Insights on Healthcare Marketing

Your Web site is an extension of you and your practice. Think of it as a way to both attract customers and enhance the experience you provide them — patients, family members and referral sources alike. Here are a few basic building blocks:

1. Performance and Functionality — Make sure your site does what it should whenever and however it is accessed. It loads quickly and correctly. All buttons, tabs and links work properly. Any online forms are error-free and easy to use. And the site performs well on search engines.

One of the most powerful marketing tools for any medical practice is right under your nose — actually at your front desk, in and out of your exam rooms, and on your phones:  Your staff.
They probably spend as much if not more time with your patients than your physicians.

Engage them. 
Involve your team in diagnosing practice problems and developing solutions. Share practice news and solicit their input on marketing opportunities. Keep them informed of any marketing strategies or tactics you are implementing.  

The best way to build a medical practice is not an ad or even a great Web site (although your Web site is important). No, one of the quickest and most effective ways to build your practice is building and sustaining relationships with potential and current referral sources.

And while your staff can certainly help in this regard, to be truly effective, your individual physicians must put some skin in the game. Of course they should keep their referring physicians informed and take good care of their patients, but go a step further:

It is all too easy for established medical practices to settle into feelings of comfort, security and satisfaction. After all, you’ve done the careful, hard work of building your brand and the relationships that support it. It would be so nice to simply coast.

The problem is the world is constantly changing, especially in healthcare. What worked yesterday or even today may not meet the expectations for tomorrow. Patients are more discerning in their decisions. And competitors are looking to capitalize on your weaknesses as well as new opportunities you may have overlooked.

I like the Cambridge Dictionary definition of complacency:  “a feeling of calm satisfaction with your own abilities or situation that prevents you from trying harder”

“I just developed a greater appreciation for how much the human element matters and how much more you can achieve as a team when you have players who care about winning, who care about each other, develop those relationships, have those conversations. It creates an environment where the sum is greater than its parts.” — Theo Epstein, General Manager, Chicago Cubs

I recently read this in a Sports Illustrated article about the Chicago Cubs general manager Theo Epstein and the culture he created with his World Series-wining team. The article talks about how his guiding principle is the character of the players he acquires even more than their skill and expertise.

The 15-year-old with a torn tendon wants to try to play in her team’s last game at the state softball tournament next weekend.

The 62-year-old cataract patient sews costumes for the community theater company but can no longer see to do her work.

The 50-year-old heart attack patient had been training to run his first marathon — the #1 item on his “bucket list.”

The 23-year-old cancer patient has plans to study architecture abroad next semester as part of her master’s degree program.

Building a successful medical practice means building better relationships — with your patients, your staff, your referral sources, and your community. When you think of how many individuals fall into these categories and specific strategies you could employ to strengthen your connections with them, it can be overwhelming. 

So simplify. 

Just pick three people to start with. 

There are a lot of questions involved in delivering healthcare.

What are your symptoms?
When did they start?
Do you have any family history?
Are you currently taking any medication?

We all have forms and electronic health records with lots of boxes to check off and fill in to gather the background information we need. This process has become more automated in recent years which while it certainly has its advantages, can have a downside, too. The danger is that we become more detached from the human side of practicing medicine if we are not careful and intentional in our approach.

Are you there for them?

A patient calls your office … 

In our last post, we talked about how initiating and growing relationships is critical to the success of your practice. I also introduced you to my friend Bob Kodzis, a nationally acclaimed writer, marketer, and president of Flight of Ideas who contributed to my new book It’s Personal: The Art of Building Your Practice. Bob has developed what he calls The Relationship Continuum©:

I think this is a powerful visual that conveys how relationships evolve: