The first rule of a healthcare practitioner? Do no harm.
To stay viable, your marketing prowess had better be equal to your medical prowess.
With most healthcare practitioners though, that’s far from the case. Let’s face it, you didn’t become a physician (or a surgeon, dentist, chiropractor or therapist) so you could sit behind a desk all day to write business plans and create marketing campaigns and track the results.
But the reality is this: In today’s competitive business environment, effective marketing is a vital component for your business’ bottom line, and more critical than ever if your practice is to not just survive, but to thrive.
Healthcare marketing requires a level of expertise and sophistication far greater than other marketing niches. Because each practice is different, each needs to speak to a distinct audience. Many marketing companies make the mistake of lumping all practices under the umbrella of “healthcare” and leave it at that. But should a pediatrician and a geriatric specialist really be marketing the same way?
These are just three of many critical mistakes that most healthcare practitioners make when marketing their services:
- Failing to use a strategic, multi-pronged marketing approach.
- Lack of attention to existing-patient retention
- Failure to promote other avenues of revenue streams (particularly for cosmetic surgeons, dentists, chiropractors, and physical therapists)
There is also the mistaken belief that healthcare companies need little if any web presence in order to do business. That’s a fallacy – one that could doom your practice!
The business environment today is far different than it was even 15 years ago. Not only is a web presence necessary, it’s critical to the success of most healthcare businesses (particularly those whose services are more elective, and where people want to take time to research a practitioner or procedure before making a decision.)
Even primary care physicians are realizing the benefit of maintaining a web presence, because it can streamline operations and free up support staff. Existing technologies now let patient’s book appointments, request prescription refills, and pay their bills – all online.
That’s where the experts at Web Talent Marketing can help. We’re healthcare web and marketing experts, and can handle all aspects of creating your online presence and marketing your healthcare practice. From our professional corporate branding and marketing, to our innovative advertising metrics that let you track how patients find you (thereby effectively and tangibly measuring each marketing method you utilize), our professional marketing strategists are the best at what they do.
We get it. Your schedule is already packed, and marketing seems like just another item to take care of “later.” But put this way: Every potential new patient you miss reeling in is a dollar in your competitors pocket.
