Whether you’ve just opened a new medical practice or you’re a well-established office in the community, it’s important to continually work to drive new patients through your front door.
Marketing your healthcare practice requires a full-time effort—and this task often falls to the office manager or other employee. The trouble is that they’re swamped and don’t have the time or expertise to make it happen.
We want to share five tips with you that will allow your office staff to market your Alexandria or Arlington VA medical practice more effectively and efficiently.
Look at Your Online Reviews
By far, online reviews are one of the most potent forms of medical marketing out there. The average person reads those online reviews, and they greatly influence their decision of which medical practice to visit.
However, getting those reviews can be difficult. Consider having some cards or flyers printed and passed out by your office staff.
Ask your customers to go to a specific online review site and give your business an honest review. Ask them to rate the quality of care, professionalism, and other essential elements of an excellent medical practice.
Be sure to use a QR code or pURL that will allow your patients to quickly get to the review site without having to type in an overly complicated URL into their web browser.
Tighten Up Your Social Media Game
Facebook and Instagram are two very powerful marketing tools that you can use to promote your medical services. Plastic surgeons, med spas, and even dentists use social media with great success.
You can also use your Facebook page to post news about your business. Whether you’re offering a special on Botox or a discounted teeth cleaning, you’ll find people beating down your front door to take advantage of a promotion.
Use Email (Intelligently)
People dislike being bothered by businesses and will often hit the “SPAM” button when they get annoyed. With that being said, you should still use email to communicate with your patients. For example, if the medical software your front office uses has a calendar that shows when patients are due for an annual checkup or other procedure, send out a custom email to remind them. You can also send out an email during the holidays to wish your patients well and keep your practice on the front of their minds.
Run an EDDM Campaign
Every Door Direct Mail, or EDDM, is a service from the U.S. Post Office. It allows you to send a mailer to every residence in a pre-determined geographical area. EDDM works exceptionally well for dental offices and general practitioners—especially when they offer some form of a new patient promotion or discount.
Consider Your Office Interior
One of the more overlooked aspects of marketing your medical practice is the patient waiting room. Many people out there feel nervous about visiting a doctor (especially a dentist). Try to decorate the interior of your medical practice with soothing images in the form of posters or banners.
Consider Your Office Exterior
What kind of signage do you have on the exterior of your office? Is it chipped, cracked, or warped? Prospective patients will often make an unfair subconscious decision about the quality of treatment based on the visual looks of the building exterior signage.
A new building sign will do wonders for your branding and can attract many new patients as they drive by your office. If you need help with ideas, the expert graphic designers at AlphaGraphics of Alexandria and Arlington will create the perfect design.
Give Out Freebies
Who doesn’t love a free gift? Consider passing out promotional items that are branded with your practice logo, website, and contact information. Pens, notepads, and other assorted items are a great way of establishing a long-lasting relationship.
Consider Patient Reactivation
If you’ve been in business for a long while, there’s a good chance that some of your former patients have either forgotten about your practice or are with another doctor. Patient reactivation services will help you identify who those people are and allow you to remarket and get them to come back to your office for an appointment.
Consider Your Branding
When was the last time you updated your medical practice branding? It’s essential to make sure that your branding reflects the values and principles of your practice. This will allow your patients to make a deeper connection while instilling a sense of trust.
Medical Marketing Help in Alexandria and Arlington
At AlphaGraphics of Alexandria and Arlington, we’ve helped many local medical practices drive new business through their front doors. If you need help with any aspect of a local marketing campaign, give us a call. If you’d like to speak to an expert about your business, give us a call at (703) 549-2432 or contact us on our website.