In the early days, the words ‘healthcare’ and ‘marketing’ held no connection, let alone the merger of the two. Marketing, if you want to call it, in healthcare relied highly on traditional methods, including word of mouth and referrals. However, the digital revolution, more aware consumers, and a pandemic have changed how healthcare perceives marketing. These factors have proven that if healthcare companies want to stay competitive, digital is the only way, which pumped up the exponential rise of digital marketing in healthcare.
Moreover, rising healthcare costs are another concern for consumers, as over two-thirds of US healthcare consumers report that these costs are a big financial burden for them and their families. The overall result is a huge consumer base, which is more discerning than ever when it comes to ‘shopping’ for their healthcare needs. And ‘shopping’ is the apt word here since their buying decisions are highly backed by cost comparison, ease of access, and quality of services delivered.
In this dynamic environment, healthcare providers must explore the most efficient and effective ways to engage with their consumers and retain them while ensuring that these strategies meet regulatory compliance and industry best practices.
Following are the key strategies that healthcare companies can adopt through the support of a reliable healthcare digital marketing agency to address the aforementioned challenges:
Earlier, most healthcare providers with a physical location relied on word of mouth and referrals to get new patients. However, it’s time to go digital as patients are becoming more tech-savvy and using search engines to research health-related queries and providers. The first step for health providers with a physical location is using local SEO to improve the digital footprint. Following are some ways to augment the local SEO:
As one of the leading global websites, Google experiences billions of searches daily. However, around 46% of these Google searches have localized intent. This shows that healthcare practitioners and their services must be visible across all these local searches. One of the easiest ways to ensure this is by optimizing the Google Business Profile listing or GBP. By claiming a GBP listing, healthcare companies can optimize it with necessary data, including practice names, website URLs, directions, contact details, images of the center, and patient reviews. It is vital to keep this data up-to-date, especially the business hours and contact details.
Local citations and listings help search engines validate the listed healthcare practice. These citations help Google and similar search engines understand the nature of services provided to connect with the right audience. Two key types of citations can be used: structured and unstructured. Getting structured citations is easier as they simply require large, relevant directories, also known as ‘primary data aggregators’, and submission of name, address, and phone number (NAP). The unstructured citation is a lengthy process, requiring collaboration with an influencer or local publisher.
Healthcare providers with multi-location setups should opt for geo-targeted websites and landing pages to increase traffic and the conversion rate of local patients. These geo-targeted landing pages are optimized according to the specific area and improve the chances of local patients finding the business. However, it is important to ensure that each landing page has accurate information, such as NAP, maps, URLs, and business hours.
Any digital marketing agency for healthcare can vouch for the importance of delivering an unparalleled user experience through the website. The business website, being the foundation of all marketing strategies, is the initial touchpoint for patients. Thus, the user interface (UX) and web design should be tailored to offer outstanding digital experiences.
Consumers, irrespective of the industry, tend to leave a website due to poor experience and a haphazard layout. This leaves healthcare marketers no choice but to optimize their websites, starting with basic practices, such as easy-to-navigate menus, readable fonts, high-quality images, and appealing call to action (CTAs). Additionally, equal attention should be given to the page speed as it directly impacts bounce rates. Lastly, the responsiveness of the website is another critical factor. Ensure that the business website works seamlessly across all devices, including tablets, smartphones, laptops, and desktops.
The business website of any healthcare provider or institution is a go-to place for all health-related questions and concerns. Besides providing an enriching UX, the website should have high-value content targeting diverse patient categories. In other words, the website’s content should address patients’ concerns and ensure they walk away with tangible value. This helps build trust between the patient and service provider while establishing the brand as the industry leader. Through the overall messaging and content, such as blogs, articles, and website copy, healthcare providers can demonstrate empathy toward patients, a must-have in this industry.
PPC or Google Ads is one of the most popular paid digital marketing strategies to grow consumer volume. These campaigns put healthcare providers and their services ads at the top of search engine result pages (SERPs), making them highly visible to consumers. However, healthcare companies face the constant pressure of cutting down patient acquisition costs and expanding the consumer base. To maintain this delicate balance, a successful, yet right PPC strategy is required.
According to healthcare digital marketing company experts, PPC has three diverse spectrums with three different approaches based on the control.
Segmented: The segmented approach provides maximum control over the account, perfect for controlling business objectives and the budget allotted. However, there is little room for performance increase as these accounts limit algorithm learning and improving the messaging, tracking, and other details.
Consolidated: The consolidated approach provides maximum efficiency. In this account structure, the ads are grouped in a certain way to optimize the impression numbers and algorithms to deliver improved performance.
Hybrid: For multi-location healthcare service providers requiring the flexibility to focus or unfocus on specific locations, hybrid is the go-to approach. The campaign is driven by optimized ad impressions, improved algorithmic performance, tighter budget control, and greater precision in targeting.
A funnel-styled PPC strategy has the goal of aligning ads and campaigns with the intended keyword all along the funnel. This way, the right message is sent to the right audience at the right time. The PPC funnel should have the following phases:
Bottom Funnel “Product Aware” Leads: These leads are “provider aware” leads who have gone through the problem-aware and solution-aware phases. They are most likely aware of the clinic or physician via ads targeting the other two funnels and have decided they need healthcare services. Use ads with high-intent, product-aware keywords at this stage.
Mid Funnel “Solution Aware” Leads: These leads are already searching for the right solution. They know they need a specific physician or healthcare service but are still exploring the options. These leads are key targets for education and nurturing. Opt for solution-aware keywords to inform patients about treatments or services provided.
Top Funnel “Problem Aware” Leads: These leads can’t be categorically termed patients. They know that they have a healthcare issue and are searching for answers to their questions and concerns. Target this segment with keywords like “signs of PCOD”.
Enhance Patient Retention with Tailored Solutions
With patients becoming more tech-savvy, they rely on the Internet while searching for healthcare providers, which brings in the digital reputation of healthcare providers. Since a majority of consumers count on online reviews to evaluate a physician or clinic, a robust reputation management strategy is essential. This requires social proof to create unbreakable trust and credibility among patients.
There are different forms of social proof, including user reviews, social media profiles, and testimonials. For instance, if a physician has a massive social media following, using the same on landing pages and websites helps build trust and credibility. For healthcare providers, the key social proof is patient reviews. With patients and healthcare consumers shifting away from traditional advertising, word of mouth, and referrals, online patient reviews win the game for these service providers.
The quickest and easiest way to gain patient reviews is by requesting and motivating healthcare consumers to leave reviews─and here, a well-defined review collection strategy helps. The front desk staff can be trained to ask patients or their families for reviews after the appointment. Usually, satisfied patients are more than happy to provide their feedback. Healthcare providers can opt for dedicated reputation management platforms, which can be integrated with the existing CRM system, for seamless feedback collection.
Several healthcare organizations have their entire focus on patient acquisition, and they put no limit into pouring resources to get new patients. However, this approach leaves behind a critical aspect: patient retention. Healthcare providers usually overlook this aspect as they assume that the quality of care delivered would keep patients loyal. However, as a part of a consumer-driven market, patients have more choices than ever, thus increasing the churn rate if they feel neglected or get better services elsewhere.
To address this issue, a comprehensive and robust patient retention strategy is required for sustainable business growth. The following steps mark such a strategy:
Leverage Patient Feedback
Begin with a robust feedback collection process that captures insights from various touchpoints, including:
1. Email or SMS-driven post-appointment satisfaction feedback
2. Interviews during in-visits
3. Social media platforms for patient sentiment analysis
4. Various patient review platforms
Hyper-Personalized Patient Interactions
Analyze the collected data for insights and tailor the communication and services:
1. Send reminders or health tips tailored according to medical history and demographics
2. Provide secure platforms for direct interaction with physicians
3. Provide intuitive, self-help patient portals for easy access to treatment plans, appointments, and test results
Adopt Technology for Ease
Deploy highly intuitive digital platforms to deliver an enriching customer experience:
1. Implement digital appointment scheduling tools
2. Automate sending SMS appointment reminders
3. Implement AI chatbots on websites for common concerns and health-related queries
4. Provide telehealth for easy, instant consultations
5. Leverage AI-driven digital marketing strategies to personalize outreach
Leverage Marketing Automation
Use various automation tools to connect and streamline communication for improved patient engagement:
1. Automate personalized email campaigns for patients and reconnect with them in an engaging manner
2. Utilize CRM automation appointment scheduling and hyper-personalization of follow-ups.
Patients trust online reviews. In fact, 72% consumers rely on reviews when evaluating providers. Use positive feedback to build credibility and attract more patients.
Encourage Reviews
Ask satisfied patients to leave reviews on platforms like Google or Healthgrades. Train front-desk staff to request feedback after appointments.
Invest in Reputation Tools
Reputation tools automate review collection and streamline the process. These tools integrate with CRMs, making it easy to manage your digital reputation.
Achieving success in the healthcare landscape is highly dependent on the effective implementation of these innovative digital marketing strategies while delivering the highest standards of patient care. With modern-day healthcare marketing covering everything, from the entire sales funnel to patient scheduling and ROI validation, CMOs can expect to collaborate with a half-dozen departments. Though a bit complicated, these strategies─ next-gen patient journeys, patient retention programs, personalized communication, and democratized data-driven marketing operations, provide a robust footing to chart the healthcare landscape.