While physicians and healthcare professionals have been working incredibly hard to protect patients from the rapidly spreading disease, timely, effective and compassionate communications remain of paramount importance. In other words, proactive exchange of information is especially critical at a time of healthcare crisis.
Below are a few communication strategies to keep in mind when dealing with patients. Remember, they need your support now more than ever before. The quality, frequency and efficiency of your interactions can make a difference between winning their trust and potentially undermining your credibility.
Reviews Matter
Let’s face it: the importance of online reviews cannot be overstated. In fact, according to SearchEngineLand, 85% of consumers trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations. Interestingly, it takes a few testimonials for a potential patient to form an opinion of a physician before they proceed to booking an appointment. Even if they secure a referral from their primary care physician, they do not always take his/her word for it and do their own research. Quite understandably so.
Online resources have a profound impact on the overall reputation of the practice which means that it is crucial to put a great deal of effort into reputation management. Keep in mind that this is one of the most important marketing trends that is here to stay. If you haven’t done so, create a special campaign to gather reviews on various healthcare-related sites as well as Google and Facebook.
Boost Visibility with Creative Content Marketing Strategies
Regularly producing riveting content seems like a long, tedious and time-consuming journey which may discourage some healthcare professionals from adhering to this very important strategy. In addition, some physicians are under the impression that content marketing is mostly about regular blog posts. While blogging remains one of the most crucial aspects of a content marketing program, it’s certainly not the only strategy medical practices could benefit from.
There are at least 40 different forms of content that could help you bolster your image, increase visibility and dramatically improve reputation. From FAQs, to slideshares, to ebooks…each approach has its own advantages. Make sure you mix them up to keep your audience informed, engaged or intrigued. By the way, studies show that per dollar, content marketing generates at least three times more leads than PPC advertising.
Bolster credibility with compassionate, useful and trustworthy communications
When it comes to interacting with patients, proactive communication has always been a backbone of strong healthcare brands. With the global pandemic wreaking havoc on our lives, patients need more information, guidance and direction than ever before and should be kept-up-to-date on all the latest safety precautions.
So did you take the time to outline specific insights about prevention, symptoms, testing or treatment? Did you share the facts or the most recent statistics with your audience? Did you provide the most valuable tips they could benefit from or explain how you are going to protect them from Covid-19? These are just some of the steps you need to take to build trust and cultivate long-lasting relationships with patients. Also, please keep in mind, that consistency is key to success.
Final thoughts:
At a time of crisis, things can be changing by the hour…or even by the minute. It goes without saying that it’s important to share information with patients in an accurate way as it becomes available. Physicians, healthcare providers and hospitals should tap into all their platforms to make sure that critical details / nuances are universally accessible. From social media, landing pages and texting to emails, newsletters or FAQs sheets – it is essential that healthcare practitioners are being consistent and considerate of their patients’ needs, concerns or fears.
