Are you frustrated that your patient base is not growing, or worse, shrinking? If you're looking to grow your medical practice you need to look beyond what entices someone to sign up as a new patient. Maybe more importantly, you should consider why some people have decided to move onto another doctor.
Some things that are out of your control, such as if a current patient moves out of town or changes to an insurance plan you don’t accept. However, there are plenty of reasons people change doctors that can be avoided.
The digital age has had a deep and likely permanent effect on the patient-physician relationship. With a plethora of ways to gather information about medical issues, symptoms and newly discovered medical miracles, today’s hi-tech patient isn’t always the best educated patient.
The latest trend in on and off-line communications is guest starring. Everywhere we look, from TV to magazines to websites, it's become popular to be a guest on a colleague’s site. Doctor Oz and Suze Orman were some of the first and best known guests appearing on Oprah’s extremely popular TV show. And after just a few short years, these experts now have their own super popular television programs, websites and various marketing venues.
Sometimes we underestimate the value of a good plan. A well-designed medical marketing plan can help you clearly identify who you want to inform about your practice, what you want to divulge to them, why they need to know this information, when you want them to know about changes, and most importantly, how you want to tell them. It’s a written instruction book of sorts for informing and promoting your private practice or hospital.
Over the last several years, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Diggit, have gained a lot of popularity. Twitter has gained more new followers than Facebook and LinkedIn combined. Mashable announced earlier this year that LinkedIn is more valuable than the top 13 brands on the market ($8.9 billion). More than brands like Tiffany’s or Continental Airlines. This means it's more important than ever for businesses and entrepreneurs to put their focus into social media management.