Healthcare Marketing Hub
The latest thought leadership content from Evolve Healthcare Marketing.
Insights on the healthcare market, marketing automation, customer acquisition, content development and more.
The patient journey has certainly changed over the past several years. More importantly to you as a medical practice leader, however, you must note that the traditional model of attracting and retaining patients through healthcare marketing has been completely upended. Today's patients have access to all the information they could possibly need about their conditions and their next steps right there, at their fingertips. The internet has made that information so widely available, in fact, that most patients take it for granted.
The simple truth is that not all digital marketing agencies are created equal—and that's okay! Neither are the clients. In order to select the right digital marketing agency for your healthcare organization, you need to find the right mutual fit strategically, tactically, and culturally. Accomplishing that key goal, however, requires an understanding of many of the aspects of digital marketing, including:
Choosing the right healthcare marketing firm for your practice can make a huge difference in the ROI you get from your marketing efforts. Unfortunately, many practices end up making the same mistakes when they hire a digital healthcare marketing agency. Those mistakes can decrease overall ROI or leave healthcare practices struggling to meet their marketing goals. Are you making these errors in hiring a marketing agency?
Healthcare marketing is incredibly important. Finding the right healthcare digital marketing agency can make a huge difference in your ability to market your practice successfully. Unfortunately, we regularly have conversations with medical practices looking for a new healthcare marketing company because they have determined that the old one simply isn't a good fit anymore.
At Evolve, we believe that the goal of a medical practice website is to convert. You want your website to bring in traffic, provide potential patients with the information they need, and, ultimately, convince them that your medical practice is the right choice for their needs. According to Google, the average medical practice website has a conversion rate of 6%. In basic terms, that means that out of every 100 people who visit a website, 6 will convert: they will call the practice or fill out a form requesting an appointment. Interestingly, the top performers in medical practice websites have a conversion rate of 20.4%.
Google PPC, or pay-per-click, is one of the most popular and effective forms of search engine healthcare marketing for medical practices. It has been proven as one of the fastest and most predictable ways to get patients in the door. Unfortunately, many medical practices rely on healthcare digital marketing agency teams for their marketing efforts, and not all of those marketers are created equal. Quantitative performance varies widely due to both the skills of the digital marketing practitioner and their capacity to keep up with the continuous evolution of Google's algorithms, which are driven by AI-based technology.
It doesn't matter if freelancers, outside agencies, an internal team or a combination of these execute your healthcare digital marketing programs. One thing remains constant, though. At a minimum, it’s critical to evaluate your marketing efforts at least annually to see how your efforts are performing relative to the key factors that determine your overall success. These factors can include your business objectives, local competitors and industry best practices. Evaluations are critical for several reasons.
For many providers, including medical care providers, ADA compliance is an unknown. You may not realize that your website needs to be ADA compliant, especially if you have not had to worry about it in the past. However, ADA compliance is a growing threat to any organization with a consumer-facing website—and it's particularly a problem for medical practices since they often attract lawsuits due to the perception of having deep pockets.
Your patients may do a great deal of research before they decide to use your practice. They want to feel confident that you are the best-choice provider for the services they need and that they can count on you to help them accomplish their medical goals. In today's era of healthcare consumerism, many people are taking their medical care in their own hands, including looking up online patient reviews before they choose a provider.
The patient journey has changed dramatically in the past couple of years. As a medical practice leader, your traditional methods of attracting and retaining patients have been completely upended. Healthcare marketing has undergone a dramatic shift – and many practices are scrambling to keep up.
Despite unprecedented population growth in the southeastern United States, a leading orthopedic practice in the region was experiencing anemic long-term increases in patient volume. Evolve Healthcare Marketing executed upon a digital marketing pilot that delivered 131 new patients and achieved 10.11x ROI within three months.
Evolve Healthcare Marketing founder and CEO Peter Cunningham was recently interviewed on the Inspired Insider podcast about how the firm helped a client grow from nine to 60 clinics. Cunningham also discussed trends in healthcare, how he started Evolve and what it takes today to grow a healthcare business.
During the pandemic, it’s important to meet families of children with autism where they’re at. In terms of providing clinical services, this means incorporating tools like telehealth and in-home visits that allow patients to get the ABA therapy they need in the safety of their own homes. But it also means getting the word out to potential patients that help’s available in gathering places that are popular during a pandemic; namely, on social media platforms, streaming video services and other online platforms that are currently experiencing historic traffic volumes.
With the coronavirus pandemic disrupting many aspects of daily life, nearly two-thirds of Americans say their routine colonoscopies have been canceled, according to a recent survey published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Even more, the vast majority of these cancellations are because the patients themselves canceled the appointment.
More than one-third of the U.S. population says they’re delaying healthcare during the pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even more, 12 percent say they’ve skipped emergency care during the past six months in order to avoid potential COVID exposure at a hospital or medical practice. And another 32 percent said they’re even delaying routine care during the pandemic.
During the pandemic, it’s important to meet patients where they’re at. In terms of clinical delivery, this means incorporating tools like telehealth that allow patients to get the healthcare they need in the safety of their own homes. But it also means getting the word out to potential patients that help’s available in gathering places that are popular during a pandemic; namely, on social media platforms, streaming video services and other online platforms that are currently experiencing historic traffic volumes.
Despite unprecedented population growth in the southeastern United States, a leading orthopedic practice in the region was experiencing anemic long-term increases in patient volume. Evolve Healthcare Marketing executed upon a digital marketing pilot that delivered 131 new patients and achieved 10.11x ROI within three months.
A leading community oncology practice struggled with new patient acquisition and physician recruitment. Evolve Healthcare Marketing executed upon a digital marketing pilot that delivered 963 new patient inquiries within three months—and at a fraction of the cost of a traditional marketing program.
With total U.S. healthcare spending expected to reach $5.5 trillion by 2025—or roughly 20 percent of the nation’s entire economic output—B2B healthcare companies aren’t expected to face a shortage of customers anytime soon. Still, it’s no easy task identifying and engaging tough-to-reach audiences like doctors and hospital executives—and determining the alpha or return on investment.
At its core, B2B marketing aims to reach decision makers and influence their purchasing behavior. But, the game has changed. Decision makers engage brands long before a purchase is made, and it’s now critical to embrace the modern sales and marketing funnel to deliver an integrated brand experience.