How Healthcare Marketing Has Changed During COVID

In 2020, the world has fundamentally changed – perhaps more so than at any time in human history.

While pandemics have struck humanity before, the economic ramifications on an international level have never been so high as they are today. With so many changes, how do you stay one step ahead of promoting your healthcare practice?

The first step to preparing your marketing strategy for the challenges of 2020 is to pivot your messaging. Whereas in 2019, an ad that positions you as “the most gentle dentist in Iowa”, or “most family-friendly optometric practice”, “state-of-the-art veterinary care”, etc. – might have been acceptable, with the onset of coronavirus season, patients and clients are vastly more concerned with taking precautions.

A pivot is when a practice makes a major shift in their business strategy – one that we all need to make in order to overcome the current economic and social circumstance.

To begin with, have a look at the general emotional state of your local community. Spotting how patients/clients are emoting about COVID19 will help you respond appropriately and without giving offense.

Next, we need to assess where their attention is getting stuck. The primary purpose of advertising is to capture attention, and create desire. If we want to accomplish this with any accuracy – we will first need to understand what competition we have for the patient’s attention.

Any time you have patients getting distracted by a chaotic or upsetting environment, you will find them less inclined to pay attention to your marketing. The solution is to stop ignoring the elephant in the room.

From May to August 2020, practices who pivoted quickly – placing COVID notices on social media, changing their voicemail and phone patter to inform patients of precautions, and created website popups and notifications telling visitors what services were still available, had the most success.

This also points to the need for clear-cut messaging. Never assume that patients know what precautions you’re taking, or what actions you want them to take. As uncommon as it may seem, a firm but polite approach is best. Tell patients what you want them to do, rather than offering a choice or asking what they would prefer. Patients and clients come to you because of your expertise and authority in your field – give them the guidance and certainty they are looking for.

Fill out the form on this page to read Part II – The 5 Ways to Improve Patient/Client Attraction in 2020, they will provide you with the essential data regarding the proper management of your accounts receivable and other office records (highly recommended). Scroll to top

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Read Part II – The 5 Ways to Improve Patient/Client Attraction in 2020, they will provide you with the essential data regarding the proper management of your accounts receivable and other office records (highly recommended).