Are you as confident in your ability to get a steady flow of new patients into your practice as you are in your ability to provide high quality technical care? You should know that successful marketing follows a proven technology that, when applied correctly, will get results with the same predictability that you get clinical results on your patients. Whether applied internally or externally, this technology will help you generate a steady flow of new patients. This article contains a brief overview of some of these key marketing techniques used to bring about these results.
Patient Records
By examining your current patient base, you’ll be able to approach and execute your marketing projects with increased confidence. You will find out who uses your services most often and you’ll gain an understanding of their health needs. Look over the records of patients you’ve seen over the past several months. Collect and tabulate information from the files such as age, occupation, gender, income and location. Doing this will give you an excellent picture of who your patients are, and you can profile your typical patient. Having this information on hand will allow you to tailor your promotion and public relations events to your majority audience. As you’re collecting information from the patient files, also count and categorize the types of services you deliver to the different groups. This provides a deeper understanding of what people in various demographic categories need and want from you. It will help you decide which services to emphasize in your promotion.
Surveys
The information learned from surveys is your road map to successful marketing and promotion – both internal and external. National surveys provided by trade publications and other agencies can be helpful, but there is no substitute for finding out what the people in your own area are thinking and what would motivate them to visit your practice. Many different types of surveys can be created. A brief description of a few basic ones is as follows:
Needs and Wants Survey
A series of questions designed to find out what products and services people in your area consider to be valuable, desirable, undesirable or necessary. A “Needs and Wants” survey provides you with the “hot buttons” of the people in your area. These buttons should be used in all of your promotion.
Quality Control Survey
Find out if you are meeting the expectations of the people you serve and what, if anything, you can do to improve your service to them. Their feedback is vital and helps you keep your quality of service high, so you can keep them coming back.
Referral Survey
A survey designed to find out if your patients are referring to your practice and why they do or do not refer others to your practice. You can find out how to get more referrals and improve your internal marketing.
New Services and Products Survey
A New Services and Products Survey will help you determine how to go about introducing anything new to current and potential clientele and help you predict how they will respond to it.
Whom to Survey
Determine which public or market you are going to target with your survey: active patients, inactive patients, former patients, new patients, or those who have never been into your practice. Example: If you’re interested in getting people back into the practice who haven’t been in for some time, create a survey for the inactive/former patient public. After contacting these people and getting the responses to your survey questions tabulated, you’ll have information that you can use in a reactivation letter.
How to Survey
In Person
An efficient way to survey your active patients is to have questions prepared that they can answer right in your waiting area. Have your staff conduct the survey either before the appointment or as the patients are leaving. In-person surveys can be done at health fairs, public events, and on busy public thoroughfares. These are good for reaching those who have never been into your practice.
By Phone
Conducting phone surveys is a good way to reach inactive people you serve, but they can also be used to contact potential new people you may serve. You may use your existing contact lists, or obtain targeted lists through reputable list brokers and healthcare-specific mailing list providers. These companies maintain updated databases that can often be filtered by geographic area, specialty, or demographics. Professional associations may also make member lists available for approved marketing purposes. Always ensure that any outreach complies with applicable privacy and telemarketing regulations.
By Email or Text
Email or text surveys provide a fast and convenient way to gather feedback. A short survey with a direct link can be sent to active or inactive patients, making it easy for them to respond at their convenience. This method is cost-effective, allows for quick data collection, and can reach a large number of people efficiently.
By Mail
When surveying by mail, it is recommended that you encourage responses by including a postage-paid return envelope or reply card. If needed, mailing lists can be purchased using demographics to target specific markets. While this is a more traditional method, it can still be effective and worthwhile in certain situations.
Get the Patients you Want
Attract more of the patients/clients you want in your practice by using effective survey techniques. Clearly define your ideal patient/client base, then use surveys to identify what will draw them to your practice. Continue strengthening those relationships by regularly measuring their satisfaction with the quality of service you and your staff provide—encouraging loyalty and referrals.
If you would like assistance implementing successful surveys or putting these principles into practice, click the link below to schedule a free practice consultation. We are here to help!