Stay,Front,the,Competition,Hea marketing Stay in Front of the Competition 9 Healthcare Marketing St
Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie
Competition is tough out there, especially in the healthcare industry. With this economic climate, we are all scrounging to beat out fierce competitors for our customers business.What are you doing to stay on top? Havent given it much thought? I guarantee that your competitors have!Below is a strategic road map for you to keep one step ahead of the others.Make sure your website is clean, up-to-date and informative. Make sure your home page is clean and uncluttered. Your navigational system needs to be easy to use and allow the visitor to find what theyre looking for. Make sure all of the contact information is current and all of your hyperlinks are active.Build a mailing list to keep in contact with customers. Communication is key! Monthly newsletters are easier to publish than ever before. Inexpensive services like Constant Contact or Swiftpage provide easy to use templates. All you need is a sign-up box on your website (the service builds the code for you) and youre ready to start rolling!Consistently produce press releases. Get the word out! Have you hired a new CEO? Is your new cardiac wing opening next month? Has your Foundation raised more money this year than in the last 3 years combined? These are all newsworthy items that help keep your name and brand out there. Develop a list of local media to submit to. With time and consistency, you will also develop a good rapport with those contacts.Develop frequent blogging habits. Fresh content on your website keeps the spiders crawling in the search engines! Blogging 2 to 3 times per week can help keep the traffic up on your website. Dont blog for the sake of blogging. Make sure your blogs have information pertaining to your target market. Publish articles (on your website) and in article directories on the internet. Publishing articles is a way for you to become an expert in your field. There are many article directories that will accept submissions for free. This is a great way to help brand your name and company in a positive light.Keep your image clean and consistent. Whatever your message is, say it often and use it on every piece of collateral material you publish. Make sure the image is consistent from business cards to brochures to banners at health fairs to all of the promotional items you give away. Your target market needs a clear, concise message that they are exposed to often.Go the extra mile to recognize your current clients. It can cost up to five times more to land a new customer as it does to retain a current customer. With a reduction in marketing funds, you may consider doing something special for your current clients, like sending a Happy Birthday card every year. Its a small gesture that can really go a long way in building that long-lasting relationship.Offer expanded services. How late do your competitors stay open? Do they have office hours on Saturdays or evenings? Consider expanding your hours to accommodate your customers needs. Maybe it would be in order to offer home care services. Take a look at what your customer is asking for and fulfill that need if at all possible.Pay special attention to the patients overall experience. Put yourself in your customers shoes for one moment. Drive into the parking lot and notice any ruts or holes. Is the walk to the building lengthy? When you walk in the front door, how many forms need to be filled out? How many people do you need to talk to before seeing the physician or specialist? Is the staff friendly and willing to help you out? All of the factors involved from beginning to end will build the framework for if this person will return again for your services. Make sure that you pay attention to these factors and make the overall experience enjoyable.Remember, its all about the customer. If theyre not happy with their experience, they wont be back and theyll tell all of their friends, family and co-workers not to go.The strategies laid out above will help you give the customer what your competitors are not a pleasant, informative experience. Follow these guidelines and youll have the brand that all of your competitors will be striving to attain.
Stay,Front,the,Competition,Hea