We all go to the doctor and dentist at some point in our life (well, most of us) and we all see so many of the moving parts. The scheduling, checking in, updating privacy information and so on. There’s a lot that goes on that we, as patients, see and so much more that goes on behind the scenes to actually run the practice. Unfortunately, there’s much more than just interacting with patients. There’s payroll, billing the insurance companies, records, and all of the other office operations. Those are all things that directly deal with the patients but what about the efforts on how to get or keep patients? It’s really easy to drop the ball in those areas, especially when you’re inundated with patients day in and day out. Here are some things you may want to resolve to do in 2020 to keep your patients happy and to get new patients in your medical practice.
- Ask for feedback. There’s no better way to know what people are thinking outside of asking them. Surveys are a great way to get anonymous feedback on exactly how your medical practice is doing. While email is an easy way to do this, we recommend that you have a tablet or laptop in the waiting room where patients are encouraged to leave a review or complete a survey. With many medical practices, there are self-serve kiosks and this would be a great place to get feedback. Getting a clear understanding of where your practice may be falling short and making improvements around that feedback is a great way to keep patients happy and coming back.
- Ask for testimonials. If you know a patient is happy, ask them for a quick testimonial. Be sure to make it clear that you will be using the testimonials on your website. Testimonials are a great way to help your prospects move through the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey.
- Ask for reviews. Now don’t go asking for feedback, a testimonial and a review all on the same day. Your patients may get a little upset. Instead, start a contest of some sort to get them to leave you a review on Google, the largest search engine. It will help with your search engine optimization which allows people to find you easier.
- Celebrate them! You pretty much have all of the information you could possibly need about the patient. Take the extra step and have the staff sign a whole bunch of birthday cards and then send them out to patients on their birthday. This is one of the best ways to delight a patient which will keep them coming back. Another great thing to do is send them a thank you card when it’s their year (or 5, 10, 15, or 20 years) anniversary of being a patient.
- Get a CRM (customer relationship management) system. There’s nothing worse than someone calling to inquire about becoming a new patient and the office not having any record of it so they ask the same questions over and over. Be sure to have a system where you can track your contacts, and that you can see who is a lead. A great way to do this is with the Hubspot marketing software and CRM. an added bonus, you don’t have to worry about HIPAA violations because you don’t need to collect sensitive information upfront when they’re just considering you as an option.
- Make sure your patient’s information is secure. Technology changes quickly and there’s no faster way to upset a patient than to expose their personal information. A company like Innovative Incorporated is great to have on your side when making sure you are HIPAA compliant if you’re in Hagerstown, MD or surrounding areas.
- Update your website. If your website isn’t compatible with phones and your patients can’t get important documents on it, chances are you’re losing to your competition. Make a vow to get it updated so it’s easy to use and a good resource for prospective, new and current patients.
- Start blogging. There is no better way to humanly attract people to your website than through a blog. When done right, blogs are designed to attract people to your website by answering the question that they have. By providing educational content for free, you are helping them know, like and trust you which is key for getting them to become a patient.
- Stay current on social media. Staying current is more than just sharing the latest news in your industry. It’s about showing your followers what’s behind the curtain. Let them know you’re human by sharing things about your office. The secretary’s pet, the doctor’s favorite place to vacation. Real-time photos of company events are a great way to stay current and keep followers engaged.
- Start videoing. Make some great educational videos about commonly asked questions or common issues among your patients. Video can be great for attracting new patients or upselling them.
- Offer some downloads on your website. Downloads are a great way to help people through the buyer’s journey as well. For example, if you’re a plastic surgeon, you can do a comparison on a mommy makeover versus a breast augmentation or a checklist for when it’s time to have skin removal after weight loss surgery. There are a million things you can offer as a download to help grow your email list so that you can then nurture those leads into patients.
- Start using ads. Ads are a great way to expand your audience so that you have a larger reach. They can really help you with lead generation when done right.
- Track! Last but not least, track all of your efforts. You have to know where you’re getting the best return on investment (ROI) and you can’t unless you’re tracking your efforts.
We understand that this list can feel quite exhausting especially considering all of the other things you have on your hands. Sometimes, it’s best to outsource some of your work to an expert in that field to allow you to focus on what’s most important, your patients.