This year, a number of technological developments will take place in the field of healthcare and medicine. So physicians and other healthcare practitioners can continue to thrive in their respective markets, they need to engage in doctor marketing now more than ever. Because of the recent technological advancements, consumers can now easily obtain the information they are looking for and this includes searching for a doctor.
Once a patient looks for a physician, he now has the freedom to get the info he needs in the internet instead of asking friends and relatives. For this reason, a doctor will need to have an online presence if he wishes to be part of the decision of online users regarding their health. In case you plan to pursue a doctor marketing strategy this year, here are a few things you might want to consider.
- Consumers have the option to study doctor reviews on Yelp prior to making a decision
It’s now more and more apparent that doctor marketing campaigns, once they succeed, can significantly boost the volume of patients and deals that doctors enjoy. Just a few years back, deciding on a physician was somewhat a chaotic, random process. People would request for recommendations from friends and talk to family members to find out who their main healthcare provider is. Today though, with the help of online business directory services like Yelp, patients can gain access to an abundance of information with just the use of their smartphones.
Yelp allows users to search for healthcare providers near their location and filter them by cost, area, ranking, and other relevant features eliminating all the guesswork. This means that patients don’t have to decide based on their gut feelings alone.
This can be a positive or negative factor to doctors, contingent on how they respond to it. If he is used to acquiring new patients just from recommendations and convenience alone, it will not be as easy this year. Because patients are presently herding online, those who do not follow any doctor marketing plan or strategy will lose a powerful advantage.
- Natural Treatments are increasingly gaining popularity
This year, healthcare in general is leaning more towards customers and their personal needs. Because of this, Yerba Mate, Green Tea, and others natural herbal remedies have become more popular. With the millennial populace on the rise and gaining increasing power in different industries, companies are witnessing changes brought about by the new concepts these millennial consumers are presenting.
There is a greater focus on healthful meals and physical activity and consumers are increasingly putting interest on natural treatments. Similar to numerous other changes this year, this serves as a positive and negative outlook for doctors. Healthcare providers can take advantage of the growing interest on natural remedies by accepting and supporting them. In the event that a patient believes that you are a doctor who trusts and advocates natural remedies, there’s a big chance that he will choose you as his primary healthcare provider.
- Websites such as WebMD are educating consumers to practice their personal judgements
Before, people are required to visit their doctor for just about anything concerning their health. Regardless if it’s just a minor headache or congested nose, people would immediately get on their cars and drive off to their doctors. And what’s the reason behind all this rush? Because it was the sole solution to their problems. Due to minimal information that was accessible by the public, people were extra obliged to see a doctor once they experience a medical issue or have a medical question or concern.
Today though, with readily available and educational websites such as WebMD, people do not have to schedule an appointment for basic diagnoses. Patients today are endowed because of the abundance of information that they can easily find on the internet. There are doctors who find this good as long as they can advertise themselves in a way that it applies to followers of WebMD and similar sites.
Conversely, the heightened presence of this new paradigm can be detrimental if patients choose to invest their time on the website instead of booking an appointment with their physician. It can be particularly dangerous for patients once they aren’t careful enough and mistakenly diagnose themselves. In spite of all the data and technological advancements, there is still no substitute for a personal appointment with a doctor.