In today’s environment, patients need quick and easy access to healthcare more than ever. We can help you help more patients.
There is an increase in competition from retail clinics and telehealth providers. It’s a challenge to get noticed and to differentiate yourself. We will share actionable techniques that you can apply right away to raise above the noise and differentiate your urgent care from “walk in” clinics, telehealth providers and other urgent care centers.
The best way to get more new patient appointments is to take advantage of new and old marketing channels. For many urgent care centers, this means taking a comprehensive approach that includes advertising, marketing, and using referral programs.
1. HIGHLIGHT YOUR KEY DIFFERENTIATOR CONSISTENTLY
Think of your differentiator from your audience’s perspective: (1) does it have high perceived value? (2) are your competitors saying the same thing?
How your urgent care is unique may be apparent to you but may not be obvious to your patients.
Differentiate yourself from “walk-in” clinics and other urgent care centers.
Your differentiator has to have high perceived value and should be communicated consistently in all your marketing.
Following are not differentiators - in today’s world they are a requirement to be in business:
- great customer service
- we care about our patients
- we care about our community
2. CRAFT INTERESTING DISPLAY ADS
Using catchy messaging and images, helps with brand recall. So when there is an emergency, they will remember your Urgent Care.
Catchy and memorable ads. Run them only during your hours of operation.
Be sure to use retargeting to re-engage individuals who clicked on the ads.
3. DATA-DRIVEN MARKETING
Identify your target demographics and make sure all your marketing material is tailored around your target audience. This includes messaging as well as images.
Identify your ideal target demographics based on age, gender, income, purchase behavior, self-reported conditions, etc.
Messaging & images in your marketing campaign should be tailored to each segment based on their needs, preferences, and hidden fears.
Evaluate the performance of your campaigns and focus disproportionately on segments and messaging that is getting traction.
4. HIGH CONVERTING WEBSITE
Your website should inspire interest and build a level of trust. Make it easy for your audience to connect with you by having the following features on your website:
location
hours of operation
contact information
insurance and payment information
services you do and do not offer
trust signals (awards, testimonials, etc)
contact & appointment forms
clear call-to-action buttons
5. OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE FOR SEARCH ENGINE TRAFFIC
Optimize your website for search engines. This includes: title tags, meta descriptions and keywords in the body of content that are SEO friendly.
Include images with alt text to have more keyword density on your site. Include a contact form or phone number so it is easy for those who find you through Google searches to reach you quickly too! Add social media profiles (Facebook Page, Instagram account) if they are related to your business.
Create content with users in mind and search traffic will follow over time. Don’t try to trick the search engines.
Simple things like doing proper keyword research, using those keywords in the content, internal links, and alt tags can all help.
Use tools like SEMrush.com and ahrefs.com to help you find keywords with high search volume but low competition. Then use these keywords in your content, internal links and alt tags. Using these keywords in subtitles or higher up on the page carries more weight.
6. CREATE CONTENT FOR EACH STEP OF THE FUNNEL
Your audience is looking for different type of content depending on which stage of the buying cycle they are on. So create content specific to that stage.
Create engaging content for each step of the journey.
- An individual in the ‘Awareness’ stage is looking for general information.
- An individual in the ‘Consideration’ stage will find a comparison chart useful.
On each content page, display contact information and other related articles from the next stage in the funnel.
For example: Someone in the ‘Awareness’ stage is looking for general information whereas someone in the ‘Consideration’ stage will find a comparison chart useful. On each stage, you can display related articles from the next stage in the funnel.
7. BUILD EDUCATIONAL CONTENT
Educating your audience is a great way to add value, provide clarity and establish your expertise. Your content can be shared on your website, social media, email communicate, blog etc.
Having informative blogs, whitepapers, case studies, and video series can:
- add significant value to your prospects
- provide clarity
- establish your expertise and authority
You can also co-create content with your satisfied patients where they can explain the challenges they had and their experience with you.
8. SUBMIT TO ONLINE DIRECTORY SITES
Submitting your contact information and website link to directories has 2 key benefits: (1) helps your prospects find you easily, and (2) you get backlinks and traffic to your website.
Directory sites like Yelp and YellowPages make it easy for prospects to find and reach you.
Even though you may not think you need these sites, they offer an undervalued opportunity, since:
- very few urgent cares are listed so you have an advantage
- great way to generate calls, traffic, and backlinks
9. ENGAGE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY, DIGITALLY
Join a local group and share your knowledge. Focus on delivering value and helping.
Actively engage with local patients through social media.
Offer useful information, answers, or tips in group discussions:
- focus on delivering value and developing relationship rather than selling
- be sure to include your urgent care name and website address in your profile
- link to your blog articles when it’s relevant to the conversation
10. ENCOURAGE PATIENT REFERRALS
Build referral programs that will create more loyal customers and encourage them to refer their friends.
Build referral programs with reasons they should refer patients to your urgent care.
Build deeper relationships with local physicians and your most loyal customers.
11. ENCOURAGE ONLINE REVIEWS
Patients who are searching for your services, may see what other patients have to say about you before making any decisions. It's important that these reviews stay positive so consider making it very easy for satisfied patients to post online reviews.
Your reviews will appear in Google Search and Maps.
Any new patient or caretaker, who is unable to get an appointment with their doctor, will likely search for your services and will look at the ratings and reviews.
Number of reviews and overall rating are both important.
These reviews skew negative because clients with a bad experience are more likely to post a review.
To balance, you should encourage your satisfied patients to post reviews as well.
REMEMBER: According to HIPPA guidelines, you cannot share patient reviews, but patients can post their own reviews on other sites.
12. HOST VIRTUAL WELLNESS CLASSES
You can host interactive, informative wellness classes virtually from your Urgent Care. You can consider inviting local physicians who will make a lasting impression on your audience and help you build relationship with them as well!
Discuss wellness products and vitamins one can take to stay healthy. You can also select common emergencies and discuss treatment options.
This is a great way to connect, build credibility and have a reason to send an email to your local audience afterward.
Upload videos to your YouTube channel and share them on social media.
We hope you found this helpful. We can help you reach a broader audience that needs your services now more than ever. Doing so will allow you to help patients that do not have easy access to traditional healthcare.
We can do a complimentary 360 degree audit of your website and marketing activities, so you can see exactly what’s holding you back. In addition we can offer a Competitive Analysis so you can see exactly how your competitors are doing their digital marketing. And we share all this in a Strategy Call to help you craft your digital strategy.
Just find some time for a strategy session and we will manage the rest.
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