Keep your practice moving forward despite the challenges that sheltering-in-place presents. Here are 7 marketing strategies to sustain your practice.
It’s a great time to be pushing out education on social.
People are spending a ton of time online. Create posts or quick videos on preventing COVID-19, COVID-19 and something specific to your specialty, fitness from home, anything from your blog, nutrition, support groups, and information about your telephone consultations. If it is purely educational (no sales pitch), I’d recommend posting it in local Facebook groups.
It is an excellent time to ask happy patients to consider sharing a testimonial.
People need happy news. Ask your patients to give you a review or testimonial. Facebook and Google are the two most important ones for medical practices.
Write blog posts.
The cool thing about this is it pops up while people are searching rather than pushing to them…and they are online now more than ever. Anything people commonly ask about your area of specialty makes great content.
Send a letter to current, past, and prospective referral sources.
Depending on the specialty, they may have a lot of time on their hands to read the mail for once. Just a friendly card or note wishing them a good day with an uplifting message is great. Or, let them know how your practice is helping patients (including telemedicine is great), and how you are planning for patients once things get back to normal. Any free advice you can offer for their patients for “home-care” right now would be great to include – like nutrition, exercise, nutraceuticals, or anything like that where they can be in a good place health wise. Make it a physician-to-physician letter with an ink signature.
Make care calls.
For existing referral sources, a care call/text/email from your staff (if you have staff with extra time) can show your referral sources that you care. Even just leaving a voicemail wishing them a good day and good health. If you all have been able to utilize technology or strategy well, offering to assist them or share information could be useful.
Send an email to patients.
Convey that you are here and available for the patients if/when they need you and communicate how you are doing that. If you are offering telemedicine consultations or things like that, great to include. While people are not likely spending money right now, they do have more time to do the initial homework on important decisions like medical treatments.
Consider “virtual” marketing visits.
If you don’t have the luxury of waiting to get to know other physicians, use virtual visits to meet them now. Have lunch catered in and then use a video conference for the visit.