How to Brand and Promote Your Medical Practice

It is not a secret that the business side of healthcare is swiftly changing. Both physicians and practice administrators should be looking for new ways to connect with patients. In the past, a physician would wander the halls of a hospital ER and visit the physician’s lounge in order to develop relationships with their colleagues to gain referrals. Nowadays, with hospitalists, managed care plans, healthcare reform, and the internet it is much more difficult to build a practice using only referrals.

 

Consider the “4 Ps of Marketing”: Product, Place (Location), Price and Promotion to help determine the promotional objectives of a marketing plan.

 

Is your practice name unique? Do you have a professional logo? When you see golden arches, you think McDonalds; Is your logo unique and recognizable? It is very important that a practice maintain a standard practice for branding and marketing. The logo of your practice should be on your staff’s scrubs and all physicians’ lab coats.

 

Do you know what services you are offering? What is the unique selling proposition of such services? Think outside of the box. For example, at Gastro Health we developed a center of excellence around chronic patients that have inflammatory bowel disease. Think of frequent flyers for the airline industry. We branded the center of excellence under the Crohn’s and Colitis Care Center.

 

Successful businesses, no matter what industry they are in, develop a marketing strategy in order to position their brand in the marketplace. For most patients, the first impression of your medical practice is your internet presence, or lack thereof. If you have a website, is it clean, clear, informative, and interactive? Can patients request appointments, ask questions, make payments, obtain test results, and request medication refills? Also think about your office location, how your staff answers the phone and how they greet new patients as they walk in the door.

 

Do you know what you are charging patients and where you are referring them to obtain their tests and procedures? Are you using facilities or physicians that charge the highest cost for services, but provide little value? Are you creating an excellent healthcare experience? At Gastro Health, our mission is to provide outstanding medical care and an exceptional healthcare experience. Patients do not perceive the quality of the medical service, but they do perceive the quality of the healthcare experience. What have you done lately to improve the quality of your patients’ experience?

 

Do you know how patients found you? If they found you on the internet, did they Google, Facebook, or Twitter you first? From Twitter accounts to Google Places, social media has become a mainstay in marketing for physician practices. Websites like www.healthgrades.com, www.vitals.com, and www.ucomparehealthcare.com provide patients with information about you and your practice. Review the physician profiles and make sure pictures, office hours, and healthcare plans are updated. Also review the patient feedback area? Do you have 1 star or 5 stars? Medical practice administrators and physicians need to understand what their reputation on the internet is like in order for it to be protected or improved.

Are you advertising on TV, Radio, Newspapers, Magazines, Internet, Billboards, or the internet? Advertising is no longer just for plastic surgeons and dentists. Specialists and primary care physicians need to find ways to get their names and their practice’s name out there. Physicians and administrators are not experts in advertising and marketing. If you don’t feel comfortable taking on marketing efforts or simply don’t want to put the time into it, find a good marketing partner; an advertising agency with healthcare experience would be your best choice.

 

Patients have lots of choices for medical care and it is up to you to develop a marketing plan that makes your practice stand out.