Healthcare marketing strategies that will achieve your goals
When it comes to marketing your organization, there are about a billion options of what you could do, but when it comes to what you should do, things can get a little dicey.
The fact of the matter is, we want your business to grow. We want you to serve as many people as you possibly can.
As a digital marketing agency that’s providing healthcare marketing strategies to our clients on a daily basis, there’s nothing more exciting than when that marketing engine is running, the message is connecting, and you’re getting an incredible ROI on your campaigns. I’m getting emotional just thinking about it.
But if you’re in a place where you wish your marketing was working better, well, that’s a real drag, because…why? After all, your business is great. Your offerings are unique, and you have a wonderful, inimitable team. Why isn’t the message connecting?
Without getting under the hood of your campaigns or delving into your overarching strategy, all I can say is that the answer can vary drastically. Unsatisfying, I know, but what I can tell you with confidence is that the following ideas will give you increased clarity about the direction of your marketing.
And with the right combination of imagination, execution, and refinement, you just might find yourself with your best-performing marketing yet.
Differentiate yourself
This is not the time to be humble. It does not matter how many competitors you might have in your market. It doesn’t matter if they offer cheaper products or services. There is no other business that is quite like yours.
Be confident in recognizing what makes your organization special and put that message out into the world day-after-day. It will completely change how your business is perceived.
I can say this with absolute confidence because there are plenty of other digital marketing agencies in the Portland area. Plenty that focus on healthcare marketing strategies. But no other agency out there has our team, nor do they have the ability to deliver like we do.
It doesn’t matter that other people might offer the same services at a lower cost than we do, because the value we provide is that much greater. Your business possesses this, too. Don’t be afraid to say it.
Make the most of your owned assets
It’s no secret that marketing can be incredibly expensive, and with many tactics, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get a good return on your investment.
Now, I don’t want to tell you that you should avoid taking any risks with your marketing — the strongest healthcare marketing strategies are well-rounded — but the risks you take should be calculated, and in my personal opinion, you should probably make them after you’ve invested in the foundational tactics, like your website.
You don’t own Google Ads. You don’t own Facebook or Instagram or any of the other social media ad platforms. But you own your website, and with the right website design support, you have complete control over the content, experience, and value that your website provides.
Search engines will evaluate the usefulness of your content, helping your brand to become more visible in search. People who find your content useful and informative will continue to visit your site and recommend it to others.
It might sound basic, but having a secure website that loads quickly, is easy to navigate, and gives people what they’re looking for is an invaluable way to grow your business.
Your website tells people everything they need to know about your organization, whether you intend it to or not. One of the most effective healthcare marketing strategies I can recommend is to invest time, energy, and intention into making your site as great as it can be.
Give your clients a voice
There’s a reason why word of mouth advertising is so powerful. People just tend to trust other people they know and respect over anything they could ever experience in an advertisement.
So while you can’t create word of mouth advertising for your business, you can engage with your client base in a variety of ways in order to better understand why they chose you, encourage them to share their experience with their loved ones, and even learn about how you can be better at what you do.
Testimonials
Testimonials are powerful. Having a person from outside of your organization advocate on your behalf lends you a heightened level of credibility, and you need to give yourself permission that it’s okay to ask people if they’d consider providing a testimonial.
Just put your ducks in a row first to make the process a smooth one. I would encourage you to have a marketing release form that you share with your clients so that they understand precisely what you’re asking them to do, including permission to use their words, name, and photo in your marketing.
Reviews
Who isn’t looking at reviews? Even if you’re not actively seeking them out, many platforms have Reviews built directly into them, so it can (fairly or unfairly) look suspicious when a business has very few reviews or only negative reviews.
Again, I would encourage you to get over the awkwardness of asking for reviews, and make the process as simple as possible for your clients.
If your clientele is of an age where they might not be as experienced with review platforms, provide them with simple but detailed instructions, or if you’re a brick and mortar business, create a system where they can give you a review right there in the office.
Engage with your reviewers. Thank them for taking the time. Even speak to the negative reviews. You might not make that person feel whole, but you’ll make them feel heard, and you’ll show the world your willingness to engage with your critics.
Referral programs
Referral programs go hand-in-hand with testimonials and reviews, so I won’t go on and on with this one, but I will say a few important things about all of them:
- Set goals for these programs, even if they’re small like getting 2 testimonials per month. You’ve got to start somewhere. Set goals, assess your results, and then keep going!
- Look into your state’s laws regarding incentives. If they’re allowed, consider offering things like gift cards or discounts to encourage participation.
- Train your team on the process! Better yet: Create a process. Document the process. Deploy the process. Use it, learn from it, and then improve it, but DO NOT do any of the above programs without having these critical components in place first. You’ll run the risk of creating negative customer experiences otherwise.
Satisfaction surveys
Here’s where you might need to allow yourself to get a little vulnerable, but trust me, it will be worth it.
Actively solicit feedback from your customers. Find out why they chose you instead of your competition. Find out what they love about you. Even find out what they think you could do better.
Most email platforms have a survey feature, which can become an invaluable tool in your marketing arsenal — the results you get can be turned into any manner of things: new marketing copy, testimonials, even training opportunities.
The bottom line is that you’re showing your client base that you care about what they think and you’re giving them a platform to express their opinion.
Healthcare marketing strategies don’t end here
This is really just a small sampling of what your business can do in order to get more of the customers you want. At Formada, we specialize in creating a custom strategy for your business, deploying tactics like web design, content marketing, paid advertising, and a whole lot more.
Our services are great. You’ll love your results. But I think what you’ll be most impressed with is our team’s ability to connect with your own and sincerely understand what it is that your business wants to achieve.