an automated system that is
integrated with your EMR like
Podium, ReviewInc, Reputation,
Doctible, or Simple Interact.
It’s worth doing your
research to determine which
service fits the needs of your
practice and asking questions
like: Do I want a local service?
Do I just want reputation management?
Am I interested in
other add-on services?
The bottom line: People will
provide a review if you ask and
if you make it super simple for
them to do so. Yes, this technology
costs money, and, yes,
it is worth it.
Physician referral
programs are more
important than ever.
Most physicians and midlevel
providers refer patients
to other practices for various
medical treatments outside of
their scope. They cannot refer
to your practice if they do not
know you exist.
24 DALLAS MEDICAL JOURNAL • October 2021
Even if providers have established
relationships with fellow
physicians, there is a need for
options. When referring patients,
the key considerations
for patients are accepted
insurances, location or proximity
to the patient, treatment
options, and provider availability.
Patients will consider you if
you meet any of these requirements.
With the pandemic scaling
down, in-person meetings are
making a comeback. Schedule
meet- and-greets with specialties
that can refer to your practice.
If not in person, virtual
meet-and-greets work too. Research
targeted practices and
inform them about how your
medical office can best meet
the needs of their patients.
The main goal is to make sure
they know who you are, where
you are, what you treat, and
how you can help their patients
in maintaining quality healthcare.
Every practice should
have a formal physician referral
program as part of its marketing
strategy. If you need help,
there are firms that specialize
in physician-to-physician
outreach.
Traditional,
digital, or social?
Who cares.
Your marketing
messages are
boring.
Let’s face it. Millions of social
media posts are churned and
burned each day—Facebook,
TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn,
and Twitter, to name a few, and
those are just for “old” folks.
Throw in audiences fragmented
Photo Aleksei - stock.adobe.com
by hundreds of delivery and
channel options—too many to
even list examples—and your
head starts to spin.
As always, your marketing
messages need to be clear,
consistent, authentic, and attention
worthy.
The last post-pandemic era
was called The Roaring ‘20s…
there was a reason for this.
Even though people are craving
a fun, fresh perspective,
the majority of healthcare ads
and posts that I’m seeing are
blah, boring, ultra-conservative,
and so similar that the only
difference is the logo. Effective
healthcare marketing must be
professional and personal, but
it doesn’t have to be boring.
Are You Ready to
Lead Growth at Your
Physician Practice?
My former boss, Greg Daniel,
an Emergency Room physician
and successful entrepreneur,
often said, “If you’re not
growing, you’re dying.” If
your physician practice isn’t
growing, challenge yourself
to think differently. It’s a
whole new world for medical
marketers and the perfect time
to reassess and reimagine
your strategy, messaging, and
tactics to ensure that you’re
part of the solution, not part of
the problem. Pitter patter, let’s
get at ‘er. DMJ
/swdic.com
