While marketing is often one of the first areas of business to see budget cuts when funding becomes tight, it’s an essential part of a business model. Healthcare practices are no exception to that. If anything, doctors should spend more time on marketing than they do, or at least should make it more of a priority in their practice, even if they don’t handle it themselves.
Your Reputation is on the Line
A doctor’s reputation is everything. A stellar reputation protects your practice, while a bad one can sink it like a stone. Today, much of your reputation is created and perpetuated online, specifically through reviews. While you may not ordinarily think about reviews as a marketing tool, they can be one of the more valuable ones you have. Positive reviews help build your reputation. Even negative ones can be beneficial, especially if you respond properly to them. If you do it right, you can protect your reputation from being damaged.
Source: https://www.myhealthtalent.com/article/how-to-respond-to-negative-online-patient-reviews-109
Patients Expect More
Patients expect a lot from healthcare providers today. The way technology is changing the healthcare industry is only increasing the demands being placed on doctors. Half of patients say a bad digital experience can ruin a relationship with a healthcare provider. Make sure you aren’t one of them by ensuring that the digital experiences your patients have are as positive as possible. Thoughtful use of digital marketing techniques can help promote positive experiences for your patients while building your business.
Source: https://www.podium.com/article/is-apple-business-chat-hipaa-compliant/
Growing Your Practice
Doctors, like every other professional, need a regular stream of customers coming through the door in order to stay in business. The primary purpose of marketing is to get your business in front of consumers. If you want to grow your practice, you need to invest in marketing. Make sure you are visible online so that people in your area can easily find you. Don’t be afraid to ask your patients to refer you to their friends as well. Happy patients can be some of your best advocates and are a wonderful marketing resource.
Source: https://www.medresponsive.com/blog/enhance-online-visibility-healthcare-website-2017/
There’s no denying that doctors are quite busy, or at least they should hope to be. If they’re running a successful practice, they may not have time to do much marketing themselves, but it should still be a priority for someone in the practice. Marketing can help shape an online reputation, manage patient expectations, and grow a practice. With everything it can do to benefit a healthcare practice, doctors should be spending more time on it, not less.
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