Marketing trends for independent physicians

Marketing trends for independent physicians July 13, 2017

Marketing can be effective for independent physicians. As an independent primary care physician, you certainly want to focus on patient care without being concerned about promoting your practice. However, marketing done well can ensure that you actually have those patients in your practice that need your care!

Marketing is not hard-pitch selling. Rather it is communicating and promoting the services you have to offer your patients. If you were a patient looking for a new independent physician, what would want to read or hear about that practice? A good marketing strategy to keep in mind, regardless of current trends, is to make sure your message is addressed to your specific clients’ needs.

What are the trending marketing tactics that are most relevant to the independent primary care physician community? In 2017, healthcare marketing is all about the digital options. You should have a solid, useful website for your potential patients to learn more about your practice and for your current patients to use to communicate with you, set appointments, and pay bills.

Optimize your web content and your social media posts to reach your specific target market. As an article in Healthcare Success, 10 Healthcare Marketing Trends to Watch in 2017, points out, the trend is to have “content that is authoritative, interesting and share-worthy.”

You know that, of course, as an independent primary care physician, you may be competing with larger practices. Use that to your advantage in your marketing strategies. Believe it or not, patients consider their time to be just as valuable as you do yours. A very effective tactic for you is to emphasize that you are a small, independent practice so you also understand how important your patients’ time is to them.

In addition, point out that by using your EHR solution for maintaining and viewing their patient information, you are able to provide the individual care they need at each visit, rather than being bogged down with their paperwork!

Patients do tend to do their research before choosing an independent primary care physician. They want to see that you are able to provide coordinated care with specialty providers and labs. When you take advantage of digital marketing options, you can send that information and more, out to potential patients through your website and social media posts, straight to their mobile device.

Promoting your practice does not have to be intimidating or time-consuming. Marketing can actually benefit both you and your patients!