Having done your homework and decided who your target customer is and what you’re offering them, you’re ready to create a marketing strategy and plan to promote your private healthcare practice.
There are a number of tactics you can use in your marketing plan, some more expensive than others.
But these are the 6 things you must do.
1. Build a great website
Having a website gives you the opportunity to showcase your expertise and provide detailed information about your services. It means all the information about you is in one place and makes it easier for potential patients to get in touch.
A great website has these features:
Search engine optimised (SEO) – easy to find on Google
Easy to understand, written for patients (Google likes that too)
Strong CTAs (calls to action) – easy to take the next step - for example, book an appointment
Up-to-date – for example, opening times
Includes doctor profiles and expertise
Mobile-first - most people search on mobiles and Google prioritises mobile-friendly sites
Don’t forget to keep the content simple and bear in mind the principles of health literacy.
It’s a fact that conversion rates double by more than 10% by reducing the reading age of your content by as little as two years (Source: unbounce.com)
2. SEO
Making sure your site is search engine optimised is important for many reasons: it helps people find your website, it improves your visibility and increases traffic to your site.
Here are some useful tips about SEO:
Use the Google keyword planner tool – to find out search intent
List search terms together with information about search volumes, cost and competition. You can also look at competitors
Build these words into your website content – particularly headings
Decide if you need website landing pages
Set up your website with keywords and meta data
Include location – most search is for ‘GP near me’ - and set up Google My Business
Google rewards EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness). You can achieve this by adding ‘reviewed by’ and a date to your website content. You may also want to consider PIF TICK patient centric content. PIF TICK certification shows your information is produced by a Trusted Information Creator.
3. Digital PX
The digital patient experience (PX) now plays a bigger role in people’s selection of a new provider or caregiver (Source: Forbes).
Potential patients expect a quality digital experience and technology to improve their interactions at various points in their journey.
The digital roadmap starts with a basic informational website and goes through stages until it reaches personalised seamless digital care experiences and AI.
Here are some of the basic digital patient tools:
Channels
Accessible website and channels, including apps
Telemedicine – for example, virtual appointments
Personalisation
Helpful content – easy to understand, multiple formats
Reviews and shared experiences
Choice
Functionality
Online appointment scheduling
Streamlined payment
Easy contact points (phone, email, text)
4. Social media
Which social media channels you use depends on who your target audience is. The younger generation spends more time on social media and are more likely to use Instagram and Snapchat. The 30-39 year olds also use LinkedIn. If you’re aiming at people over 40, the more popular channels are LinkedIn and Facebook.
Select one or two social media channels to focus on and decide on your content. Videos tend to get the most engagement on social media but you’ll need a strategy and commitment to produce them.
5. Ratings
Ratings and reviews from previous patients help to build trust and credibility. Potential patients are more likely to go to a private practice if other patients have recommended it.
There are a number of platforms for patient reviews including Doctify, Top Doctors, iWantGreatCare, Trustpilot.
Choose to join one of these platforms and encourage patients to review and comment.
You’ll need to closely monitor the activity and comments on the platform – and be prepared for bad reviews!
6. Paid advertising
If you have enough budget, you may want to consider paying for advertising.
Google AdWords, or pay per click (PPC), puts your name in front of people searching for the services you’re offering. PPC will generate traffic to your website and quality leads. You can track how successful your campaign is which will help you manage your spend.
You can also advertise on social media, particularly Facebook. You can target specific audiences and geographies through Facebook advertising and set a daily spend limit.
And of course, there are offline options including local magazines and newspapers, radio and outdoor advertising.
Wherever you’re advertising, make sure you follow the rules. You can’t target someone because they have a health condition. You can’t advertise a prescription medicine or over-promise. You can find out about the rules on healthcare and medicine advertising from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Find out what works
It’s important to identify which marketing activities work for you. Test a variety of channels and use the learnings to develop a successful campaign. Use as much data as you can to make informed decisions, for example Google Analytics will give you information about visits to your website and how successful your PPC campaign is. Look at where your enquiries are being generated from and how many are converting to patients.
Don’t be misled by vanity metrics which fail to provide meaningful insights. Numbers may be small so make sure you consider the context behind them.
Get some help
If all this feels a bit daunting and time-consuming, you may want to consider getting some help with your marketing. Here are the options:
Hire someone
You’ll need someone experienced who is at manager level, and they won’t be able to do everything, for example design, web development. The typical salary range is £45-60,000 for a full-time manager plus the on-costs of employment.
A freelancer
You could contract someone to work for you one or two days a week. Freelancers are usually more experienced and have a background in agency or in-house. Rates are typically from £350-600 per day.
An agency
Small agencies tend to be more specialist and cover one type of marketing and/or industry. Teams can be from 5-30 people and the director/owner will be very involved. Small agencies work on retainers or projects starting at £2,000 per month up to around £20,000. Large network agencies generally work on retainers starting from £100,000 upwards.
The content of this blog was presented by Lyn Cruickshank at the British Medical Association (BMA) Private Practice Conference 2024. Read the first part of this blog First steps to marketing your private practice here.
Get in touch if you’d like more advice about marketing your private practice. Contact us at hello@wallacehealth.co.uk
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