Anyone in the medical or medical marketing fields can tell you: it can be hard to keep patients consistently coming back. Sometimes they’ll decide they feel fine and don’t need to finish a series of treatments. In other cases, they’ll put off or forget regular check-ups. In areas like health and wellness, a long relationship means more stability for your practice and also better health outcomes for patients because they are being treated by professionals who are familiar with them and their histories. And, it’s true no matter what business you are in, the longer you can preserve a relationship with a client, the better your return on your marketing investment. A regularly updated blog can be a great inbound tool to help them comply with medical treatments and keep them coming back for the preventative care that keeps them healthy.
Make it easy for them to get blog updates.
Invite all patients to subscribe to your practice’s blog. There should be an email sign-up list in your waiting room and a QR code they can shoot with their smart phones for quick access. About 94% of all people check their email every day. By having your blog posts delivered right to their mailboxes, you can be surer that they are seeing your posts and that their relationship with your practice stays in their minds.
Give them good reasons to show up and read.
Think of the topics that you are asked about most often in your practice and address them, in a general manner, on your blogs. Contract a nutrition writer to provide healthy recipes and food advice. Cover common seasonal ailments. When readers know that they can get answers to some of their most common health questions right on your blog, they are more likely to read regularly.
Prompt them to make appointments.
There are many seasonal cues that have entered the culture which help remind people to take care of preventative care. In August and September, remind parents and incoming college students of the immunizations and physicals they’ll need to go to school. October’s breast cancer awareness campaigns can be great for prompting not just mammograms but other women’s health screenings. In November, remind them that it’s time for the guys to get check-ups, too.
Your practice’s blog should dovetail easily with other promotional and patient relations materials such as reminder postcards and social media campaigns. By delivering materials throughout the year to keep health and wellness in mind, you can keep your patients healthier and keep them returning to your practice.
Bio:
Lara S is a freelance writer who lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida. She’s written extensively about nutrition, medical marketing and general health and wellness. Contact her for white papers, ebooks, blog posts and articles that help you win new clients and keep them coming back.
