Did you know that almost half of Americans report avoiding the doctor every year? This could be for financial reasons, medical anxiety, or simply not having the time in their day to go to an appointment.
Would you like to grow your medical practice and increase patient volume? Here are some tips for gaining new patients, keeping them, and creating a thriving medical clinic.
Respond to Online Reviews
With the advent of the internet, more and more companies are getting reviews through websites such as Google and Yelp. Although this can be a huge boost to your business’s reputation, it is important that you keep an eye on the reviews.
Stay up to date on what people are saying about your business. You can set a day every week or any other schedule to make sure that you read the reviews.
One thing that helps your business is responding to online reviews. Give an expression of thanks for good reviews. You should try to personalize the message if possible so that the user knows you read their entire review.
It is even more important that you respond to negative reviews. Offer condolences to your patients and find a way to make it right. This could lead to a better experience for all parties involved.
Utilize New Technology
You should always make an effort to stay up to date with the latest technology in your medical practice. Revolutionary medical practice software can enhance the experience of your patients.
There are always improvements in the field when it comes to appointment scheduling and billing. Depending on your specialty, it may be a good idea to invest in new equipment as well.
Improve Patient Experience
One of the surefire ways to increase patient volume is by having an unforgettable patient experience. You need to think about your patients from the way they experience your website to what they see when they walk into the doors of your clinic.
Make sure that your site is easy to navigate. Patients should be able to access their appointment details, medical records, and any other pages relevant to their experience with your clinic.
Try to make relevant updates to your waiting area as well. Your patients will appreciate amenities such as coffee and refreshments, a television, and other forms of entertainment while they wait for their appointment.
Automate Marketing
If you want to grow your medical clinic as quickly as possible, you should consider automating your marketing process. This may take a lot of work in the beginning, but it will pay off when you do not have to focus on it for hours every week.
Try using software and websites to regularly post to your social media pages or email your customers with a weekly newsletter. You can schedule posts at any frequency.
It may take only a couple of hours every month to create content. Then, you can shift your focus back to more important aspects of your practice that you cannot automate.
Cater to Your Target Audience
If you have a medical clinic, there is no doubt that you have a target audience you want to meet. If you are just starting out, you should try to determine which patients you would like to add to grow your medical clinic.
For instance, if you live in a community with a high population of senior citizens, you should focus on conditions that afflict older generations. You may want to market on paper rather than online.
However, if you want to draw in teenagers, young adults, and growing families, then you can cater your marketing plan to be more involved on social media.
Outsource Tasks
Sometimes, the menial tasks when running your medical practice can eat up too much of your time. Whenever possible, you should try to outsource your work so that you have more time to focus on your patients.
One example of a task that is great for outsourcing is billing and coding. You can refer your insurance authorizations and billing tasks to a separate company.
You can also alleviate some of your tasks to your lower-level employees. This will free up time for you to tend to responsibilities that only doctors and managers can complete.
Update Your Website
Most websites need updating every few years, so make sure you keep a close eye on website trends. The website should be easy to navigate for all users to help improve patient experience.
You also need to make sure that your site is optimized for mobile devices. Your patients should be able to navigate it easily from a cell phone, tablet, or computer screen.
If possible, you should consider hiring a web designer to push through updates. They can evaluate how much traffic you get and determine whether or not you need to change your strategy.
Recruit Highly-Trained Staff
When it comes to the overall patient experience, your staff can make or break how your patients feel about your clinic overall. It is always worth it to invest in staff members that have the proper qualifications and training beforehand. Also, it is advisable to allow but also inspire them to grow and learn while working. Medical professionals have the opportunity to be flexible with their education by attending courses in ACLS and PALS completely online. These advanced programs are important for their medical certifications and now it can be completed more easily.
However, you should also look at character traits and willingness to learn. Evaluate how your potential new hires will fit in with the rest of the people who work at the clinic. Sometimes personality is a great way to judge if someone will do well at your business.
Expand Your Medical Practice Today
Whether you are a new medical practice or you simply want to increase patient volume, you should not have to worry about a complicated way to do it. With these tips to grow your medical clinic, you will see a growth in your patient numbers in no time.
Would you like to learn about more ways that you can improve your business on every level? Take a look at our site for more company marketing tips and tricks that will help any type of business.
