The Best Healthcare Marketing Starts with Improving Your Services
You and your staff know exactly why #patients should choose your practice or #hospital. You’ve probably got a great team and impressive expertise. And you truly care about the needs of your patients. But is this enough to keep patients coming back?
Lately, other #healthcare organizations have been improving their products and services in ways that go above and beyond the standard set decades ago. We'd typically recommend targeted healthcare marketing to compete in the changing world of healthcare—but marketing means little if you don't have an attractive product offering.
In today's guide, we'll share with you how many practices and hospitals have overhauled their #business models. But in many cases, even a few smaller changes can make a major difference in how patients perceive your brand.
Healthcare Is Changing Faster Than Ever
"Healthcare consumerism" is not a new term to this blog or to the large majority of our readers. Retail healthcare settings like CVS and Walmart are gaining popularity, especially as they continue to provide access to services desirable to consumers, including #telehealth.
It might seem tough to compete in a world where big names cater to the healthcare consumer and where we're often seeing rollups of 100+ practices in a variety of specialties. But many health systems, hospitals, and independent practices have found ways to compete. It takes #strategic marketing to reach the modern healthcare consumer. But more than that, it takes a fantastic product offering.
New Models of Care
Of course, the options available for new business models in healthcare vary significantly based on #specialty. But as an overview, these are the new models of care gaining significant traction in healthcare today:
Concierge medicine
These models and services are not limited by practice size either. We've seen two-doctor practices introduce successful telehealth models—and we've seen hospitals and large health systems introduce direct primary care as an alternative to traditional options.
In fact, the direct primary care model—which offers a more affordable alternative to concierge medicine with an emphasis on individualized attention—has seen a sharp increase in interest. A decade ago there were only 21 DPC practices in the country. Today, there are over 1,000.
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Again, these models may not be available to every type of practice or every situation, but there are many instances where just a few small changes to how you deliver care can make all the difference.
Small Changes that Mean a Lot
If it's been years since you've restructured the way you run your practice or hospital, it's worth examining your systems and services and considering a change. Small changes to the way you deliver care mean a lot to your patients. Just look at this practice that reduced wait times to under 2 minutes.
Thanks to evolving retail models of healthcare, patients have shifting views on what constitutes a good healthcare #experience—like low wait times, easy scheduling, and greater access to doctors. So what can you do to create a healthcare "product" patients will love?
Great Healthcare Marketing Relies on a Fantastic Product
As a healthcare marketing agency, we see firsthand that marketing is key to setting your organization apart from the competition. But that means little if patients don't find what they're looking for from your practice or hospital.
If you're not staying ahead of the competition, you're falling behind. It's important to invest in traditional media to build brand recognition and digital advertising to make the phones ring.
It's just as important to have a product that sets your business apart.
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