It’s time to rethink your patient acquisition strategy.
You know in hindsight which of your patient acquisition strategy tactics succeeded last year and which ones did not. This knowledge will help you refine your growth plan to achieve a greater return on your marketing dollars in 2021.So, whether you have used live events or webinars individually or together to grow your client base, here are some tips to help you maximize their value.
There’s strength in numbers
Hosting a “one-off” event is not a long-term patient acquisition strategy. It’s better to schedule three or more at a time, which will create more momentum by getting you in front of more prospects. This will open up additional opportunities for you to engage with future patients in an environment where they’re comfortable.
Request client testimonials
It’s a fact that every longtime elective care provider has happy patients. Certainly some of them should be willing and able to promote your services. Since people tend to believe their peers over traditional advertising, having loyal clients give testimonials at your live and virtual seminars will make a positive impression on attendees – and turn more of them into appointments. This will boost your patient acquisition rates.
Timing is everything
A growing number of people age 55 and up are working part-time or full time. Why? They like to keep busy, or perhaps they haven’t saved enough for retirement. Factor this into your event planning process. It’s also critical to know the traffic patterns in the metro areas where your prospects live and work. A dinner seminar scheduled for 6:30 p.m., for example, should give most attendees time to participate.
Connect, connect!
An important element of a patient acquisition strategy is to pick up the phone and call the people who register for your events. This is a chance to establish a rapport with them before you meet. They may have some preliminary questions about treatment options, or concerns you can address. When hosts reach out to prospects ahead of time, it’s proven to boost attendance rates.
Plan well ahead
Whether or not you’re new to live or virtual hosting, a solid patient acquisition strategy allows at least 35 days to book a campaign. The last thing you want is to not have enough time to advertise your event to your prospects. It makes it much harder to fill up those seats. A last-minute campaign promotion could lower your RSVP rate significantly.
Once you’ve got a good response to your invitation, we recommend you do a run-through of your presentation. This way, you don’t sound like you’re reading from a script. (One client of ours, who was doing 75+ events a year before the pandemic, practiced his presentations once a week.)
These tips are based on our quarter-century of patient acquisition strategy experience promoting events using hybrid marketing channels; along with feedback from successful clients.
Discover the full range of patient acquisition options available to you by contacting John McCloskey, VP of Elective Medical, at [email protected] if you’re an existing client; or calling us at 1-866-616-3747.