Editor's Note: This blog was published prior to the transition to WebMD Ignite.
Developing a patient lead strategy
For healthcare providers, an effective approach to patient acquisition is critical to success. But before you can start acquiring and retaining patients, though, it’s crucial to ensure your lead generation strategy is driving qualified patients to your front door.
The problem is, competing in a crowded healthcare marketplace can be difficult – and this is especially true if you’re part of a physician group or specialty practice that lacks the budget of a high-profile health system.
In this article, we’ll cover some of the top lead generation techniques healthcare organizations use today and provide recommendations to implement them in your own organization.
7 ways to secure high-quality leads
Finding new patient leads is one of the most challenging aspects of healthcare marketing, yet it’s vital for continued business success. Here are seven strategies that will help you find new patient leads.
1. Create compelling healthcare content
Content marketing for healthcare providers is often more challenging than in other industries. This is because it can be hard to thread the line between effective content marketing and helpful healthcare content in a field flooded with confusing scientific terms, procedures, and so on.
Yet it’s necessary to have content ready for consumers who are actively searching for care. Creating content that provides relevant, engaging information to patients is a key inbound lead generation tactic that healthcare organizations of any size can implement to enhance the patient journey.
For example, if you take pride in your orthopedic service line, you should have resources available online for people who experience joint pain (for example, a blog, downloadable leaflets, or informative videos). This way, when they seek information about their condition, they can discover and access your content to begin their journey with your practice.
WebMD ignite has extensive Content Solutions for healthcare marketers to use in developing a patient lead strategy. Learn more about the healthcare content solutions we offer, that your marketing team can integrate into your system for better patient education, communication, and improved health outcomes.
2. Target patients and consumers on social media
Having a strong online presence is vital, and social media is a great way to build your reputation with patients and consumers. In fact, 77% of patients use online search to discover practices and physicians, and most of these use online reviews to evaluate physicians prior to scheduling an appointment.1
To connect with patients via social media, you should regularly post content for patients, including blog posts and virtual events. These should be part educational and part promotional, providing value to your audience while also showcasing your organization’s expertise and trustworthiness.
3. Invest in local display ads
There are two arms to an effective ad campaign. The first is paid search, where your name will appear at the top of search engine result pages. This is a great tactic to build on your inbound lead generation as it helps bypass the search algorithms to reach patients efficiently.
The second method is to invest in display ads, which are the banner and sidebar ads commonly seen on websites. Display ads target specific visitors and appear based on the page content itself or the person’s past behavior online. If a patient is thinking about receiving care, you can nurture them by touting your value to them on the websites that they visit.
In this way, you can target patients who have searched for care, are from a certain demographic (including your local area) or have lifestyle traits that affect their propensity for care.
4. Create compelling marketing videos
Marketing videos help to humanize your organization and build empathy with your patients. They are a great way to show patients your health system’s biggest strengths and make an emotional connection, especially when compared to still images and text.
The videos should feature clear and persuasive CTAs that convince viewers to interact with your organization, such as booking an appointment or downloading an informative booklet.
There are several ways that you can incorporate video marketing into your strategy, including:
- Patient testimonials. Success stories help connect with patients on an emotional level, building trust and showcasing your expertise.
- Welcome videos. Short welcome videos introduce potential patients to your practice, staff, or physicians and add a familiar and personal touch. These are particularly helpful as more and more patients are researching physicians before they book an appointment.
- Educational content. This helps patients learn more about their condition and how to care for themselves or mitigate risk factors. Content is an excellent way to connect with and provide value to your patients.
5. Don’t neglect offline marketing
In the age of digital marketing, it can be easy to forget about offline marketing tactics – but they’re still highly relevant, especially if you want to reach certain segments that aren’t especially active online.
Some examples of offline marketing include:
- TV, radio and print ads
- Outdoor ads like billboards and signs
- Sponsorships (e.g., blood drives or local events)
- Participating in seminars and conventions
- Brochures and direct mail
- Hosting local events such as a community healthcare forum
These offline marketing strategies will help you generate a physical presence in your community and are ideal for generating local leads. WebMD Ignite boasts a comprehensive suite of offline marketing solutions. See our content marketing solutions including everything from print materials to television ads to strategic partnerships.
6. Streamline appointment scheduling on your website
Your website is often a patient’s first experience with your brand, so it’s a top priority to streamline that digital experience and help drive engagement and generate leads.
If your primary goal is to get patients into the clinic, you should include compelling CTAs that help patients self-schedule with intuitive forms. Further, you should display your phone number prominently for those who prefer to call to book an appointment.
Also, consider including chatbot integration as real-time, 24/7 support on your site. Chatbots are an affordable way to field common questions and create a conversational and convenient scheduling process, directing patients to submit a form or call during business hours.
Get more information on WebMD Ignite's Digital Experience Engine, a website building solution built specifically with healthcare in mind.
7. Purchase guaranteed patient leads
Instead of spending valuable marketing hours focusing on finding and vetting qualified leads, you can purchase qualified leads from a reputable seller. This way, you can focus on activities that will convert and retain patients first and foremost. This is a great choice for organizations that can’t compete with the budgets of the biggest players in healthcare, but still have high-quality services to offer patients.
Take our Edge Activation solution, for example. Choose a service line, tell us your desired budget, and we’ll provide qualified patient leads directly to you. From there, choose whether you'd like to convert these leads on your own, or partner with our healthcare marketing experts and we will integrate the lead with your martech stack.
With guaranteed patient leads, you’re able to focus more closely on the service lines that need growth. For example, some service lines will provide an almost instant return on investment, whereas others may return long-term growth. This way, you can pick and choose based on how much capacity you have for certain service lines, helping you optimize your operations and maximize your profitability.
Final thoughts
Whether you’re part of a large health system, a specialty practice, or a physician group, it’s imperative that you have an effective patient acquisition strategy.
However, not every provider has the same budget or technological capabilities, making acquisition more difficult for some parties. If your in-house strategy to acquire more patient leads isn’t as impactful as you’d like, don’t hesitate to reach out to a reputable provider of qualified patient leads like Mercury Healthcare.
We are able to actively engage with searching healthcare consumers, provide an optimized omnichannel program, identify the most qualified consumers, and track encounter-based conversions to inform future patient acquisition efforts.
Sources
1.https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administratio…
