Increase Your Clientele: What Do Potential Clients Look for When Choosing a Doctor?

Unless you’re Amazon or one of a handful of other recession-proof operations, to earn a profit you need to think and act in a different way to survive. Driven by the need to have a healthy bottom line, even medical practices need to strategize to attract new clientele.

When you’re growing your customer base as a doctor, it’s essential to know what people are looking for when they are choosing a physician. You might think that all you have to do is do a good job, but that’s not always the case.

There are certain things people look for before they make their decision. We are here to help you learn what people want in their new doctor and how to show them you’ve got what it takes.

Continue reading this article to learn how to get new clients for your practice starting with your credentials.

Well-Educated

When people come into your practice, you should put your diplomas and certifications up on the wall in the waiting area where they have plenty of time to view them.

Also, how easy is it for your targeted clientele to find you online? No matter how good you are, your customers need to find some links on you that they can click when they do a search online. When people are looking you up online, you want them to find what they’re looking for immediately, so you need to make it easy for them to find your credentials and see your education. Showcase your education, training and knowledge on your website.

Plus make sure your website is mobile-first, and it is SEO-friendly. This jargon may not make a lot of sense to you right now, therefore do some reading on SEO basics.

Once you understand how sites are found online, you’ll appreciate the need for your website to present on the first page of organic search results for keyword searches relating to what you do and who you are and where you are located. Then you need to hone in on Local SEO which is a strategy all within itself, and you may prefer to use an SEO expert to work their magic in this area. It’s vital as your clientele are likely to be locals so honing in on local SEO can make the difference of attracting new clientele from your website or not.

Also, consider having a profile on LinkedIn, as it is the social media platform for professionals. It will take some time to attract followers, but you can speed up the uptake by writing articles within LinkedIn, as well as sharing exciting news, and following other LinkedIn profiles and sharing their posts.

Another content idea for your profile is when you contribute to your local community mention it on your LinkedIn profile.

Well-Known

How well-known are you as a doctor? It may be that you need to work on recognition. To secure new customers you need to get marketing leads. There are many marketing channels which can lead to a referral or a mention of your service. For example, you may get a mention in a post on social media. Ideally what you want is potential new clients to recognize your name so they won’t hesitate to take you on as their doctor.

To grow your presence and get your name mentioned, do ‘good in the hood,’ i.e. give back to the community, and the stakeholders involved in your volunteer work will spread the word for you.

Plus dedicate a marketing and advertising budget to running regular online (PPC, Facebook, etc.) and traditional adverts, including billboards. There are many many other ways to get your name out there, including sponsorship. A local sports team or creative arts group would benefit from your investment, and the publicity will do your brand a lot of good.

Someone They Are Comfortable With

The soft skills are fundamental in your profession. If your bedside manner isn’t very good, you need to work on that right away. A bad bedside manner is going to make it very difficult for people to want to work with you.

You might indeed know what you’re doing, but if people are uncomfortable when they come to your office, they will likely find another doctor quickly.

A Convenient Location

The location of your practice could either be a major pro or a PR nightmare. If it takes your potential clients a long time to get to your office, they are probably looking for a closer option.

When people aren’t feeling good, it isn’t likely they want to travel very far.

Someone With Good Reviews and References

Reviews and references are one of the biggest things that will make a difference in your business. When someone comes to your office and has a good experience, make sure to ask them to leave a review and let people know.

You might also want to ask people if you can use them as a reference from time to time and have them speak to a potential new client to ease their minds.

Get People to Pick You When Choosing a Doctor

Now you have the tools you need to get people to pick you when they are choosing a doctor. Instead of being lost in the land of free and paid marketing, you now have some great ideas for growing your practice.

Do you want more help with your business and with other relevant topics? Keep reading our blog to get the help you need.