office.
4. Find out where you rank online and then improve it – One of the best ways prospective patients find you is through search engines. If your website ranks at the top, great, keep up the good work. If your competition is beating you, invest in search engine optimization (SEO) to clean up your website and optimize each website page for search. Don’t forget about your Google+ page. Make sure it is showing up on Google as well as this is often what appears at the top of the first page of search results!
5. Get Mobile Friendly – More than 50% of consumers are using their mobile devices for health related searches. Mobile searches are expected to surpass desktop searches this year. If your website is not already responsive, meaning the layout changes based on screen size, you are creating an unpleasant experience for website visitors. Google doesn’t like searchers to have negative experiences on websites and they ranks sites accordingly. Start the process of converting to a responsive website today.

There are many small ways you can make a big impact on the growth of your medical practice. For more information on medical marketing, visit MindStream Creative online or call 888-324-5559.