We all know that for a clinic to exist and thrive it needs to have a constant flow of new patients.
In order for your clinic to always reach new patients, you need to establish an active patient prospecting process.
However, identifying, attracting and converting new patients has not been a trivial task, since the supply of health professionals concentrated in large urban centers is increasing.
Identifying patients who have the most suitable profile for your clinic’s work proposal is the first challenge.
It’s normal that your advertisements and investments in marketing end up reaching people who don’t have the profile of your ideal client.
Therefore, it is necessary to have a good commercial process that goes beyond marketing, requiring knowledge and lead qualification techniques that come from marketing to identify and focus on those with the greatest conversion potential.
To speed up the process of prospecting patients at your clinic, we’ve separated 5 tips to help you find the ideal clients for your clinic:
01 – Make a good mapping of the region
Before installing a clinic in a certain location, it is necessary to identify the characteristics of the people who live and frequent the region.
Depending on the stage of your business, you need to define whether it is better to have a clinic in a location with little competition, or in a place that is already a consolidated center of health service providers.
Being in the right place is the first step to increasing the chances of prospecting new patients.
02 – Working with influencers
We know that there are many influencers who don’t “influence anything”. On the other hand, there are indeed influencers who have great power of persuasion over their followers.
The fact is that by separating the wheat from the chaff, it is possible to locate local micro influencers in your region of operation.
Often, small influencers who are associated with communities or groups and associations have a much greater conversion power than big names who have a dispersed profile of followers.
Therefore, try to identify in your neighborhood, region and city, people who exert a certain influence on a group of people with the characteristics of your target audience profile.
03 – Interactions on social networks
Social networks have become a great sales tool for all business sectors.
Logically, when it comes to health services, the sale happens indirectly, since you cannot (and should not) make direct sales promotions and advertisements.
Identify the social network that has more to do with your target audience’s profile and have an active presence on it. Respond to comments, post short videos, and take polls periodically.
Of course, no one is suggesting that you try to become a blogger or YouTuber. It’s not about self-promotion, it’s about creating a relevant presence where your patients tend to look for information.
04 – Create a referral request protocol
The best time to look for indications from your patients is when they say during the treatment that they are very happy with the care provided.
Asking for referrals to those who already approve of your service is a very interesting marketing tactic.
When a patient recommends you to a family member or friend, you already have a huge advantage, as your name and brand are already being validated and endorsed by a person that others trust.
05 – Keep in touch
Do not wait six months to send a return message to the clinic. That kind of “relationship” doesn’t work anymore.
Register your patients in a “vip” list on WhatsApp and create a kind of internal news aimed at this group.
Once a month, send a brief newsletter with important tips from your sector, news from your clinic and a call to action, inviting the patient to come back to the clinic and “have a cup of coffee”.
Believe me, people prioritize those who prioritize them.
If you liked these tips, share them with your professional colleagues. If you want a specific patient prospecting consultancy for your clinic, get in touch and speak with one of our consultants.
Senior Consulting