Strong marketing is a basic necessity for the growth of any business and the same goes for any practice. To flourish your physical therapy practice you need to follow some marketing techniques. You cannot afford to skip from going digital. To know if you are on the right track and not making any healthcare marketing mistake, read below and get it correct for your competitors do.
Mistake: Relying only on referrals
You practice would be doing well with referrals but to make it work great you need to have a digital presence. From potential patients and referrals to existing patients everyone wants to check your practice online making it necessary for you to have a strong online presence. No online presence is like killing your practice. According to Pew Research study, around 67% of Americans over the age of 65 use the Internet. Also, 34% of adults of age 65 are on social media. Social media is becoming a great way to stay connected with your existing patients and influence the potential ones.
Mistake: Considering social media over practice website
In addition to relying on referrals, many practices believe just a social media presence would be enough. It is one of the biggest myth you are living with. You can never achieve your targeted customer base without a website of your practice. It is the bread and butter of healthcare marketing practice. Any marketing effort whether it is social media or guest posts ultimately drive people to your website. So, nothing can replace it. Only staying on social media might lack the professionalism and trust patients will look forward to. The website also helps you in tracking your leads, customer journey, the most and least visited pages, etc.
Mistake: No continued engagement with patients
Just an online presence is not enough. You need to have an active presence on social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram. You should regularly post blogs or any knowledge piece, reply to comments or queries posted on your page, join groups related to your practice and participate by commenting on other related posts by doctors or commoners. Inactive presence can cause a loss of your patient count. They will feel ignored and soon back out. Other engagement tools include email campaigns, postcards, simple email, text messages, and calls.
Mistake: Neglecting online reviews
Your practice online reputation is highly dependent on the online reviews. Everyone is talking on the Internet about everything. You might not care of what people say but this attitude won’t take your practice higher. Ignoring reviews is the worst you can do for your practice reputation. According to Brightlocal, more than 60% people believe doctors should respond to reviews. So, you need thank your reviewers and respond to them. For the negative comments, you should revert them professionally instead of taking them personally.
Just like you request and look forward to referrals, you need to request more positive reviews from your happy customers. The number of positive reviews you get the stronger online reputation you will have. You can send reminders via email if the patient has yet not posted something good about you.
There are various other things your practice might be missing when it comes to online marketing. Some of the missed strategies are mentioned below.
- Having a patient portal on your website for ease and convenience of patients
- Appointment reminders
- Feedback form at the practice or on website
- Focused email campaign segmented on the basis of demographics
- Highlighted any new service
- Adding practice bios on your website and using engaging content