Marketing campaigns might vary by practice but successful marketing always comes down to addressing three key issues, according to Adam DeGraide, CEO of Orlando, Fla.-Based Crystal Clear Digital Marketing.
1. Finding a higher quality and quantity of patients.
2. How to sell or serve patients.
3. And most importantly how to keep patients.
A practice marketing strategy that focuses on DeGraide’s “find, serve, keep” strategy can’t fail, he tells Dermatology Times. That’s because in order to find, serve and keep patients, practices have to focus on the fundamental strength of excellent customer service.
The Phone Call
DeGraide says the most important part of any bulletproof strategy has nothing to do with social media, email or search engine optimization (SEO). Rather it comes down to how well the people in the practice answer the phone.
“You’d be amazed at the difference from one practice to another — even from one staff member to another,” he says.
DeGraide says Crystal Clear Digital Marketing has captured thousands of dermatology and other practice phone calls in recent years. While some staff members might answer the call introducing themselves and asking callers how they can help, others answer with an unwelcoming, generic “doctors’ office” response.
Having a bulletproof marketing strategy starts with finding, serving and keeping people when they call, says DeGraide.
“We’ve listened to the calls and realized that the average time it takes a person at the phone from a dermatology practice to say, ‘And who do I have the pleasure of speaking with today?’ is 2 minutes, 34 seconds,” DeGraide says.
Instead, the majority of calls result in a flurry of quick questions, like date of birth, but staff tend not to establish a rapport with the caller, which is vital to marketing success.
Simple Bullet-Proof Strategies
DeGraide recommends these simple bullet-proof strategies:
“You need to have a website that is well built and mobile responsive. Highlight the features and procedures at the dermatology practice that you want to grow and want people to be aware that you offer. It’s really not rocket science. You have to have phone numbers, social media links, forms. And it has to be maintained on a weekly if not monthly basis. It has to stay fresh,” he says.