Developing a marketing plan
Now that you have a deeper understanding of how to use various communications channels to your greatest advantage, it’s time to hatch a solid marketing plan.
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Using multiple marketing channels to reach a patient
Marketing | 7 micro-guides | Read time: 4 minutes
As we mentioned before, it’s better to get very effective at using one or two channels of communication than it is to risk doing a poor job of using all of them at once. It is a good idea to create a well-thought-out cross-channel marketing plan to ensure your audience receives your message. For example, a social media post detailing the specifics of a direct mailer you sent out to patients about an upcoming health-screening clinic can help boost your chances of a wider audience without changing the fundamental message you wish to convey.
Recommended Topic Flow
- Marketing foundations
- Using various communication channels
- Marketing best practices
- Using multiple marketing channels to reach a patient
- Developing a marketing plan
- Measuring marketing success
- Leveraging PMRC assets to grow your practice
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Using multiple marketing channels to reach a patient
Learn the Rule of Seven
The Rule of Seven is a well-known advertising formula that says consumers need to hear a message seven times before they take action. It stands to reason that the more familiar someone is with something, the more likely they will be to act. It’s important to note, however, that overexposing people to messages can have a negative effect, where they tune out the message entirely. So what do you, as a provider, do to communicate with your patients? Take a multi-channel communications approach. This ensures reaching different patients through a channel that resonates with them.
Remember, learning to market is like learning to juggle. You start with one ball then graduate to two, then three and so on. Before you know it, you’ve got multiple balls in the air and you’re juggling like it’s second nature. The same goes for marketing channels. Aim to get really good at one channel before adding another. This approach will be a whole lot more manageable, less stressful and more successful than trying to master everything at once. Be patient with yourself and the results. Remind yourself that marketing and relationship-building are long games. Both take time, but with dedicated attention and energy, you get better results that build not only trust but also loyalty.
Quality, not quantity
When incorporating new channels into your marketing strategy, it can be tempting to want to ramp things up quickly. However, it is important to pace yourself and focus on the quality of the messages you are sending to your audience, not the quantity of channels you are using to send them. By starting out slow and mastering the art of one marketing channel at a time, you’ll be less likely to become distracted from your primary goal: growing the practice and strengthening relationships with existing patients.
For example, let’s say you want to send a flu shot reminder to your patients.
Beginner Level—Start out small by posting to social media once a week in the month leading up to the start of flu season, then taper off to once a month throughout the winter.
Intermediate Level—As you get more adept at managing multiple communications channels at once, you can send a direct mail piece reminding your patients to get their annual flu shots in addition to the social media posts in the beginner level.
Advanced Level—Once you are feeling confident about using multiple channels in conjunction with one another, you can add an email campaign to your direct mail and social media flu-shot reminders. You can vary the messages you’re sending to different types of patients, such as older adults or parents of infants, by sending segmented email campaigns.