Breaking down the process of acquiring new patients into bite-size chunks that you can apply to your business on a daily basis.
Becoming an elite healthcare provider in a local market does not happen overnight. Some markets are more difficult than others. There are potentially hundreds of variables that can make the experience of running your practice successfully different in any given area.
However, many things do remain the same regardless of where you are located.
In this quick guide, we are going to outline the basics. Simple steps that you can apply to your practice to help you generate new patients, help them properly, and keep them for the long term as happy patients.
Know your competitors
Competition is fierce in the healthcare market. In fact, competition is fierce in just about every market today. There are several factors making it easier than ever for aspiring entrepreneurs to open and manage their own businesses with less overhead. There are also new factors emerging on a daily basis making more and more young doctors go the private route to their own offices.
Let’s face it, at the end of the day, being your own boss seems pretty sweet, huh?
There are riches in the niches
Within the healthcare market, there are several hundred types of specialists and subspecialists that we all call doctors. It seems there is a different doctor for every bone, organ, and muscle in your body.
Believe it or not, that is a blessing more than it is a curse.
The not so recent dawn of the internet brought with it the ability for business owners to create content about themselves online, drawing in new clients. Healthcare operates online in the same way. Of all the thousands of doctors that could be present in your area, you might be surprised at how few are taking advantage of the internet for promoting themselves and sharing their knowledge correctly. Becoming a local specialist is as easy as typing up a few paragraphs a week about what you do. When done correctly, this “local authority” status will bring you flocks of new followers as well as patients.
Know your local market
Where you are located matters. We are personally located in the Atlanta area but deal with clients throughout the United States. We can tell you from experience that different markets and demographics require a different approach. The first phase of any project is spent researching. You need to know the average age of people in your area, the primary sex, race, and economic status, just to name a few. Without these, it is impossible to identify your ideal client and gear your efforts accordingly.
Keep in mind, with this phase, we are referring more to marketing a medical practice than anything else.
Know your ideal client
The final piece to the puzzle is your client. Who are you treating? Who seeks this treatment? How can you better target that person? How can your brand be in the right place, at the right time?
These are all valuable questions that need to be answered. Having a visual image of your ideal client, believe it or not, can help you market much more effectively. Would you market to a millennial the same way you would to someone in their mid 50’s? The message needs to be changed to make people feel comfortable like they are being spoken to directly; that our message is made specifically for them (because it was).
This is something that we are able to help with. We go through his process with each and every client in the first few weeks. If you ever need help, you can always get in touch with us.