Tactic #5 emphasized the importance of a testimonial program when it comes to building confidence and trust with your potential patients, now it is time to get specific about your patient targeting. This tactic will outline patient engagement and how to identify, target and reach the ideal patient.
Tactic #6: Target Patients in the Later Stages of the Decision Making Process
A sound patient engagement program will allow your patients to be softly “sold” and educated without knowing it. This is achieved by understanding what patients are interested in at each stage of the decision making process. The decision to commit to an elective procedure for a non-life threatening condition can be lengthy. Targeting prospective surgical candidates in the later stages of their decision making process will deliver higher quality leads that are more motivated to schedule and thus have shorter acquisition cycles. These patients have done the research and are actively looking for the best surgeon, value and outcomes available.
Using traditional marketing media channels to target these “late stage” healthcare consumers simply won’t work. Reaching these patients requires an expert understanding of the highest converting online channels and key search terms to deliver hyper-targeted messages that deliver immediate solutions to their most pressing needs. These campaigns are most effective when they combine paid search, conversion friendly landing pages and dynamic nurturing campaigns to identify the patient and follow them throughout their decision making process.
Did you know?
In 2012, approximately 97.5 million Americans (nearly one of three adults) used search engines, social media sites, health focused websites, and physician review websites to obtain information prior to calling a physician’s office.