How Your Practice Can Benefit from Social Media Network Marketing

How Your Practice Can Benefit from Social Media Network Marketing

Social media networking began as a consumer-to-consumer activity but has very quickly turned into a critical business marketing strategy. Social media networking allows your practice to reach patients and referrers with custom messaging that establishes and builds customer relationships and brand awareness (the essence of who you are as a practitioner and all the services you provide). Consider…

Most businesses – including private healthcare practices – now regularly use social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn for hiring, patient support, brand recognition and patient acquisition and retention. Social media is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies available. Your cost of acquiring new patients is significantly lower than with many other marketing strategies. Best of all, social networking gives you an opportunity to create lasting relationships.

A sound social media marketing program delivers
Here are some additional benefits you can expect from social network marketing:

• Authentic feedback from your target audience (patients and referral sources)
• Integration with traditional marketing programs and strategies
• Highly targeted audiences
• Improved search engine optimization and positioning
• Much lower costs than traditional advertising
• Long-term wider impact than conventional public relations

It pays to “eavesdrop”
Patients look to objective (and some not-so-objective) Internet sources to compare doctors and practice offerings. Current patients are also quite willing to share their experiences, good or bad, with others on various Internet directories, search engines and review sites (e.g. City Search).

You can’t control their chatter or eliminate a negative review. But you can learn what patients really want or need. You can also get a unique glimpse of your practice or your brand of care through your patient’s eyes.

Some savvy healthcare providers have made major strides in patient care just by “listening in” on Twitter. When their name is mentioned, they know it. When a patient has a problem, the provider can help them within minutes.

To be successful, practitioners learn to listen first before they take action. Maintaining a regular monitoring program will help you understand your patient’s experience and how it changes as you implement online social marketing programs.

Measuring your success
How do you measure the success of a social media campaign? First, you must define your goals. Whether you want increased traffic to your website, website conversions or leads, you must have clear objectives to determine your level of success in short- and long-term intervals. For you, success might include:

• Gaining a better understanding of your patients and their needs
• Increasing your practice exposure in new and positive ways
• Reducing the cost of reaching your target audience (vs. other tactics)
• Increasing patient inquiries and conversions
• Attracting more desirable patients and case types

Social networking media is not a fad. It’s growing and here to stay. Learn to use it to your advantage and help ensure that your practice remains healthy and profitable.

Referrals and Relationships

Behind every professional referral, there is a relationship between someone at your practice and someone at the referring practice. It's a relationship based on trust. From cardiac surgeons to gastroenterologists, from endodontists to podiatrists, many healthcare providers depend heavily on professional referrals to keep their business running, growing and changing...

What this means is that these types of practices are dependent on relationships. And relationships need to be maintained. So this month's tip is as simple as it is important: Pick up the phone and call.

Growth- and success-minded practices are wise enough to develop and manage effective practice representation programs. As successful as such programs are for many referral-based practices, they are a complement to not a replacement for the direct contact between you and your referrer.

When a doctor sends you patients, there is trust inherent in the act. And that trust is placed in you, the individual healthcare professional. So you need to maintain, reaffirm and strengthen that trust by reminding the referrer of your appreciation and support.

While your practice representative does something similar (and vital), he or she is merely building and supporting the bridge between your practice and your referrer's practice. You must still walk across that bridge from time to time to shake the hand of the person who is entrusting you with his or her patients and contributing to your revenues.

Take a few minutes, call a referrer, say hi and ask how things are going. Start with those you know best and with whom you're most comfortable. And be sure to ask them how you can help them take better care of their patients.

Mishandling Phone Inquiries

Mishandling Phone Inquiries
Could Cost You $55,000 This Year!

Did you know that a typical rural healthcare office loses an average of $55,000 each year due to their poor handling of phone inquiries? These are dollars that slip through your fingers without you even being aware of it.To make matters worse, that $55,000 could fund most annual marekting budgets for the typical healthcare practice.

You can combat this common problem –– with a customer service evaluation of your office that will tell you exactly how to improve your staff’s phone skills and convert more inquiries to new patients. “Mystery Shopper” calls are an excellent tool to evaluate your Front Office Staff’s ability to manage patient inquiries. Please feel free to contact me at www.practicebuilders.com for details surrounding Mystery Shopper evaluations for your practice.

I look forward to helping you prosper in the coming year.

Best regards,
Joel Ellis
President
Practice Builders

Keeping New Patients Happy

As a healthcare provider you work hard to bring new patients into your practice—too hard to lose them before you have a chance to demonstrate your excellent, patient-focused care.

As I like to say, they “don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” That’s why it’s important to demonstrate your caring approach before the patient even walks in the door.

How do you do that?

With a professional, patient-focused New Patient Welcome Letter customized for your practice. This letter will help alleviate any concerns or second thoughts, and establish you as someone they can trust with their most important treasure: their health. Here is a sample:

New Patient Welcome Letter



Dear Friend,

Thank you for choosing me as your (type of specialist). I will personally do everything possible to deserve your trust. I see this as the beginning of a great relationship!

The vast majority of patients I see can be treated easily right here in my office.
But I realize that when you or someone you love is sick, you are very concerned. To help alleviate your concern, I promise to take or return your telephone calls promptly.

And because I know it’s frustrating to sit in a waiting room, my staff will do their best to get you in promptly for your scheduled appointment.

I also promise to treat you like an important individual, not a name or a number. I’ll take the time to listen to your concerns and find out about your symptoms. As soon as
I have an accurate diagnosis, I may prescribe medicine or other treatment that should help you feel better.

As your (type of specialist), I realize that it’s my responsibility to keep up with the latest developments in (specialty). That’s why I take continuing-education classes and am active in a number of professional organizations.

But even more important than all my training and experience is my wonderful staff.
From the person who answers the phone to my nurses and assistants, I am exceptionally proud of my team. Not only are they skilled professionals, but they are warm, caring people who will go all-out to make you feel comfortable.

So why do I do these things? The answer is simple. I want to build a lasting relationship with you. It is my goal that when you come to see me you’ll feel really good about every aspect of your experience and happy that you chose me for your (specialty) care.

Sincerely,


(Your Name)

P.S. Again, I am very honored that you chose me as your (type of specialist). If there’s
ever anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to call me.

What Are You Waiting For?

What Are You Waiting For?
Take Your Practice to the Next Level—


Suppose you decide to sit and think about marketing for a while. Guess what happens?

Nothing.

It’s an interesting phenomenon.

Many practitioners read marketing information. But they won’t commit. The search alone seems to fulfill their emotional need to be proactive. They won’t make a decision. They don’t realize that procrastination has a HUGE financial and emotional impact for themselves, their families and their staff... this year... next year...and for the rest of their lives.

We understand that you may be uncertain about what constitutes a good investment right now. After all, real estate, the Dow Jones, banks and big automakers are all in trouble. The only thing that really makes sense in this climate is to invest in yourself and your practice. The returns will be higher, and you’ll be positioned for greater success when the economy rebounds.

You need to market now—to survive and flourish when things turn around.
If you want to take your practice to that next level, please don’t hesitate to contact me a www.practicebuilders.com

We are, by far, the largest and most successful company of our kind and North America’s leader in healthcare practice marketing for 30 years. (In fact, if you search “leader in healthcare marketing” in Google, guess who comes up first?)

Thinking About Marketing to Gain Referrals and New Patients?

For what it’s worth, here’s some food for thought regarding the cost of delaying an important decision such as whether or not to move forward with a strategic marketing plan to gain referrals and new patients for your practice. Suppose you decide to sit and think about marketing for a while. Guess what happens?

Nothing.

It’s an interesting phenomenon.

Many practitioners read marketing information. Many research and investigate their options. But they won’t commit. The search alone seems to fulfill their emotional need to be proactive. They won’t make a decision. And they don’t feel pressured either. They don’t realize that procrastination has a HUGE financial and emotional impact for themselves, their families and their staff... this year... next year...and for the rest of their lives.

We understand that you may be uncertain about what constitutes a good investment right now. After all, real estate, the Dow Jones, banks and big automakers are all in trouble. The only thing that really makes sense in this climate is to invest in yourself and your practice. The returns will be higher, and you’ll be positioned for greater success when the economy rebounds.

You need to market now—to survive and flourish when things turn around.
If you find that your practice needs some assistance with proper strategic planning, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are, by far, the largest and most successful company of our kind and North America’s leader in healthcare practice marketing for 30 years. We are seasoned veterans, working with nearly every type of practice imaginable, from start-ups to established multimillion-dollar practices looking to evolve to the next level.

We work within your budget, put your marketing plan into action and help you achieve your practice goals – letting you focus 100% on what you love to do – care for your patients. The results can be spectacular. After nearly 30 years of success stories, results don’t lie. Our workshop and onsite “house call” programs are not just seminars or lectures but intense, in-depth, customized collaborative business meetings specifically designed to focus on helping you achieve your individual practice objectives through proper strategic planning. We can also provide you with references if it makes you feel more comfortable about partnering with Practice Builders.

We sincerely wish you the best of luck achieving your practice goals whether you work with Practice Builders or not. Remember: Your dreams and goals are clear. 2009 is well underway and a smart, proven solution to your marketing challenges is right in front of you. If you WANT something you’ve never had before, perhaps you must DO something you’ve never done before.

If not now, WHEN?

The Power of Testimonials

Dear Healthcare Provider,
Testimonials from satisfied customers are among the most effective marketing messages any healthcare practice can use. Why? Because we human beings tend to trust the recommendations and referrals that come from people who are most like ourselves.
Your patients often tell your story bestIf you are like most healthcare practitioners, you probably have some or many patients who are raving fans of your care and your practice. Obviously, they are the best ones to tell your story to potential new patients. There’s always greater credibility in hearing how wonderful you are from someone else.
Ideally, testimonials will come to you unsolicited. Keep satisfied patient letters or handwritten notes in a three-ring binder labeled “Testimonials/Patient.” If you receive similar kinds of testimonials from referring practitioners, you can keep them in a binder labeled “Testimonials/ Professional.”
If you do not receive any unsolicited testimonials, don’t despair. You or your staff can also ask for them. The perfect time to ask is when a patient makes a positive statement about your care during a visit. You or a member of your staff can explain how important it is to have happy, satisfied patients and ask if the patient would be willing to “put it in writing.” Many patients will be happy to accommodate your request. Make it easy for them to provide feedback by giving them a simple form.
The best testimonials, aside from having good things to say about you and your practice, will speak to those specific services, treatments, procedures or diagnoses that you are trying to promote within your practice. If you need advice about which of them you should be promoting in your marketplace, call a Practice Builders marketing expert at 800.679.1200.
Best regards,
Joel EllisPresidentPractice Builders