Practice marketing definition
Or: What doctors and dentists need to know about patient acquisition today
"Everything used to be better" - you come across this saying from time to time. With regard to practice marketing, this may be true in some respects - at least for those who had little desire for competition. However, the definition of practice marketing has changed significantly in the meantime. Unlike in the past, practice owners are now confronted with a much more competitive environment. Depending on the speciality and location, this is of course more or less the case. However, this does not necessarily have to be seen in a negative light, quite the opposite: as a doctor, you now have various practice marketing options at your disposal with which you can exert a targeted influence on the success of your practice.
Nowadays, practice marketing is essential for establishing and maintaining a successful medical or dental practice. It is extremely important to customise practice marketing to your own practice and situation, as there are no standard solutions. Depending on the speciality, target group, location or competitive situation, different measures may be required.
Definition of the term
Practice marketing
Practice marketing is the umbrella term for all efforts and measures that are intended to contribute to satisfying the needs and expectations of new and existing patients as part of market-orientated practice management. To put it simply, practice marketing is about attracting new patients, or better put, desired patients, and retaining existing patients in the long term.
Practice marketing through the ages
Practice marketing in the 70s or 80s can be summarised quickly:
- Practice sign (format and appearance strictly regulated)
- Phone book entry
- Entries in business directories and local maps
- If necessary, signs indicating the local road layout
At that time, practice owners didn't really have to make much more effort to attract enough patients. There was hardly any competition, as the marketing of all colleagues was roughly "equal". After all, there was a ban on advertising. Of course, even then word of mouth was one of the most important criteria. Unlike today, however, patients at that time did not see themselves as customers who were allowed to have their own demands. There was little questioning as to whether, for example, a certain waiting time was acceptable or whether another practice might be more customer-friendly or better equipped. Doctors and dentists still had a certain "God in white" status back then.
Practice marketing in the past
Practice marketing today
This has changed at the latest with the relaxation of the advertising ban, the increasing cost sharing by patients, the establishment of doctor rating portals and the growing importance of customer reviews. Patients now see themselves as customers who are entitled to have expectations. Whereas people used to open the phone book when looking for a doctor and call the "first available" practice, today they start with extensive research: Which practice has good reviews? Which practice's website makes a professional impression? Which practice is particularly easy to make an appointment with? This approach is particularly pronounced in the case of self-pay services.
Practice marketing today: patients are influenced by countless channels
When we are interested in services or products, the abundance of media and portals allows us to compare offers and providers with each other. Booking and purchasing is also done conveniently online - a trend that has become particularly strong during the pandemic.
Practices are also affected by this. Online rating portals such as Jameda or Google's rating function are just two examples of how doctors and dentists can be compared in terms of performance. And new functions such as video consultations or online booking of medical appointments are increasing the competitive pressure within the medical profession. Who offers their patients the best service? Who is prepared to embrace new technologies and "march ahead", so to speak?
This increases the relevance of practice marketing many times over nowadays.
Thanks to smartphones, we now consume numerous media simultaneously and are constantly (consciously or unconsciously) informed about everything and everyone. In our "waking phase", we are constantly "on reception", so to speak.
Image source: 9gag.com
How new patients "find their way" to your practice
The profession of a doctor or dentist should first and foremost be medicine or dentistry and not self-promotion. In view of the vast number of marketing channels and options that are now available, it quickly becomes clear that a lot of time and money can be wasted here. The question is therefore: Which marketing measures make sense at all and which can you do without?
To answer this question, it is helpful to look at our overview of the medical customer journey.
1. motivation & occasion
A patient's journey to your medical or dental practice has its origins in a specific motivation or reason. As a rule, this is either an illness, the need for preventive care or, for example, the desire for an aesthetic improvement.
2. findability
The need is then followed by the search for a medical practice, where your findability becomes relevant. The search usually starts with Google, which is why the practice homepage should rank in the top positions for relevant search terms. However, there are several areas within Google that need to be considered.
The usual structure is as follows:
1. Google Ads (paid search results marked with "advert")2
2. google maps (orientate themselves to the regional environment of the searcher) and the
3. organic rankings, which primarily result from the content of a website.
3. reputation
Practices that have been identified by patients in the course of the search and rated as worthy of attention are usually scrutinised and questioned in more detail in the next step. How good are the reviews? Can you find testimonials in forums? Does anyone in your circle of friends know the doctor? How is the feedback on social media?
4. conversion
After the exploratory phase, contact is finally made with the desired practice or an attempt is made to make an appointment. Every practice owner should be aware of this: If you put obstacles in the way of patients here, e.g. because you can only be reached on the telephone, there is no contact form on the website or it is not possible to book an appointment online, all previous efforts (for good reviews, good Google rankings, etc.) may have been in vain. In such cases, patients often quickly jump to the next practice on their list and try their luck there. It should therefore be ensured that every interested party can get in touch with you or your practice without much effort.
5. recommendation
What is often forgotten in the definition of practice marketing: On-site patient care in the practice also has to do with practice marketing. After all, you and your team have it in your own hands whether the patient or prospective patient feels comfortable with you.
It would be a bad thing if everything went perfectly in the run-up to patient acquisition and then things go wrong on site: Unacceptable waiting times, unfriendly staff, overcrowded waiting rooms, chaotic circumstances, etc. can lead to the patient changing their mind. This is particularly annoying in the case of self-pay services. In this case, all the efforts made in advance were in vain.
And even worse: If this results in a poor rating, this can have a direct impact on the acquisition of new patients (see step 3, Exploring).
Therefore: Take the success of your practice into your own hands
Right from the "search" stage, you have the opportunity to exert an active and decisive influence. As soon as there are discrepancies or problems there or in one of the subsequent steps, this can have a negative impact on the acquisition. Therefore: Make sure that the overall impression is right and feel free to play the role of a patient to test whether you would reach the desired target (your practice).
Based on this, you will find below the points that, in our experience, are particularly relevant for practice marketing and patient acquisition (but again, please note that this is not a patent remedy, but that each case must be considered individually).
Which practice marketing measures are particularly relevant?
1. good Google ranking
In order to be found quickly by potential patients, a good Google ranking is essential. At best, your practice will appear on the first page of results on Google and even better if it is at the top. Important: It also depends on the search term. New and undecided patients do not search by doctor's name, but neutrally by speciality or service term, e.g. dentist Hamburg or psychotherapy Cologne.
As described above, we differentiate between three types of results areas on Google.
First and foremost are Paid search results (so-called Google Ads). Here, every click on your practice homepage costs you money, but your practice appears "overnight", so to speak, on page 1 and at the top.
In second place is the Google Map (map with practice locations marked on it), which you can access with a free Google MyBusiness entry can reach. The ranking here, i.e. within the maps display, tends to be difficult to influence.
With a little lead time, it is much easier to influence the organic ranking, which follows below the maps display and which usually receives the most attention in doctor searches. The search results here depend, among other things, on the content of a website.
Other factors that influence the organic ranking are the Length of stay on your practice homepagewhich Link structure and also the Technical realisation. However, you should realise that rankings change daily and that a good Google ranking cannot usually be achieved overnight. Practice founders in particular should therefore not start out with the expectation that patients can be acquired directly via this channel. If you want to move quickly, Google Ads are the better option, at least temporarily.
Would you like to find out more? → SEO for doctors
Would you like to find out more? → SEO keywords for doctors
What term would you search for on Google to find a dentist in Nuremberg?
2. professional practice homepage
A professional practice website is characterised by:
- a professional appearance (professional photographs, optimised display on all devices, clear structure, easy-to-read and formatted texts),
- relevant content (targeted, helpful and well-researched texts, images and videos),
- the omnipresent opportunity to make contact and, if necessary, book an appointment,
- modern technical realisation (short loading times, etc.)
- Complete and up-to-date legal texts (legal notice, data protection)
Even though the understanding of this has changed significantly for the better in recent years, there are still countless medical and dental websites that hardly take any of this into account.
Would you like to find out more? → Practice homepage
Personal comment:
We are always amazed by the fact that some doctors/dentists invest huge sums in the interior of their practice, but then implement the practice website semi-professionally themselves using a construction kit (or even have it implemented by the 16-year-old son of a patient) in order to save costs. In these cases, it is clear that they did not understand how new patients find their way to practices (see above, Medical Customer Journey).
The journey of a new patient to a practice does not begin in the practice (= beautiful interior), but ends there. It usually starts with Google (and this is where good findability, good reviews and ultimately an appealing practice homepage count).
3. patient ratings in the green zone
Positive reviews on the internet today have a significant influence on patient acquisition. Google and Jameda play the biggest role here. In our experience, the number of reviews often counts less than the average (see also Ask patients for reviews?). Depending on the specialism, it is also useful to observe the mood in discussion forums (e.g. beauty forums of GoFeminin, Brigitte etc.).
Would you like to find out more? → Receive a negative evaluation?
We recommend that you include your cross-portal rating average in your Google search results using stars (see image). ProvenExpert.com offers a simple solution for this. You can find out more hereor feel free to contact us.
Which practice would you choose?
4. social media
In the area of social media, the first step is to select which channels are relevant for patient acquisition. The Instagram and Facebook networks are currently the most important (although TikTok is also becoming increasingly popular for practice marketing). Target groups can also be reached relatively precisely via the possibility of paid promotion within these networks.
However, it is usually no longer enough to simply create an account and publish posts from time to time. Without investing in promotions (Facebook and Instagram Ads), it is hardly possible to achieve sufficient reach and thus build up followers, especially at the beginning.
Our tips for content maintenance:
In general, the more personalised and authentic the contributions are, the better. We recommend emphasising a central person (e.g. you as the owner or employee) in your contributions and letting them "speak" for the practice. These can be recommendations, but also simply wishes or greetings. Insights into everyday practice life can show "real" life and thus attract the attention of users. Images of empty treatment rooms, on the other hand, are rather boring.
To increase your reach, it is extremely important to actively follow other accounts and comment on posts. This is how you show presence and draw attention to yourself.
Would you like to find out more? → Social media support
5. optimal patient care in the practice
Once a patient has gone through the entire "customer journey" and presents themselves to you, it is up to you to provide them with the best possible care and thus retain their loyalty. It is therefore extremely important to always work on a smooth process in your practice. In this way, you also create the best basis for a pleasant working environment and consequently for a pleasant atmosphere in your practice.
Ensure that colleagues, employees and patients always feel that they are in good hands and receive good advice by treating them in a friendly manner.
That also happens from time to time ...
Negative experiences such as long waiting times, rude staff or mistakes when booking appointments can lead to a whole host of problems (negative reviews, appointment cancellations, slow acquisition).
Conclusion
According to the Definition of the term practice marketing The focus here is on efforts and measures aimed at attracting and retaining patients.
Successfully attracting patients does not have to be left to chance, but can be the result of strategic and coherent practice marketing.
On the basis of the available Practical marketing tools very specific goals can be tackled. For example, more (private)Winning patientsincreasing your own level of awareness in a certain target group, retaining regular patients for a long time, marketing certain or as yet unknown services ... these are all possible objectives for which there are selected and proven methods.
If you would now like to check how your own current practice marketing is doing, you can simply use our tool Practice marketing score use. Our Practice Marketing Score® determines how well (or poorly) your practice is currently positioned in terms of patient acquisition. We analyse the following aspects:
1) Target group
2) Market situation & positioning
3) Reputation & findability
4) Online status
5) Offline status
6) Soft facts
Various statements are made and questions asked about each aspect. Simply tick the statements that apply to you. For questions, there are predefined answers from which you can choose. Each statement or question is awarded a certain number of points depending on its relevance and importance. Once you have completed all the statements and questions, your personal Practice Marketing Score® is calculated and displayed immediately afterwards.
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