Low Cost Medical Marketing Solutions
- Posted on: Dec 15 2015
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Low cost medical marketing solutions are essential for practices and hospital today. Today there is an importance for seamless, informative, user friendly practice building techniques for the acquisition of patients, as well as the upselling of patients. Fortunately, there are a variety of effective strategies that may be employed at no cost or low cost. There are no cost extensions of the word of mouth referral arms through social media techniques. There are low cost practice building techniques offered in direct email communication and event marketing.
The idea behind direct email and social media is to promote ongoing communication. Ongoing communication can be in the form of a follow up phone call, and/or follow up emailings or posts. In email campaigns, there is also an opportunity to extend your referral arm by suggesting that the recipient of the email share the email with friends by forwarding the email information to them. In social media, fans may like your page, share your page or comment on your page which triggers the masthead of your message to appear in their friends’ network. Different approaches in follow up “Internet mailings” may establish trends to separate the most successful from the least successful. This includes a promotional message, a thought for the week and an educational message all on different days.
Event marketing can be equally as low cost, when hosting the event at your practice or a business associate’s office. You may need to purchase refreshments, but goodie bags supplies may be supplied by your vendors. Soliciting the involvement of volunteers, such as staff members, technology reps, and a personality host is no cost. Using low or no cost marketing techniques to invite people to your event can be very effective for producing quality results from an event as well.
Stay tuned for out next article about How to Create the Right Marketing Messages
Creating the Right Medical Marketing Messages
Medical Marketing Messages via email or social media must be highly specific to be successful. That being said, no practice today can neglect participating in email and social media marketing unless they don’t need any patients. After all, 67% of Internet users (your patients) said they would switch their provider if they had email communication and other online benefits. So, we will provide you with useful tips to get started in email and social media marketing. Then, we’ll give you tips to help create the right message and promote the best response possible. We want you to have long-term relationships with loyal patients who think about referring others to your practice.
The goal, start with the right tools, including:
1) Collect email addresses by adding a field to your patient information sheet.
2) House your email list in a program that is transportable (Excel) in case it needs to be transferred to a different HIPAA compliant program
3) Using software that allows for an “opt out” feature is extremely important in medical procedure information.
4) Set up A Business Facebook Page. It’s fairly simple. Facebook has a feature you can use to transfer your contacts from your email account.
The message, focus on the body of the message.
The most successful messages contain the following components: 1) a “hook” to attract attention such as an event 2) an interest or benefit to the listener 3) reasons why the listener should consider your practice or procedure (patient quotes can be helpful) 5) a recap of the main message at closing, repeating your designations, phone number and website address information at the top and end of the message can be helpful.
A. Personalize communication: Personal salutations such as “Dear Sue” (providing you have an agreement to use a personal salutation in email communication) and physician signatures denoting designations can help enhance the goal of ongoing, personalized communication.
B. Develop a Call to Action: A call to action can be informing the reader to expect a call, requesting they call the practice, and/or sign up for an event.
C. Presentation: A) Present the title (masthead) and logo in an eye catching way. B) Use headings and subheadings when possible. C) Provide a patient testimonial in the form of a quote and/or before and after pictures.
D. Edit, edit, edit.
E. Email campaigns should include a link to your practice website. Social media post should do so as well.
How to Host A Successful Event
Whether you want to network, or speak with patients and referrals to “sell” your practice or a procedure, we’ve a got a few tips to help keep you on track. This first article will tell you about how powerful events can be and give you a few tips. The second article in this series offers a checklist so you know what to do. You may also want to visit Low Cost Medical Marketing Solutions (link to story) to stimulate the right interest in your events.
Patient seminars, open houses and other in-house events are very effective for introducing new procedures and telling people about your practice. These events help secure patient loyalty; offer the opportunity to upsell and lend an extension of the word of mouth referral arm when attendees are enticed to bring a friend to the event. Lectures in hospitals can help generate doctor referrals. Public speaking engagements with the press or medical organizations can help build credibility for your practice. In short, event marketing can be simple, inexpensive and highly effective.
Two of the most recent mediums that have proven profitable for advertising your events are the Internet and email communication. You may want to augment exposure with a paid announcement that profiles a particular event or seminar in the practice as well. It is important to note that a comprehensive strategy including a variety of mediums and repeat appearances is often necessary to achieve substantial results from advertising.
Medical Event Check List
Medical Event Checklist is designed to help you properly plan for hosting an event at your practice. Properly preparing for communication of any public nature presents the greatest prospect for offering professional, intelligent, factual and objective information. In short, preparation helps a speaker to crystallize a message. Preparation equates to understanding the topic, the objective and the audience as well. The best part is that hosting an event can be a wonderful successful patient acquisition tool, referral tool and upsell tool.
- Scheduling: Schedule public speaking engagements in a timely fashion to address today’s patients concerns, not yesterdays. Check your scheduled date to be certain it does not conflict with any other major date that would prevent people from attending. For example, should press representatives are going to be invited to your patient seminar, be certain that the date does not conflict with editorial calendar deadlines. For example, TV usually meets from 7:00am to 9:00am and again between 2:00pm and 4:00 om to decide on what events they choose to attend that day. The day and time of a major fashion show may not be the best choice, but partnering with a fashion show could be a great choice.
- The Invitation: forms of invitations, such as email, social media and print.
- The Invitation Distribution: send your invitation out at least one and a half weeks before the seminar or event. This is a short statement as to what news will be discussed and the participants involved. Be certain that names, titles, addresses and numbers are spelled correctly. Copies of the event announcement or an updated version should be handed out at the door.
- R.S.V.P.: Request an R.S.V.P. and call the attendee list the day before the public speaking engagement for confirmation.
- Location and Materials: Convenience is important. Arrive early to ensure that the room is set up with a covered table in front, a podium, microphone, rows of chairs, visual aids such as a “running” video at the door, projector and slides. Check and double-check the sound system.
- Food and Beverage: Consider having a table set up with coffee, beverages, wine and pastries or hor deuvers.
- Assign a person to greet guests at door. Assign a host to announce your physician at the event. Assign another person to circulate the room to answer one-on-one questions that result from the event.
- Be on time!
- Prepare to end the conference thirty minutes after Q & A’s or earlier if questions dwindle in order to promote ongoing one on one conversation with the attendees.
- Hand out printed materials such as the practice brochure, information about the topic, and promo materials like goodie bags.
- Consider sending thank-you notes to the event attendees. The attendees who do not attend may welcome a follow up note as well. Press representatives who were not able to attend should receive a press kit. A personal note saying, “I am sorry you couldn’t make today’s event. These materials will give you information about the (issue) covered. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at (phone number). Sincerely, (your name).
