Today, generating healthcare enquiries is mainly the domain of internet marketing companies

Medical marketing isn’t what is used to be. We know, because we started doing it in 1997. As a full service medical marketing agency, we know that you want more qualified enquiries to be calling and emailing your practice. You want to understand which medical marketing tactics to use, at what budget, and how to stand out from the competition to generate more leads.

The answer, 7 times out of 10, is to improve your online marketing

Assuming you’re offering a service that your target market is actively seeking, the most cost-effective and measurable means of generating new enquiries is internet marketing.

This can be liberating for many private practice, clinic and hospital leaders because it allows you to focus your efforts on a few measurable areas, instead of scattering your marketing efforts on difficult to measure brochures, flyers, promotions, events, advertisements, radio or in some cases, even TV.

How to get more enquiries for your healthcare business

Here, in a nutshell, is how you can start increasing the number of enquiries that contact you by phone or email:

Step 1: Set your enquiry goals and reach them with internet marketing

1. Set your enquiry goals. The first step in finding your destination is identifying where you are. So, first identify the number of qualified enquiries you generate on a monthly basis. Over the past 10 years, we’ve found that most of practices, clinics and hospitals do not accurately measure their enquiries. This is a mistake, because you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
2. Find the sweet spot. Know exactly what value and benefits you offer and understand what your target market wants to know before they take action. Then, identify the keyword phrases that your market uses to search for healthcare businesses like yours. If you don’t know, consult with an internet marketing specialist in your industry to help identify which keyword phrases not only bring in the most visitors, but also the most conversions into real enquiries.
3. Begin with a small paid search campaign. Before investing in internet marketing, it pays to conduct a small test to evaluate the quality of your assumptions. A small paid search campaign can help you test which keyword phrases and messages draw visitors to your website, and which visitors convert into real enquiries. This in turn helps you write the content your website visitors want to read and informs your SEO / content development strategy.
4. Identify your SEO / content development strategy. Of course SEO is important, but don’t get hung up on getting search engines to love your website. Search engines don’t pay your bills, patients do. The number of way to get found online is to consistently create compelling content. So, find the means to start creating valuable content to post online. Follow a few simple rules and the right people will find what you’re offering.
5. Optimise your website for conversion. If it’s to do the job you’re asking of it, design your website must be up-to-date, be visually clean and appealing, be fast and simple to navigate, and provide the visitor with enough information, compellingly written, to take action. Your ultimate goal is conversion, so don’t sweat the small stuff that tends to needlessly inflate the price of website design. Analyse your website, test your assumptions, and use this information to continually optimise your content and modify your website design, incrementally.

Step 2: Implement advanced internet marketing tactics to exceed your enquiry goals

1. Create more and more compelling content options to encourage more visitors to convert. When’s the last time you went out and bought a high investment product or service on impulse? Most people take weeks, if not months, to take enquire with medical service providers. Your job is to earn your prospect’s trust over time, by providing valuable content, fulfilling your promises, and respecting their desire make their own decision, at the time of their choosing. Providing valuable information products in exchange for an email address is a great way to begin the interaction in an uncommitted way. Consistent email follow-up, with your prospect’s permission, will improve your conversion rates over time.
2. Open new healthcare marketing channels. Start a blog. Consistently publish posts on your blog and share your content through social media. Doing so will extend your reach across markets that may be talking about what you offer anyway. Become part of the conversation and act as a resource for those who have questions. Comment on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Be everywhere. And, most importantly, be an example of remarkable customer service, and watch your loyal patients be your finest promoters.

Intrigued? The best way to get an idea of how we can help you do all of the above is to call us for an informal chat.