Adam Alpers knew a Web site would help promote his practice and introduce him to new patients searching online for a family physician. But he also knew it needed to be more than what he calls a “Hi, how are you?” site with simply his practice name and address.
“The most important part isn’t who you are, but what you have to offer, content-wise,” says Alpers, a family-practice physician in Ocala, Fla.
So Alpers developed a robust site, adding answers to questions his patients frequently ask, information on common medications, and links to outside information. Next to the Yellow Pages — a marketing staple to reach many patient communities — and word of mouth, an Internet search is a top way patients find his practice, Alpers says. “If you type in ‘primary care’ and ‘Ocala,’ I’m No. 1.”
But Alpers doesn’t stop his marketing efforts there. He sets up a table at the annual community health fair, sends an e-mail newsletter to his patients each month, and occasionally runs a brief commercial on a local cable network. “You have to put yourself out there,” he says.
Physicians are increasingly finding that a phone book ad or highway billboard isn’t enough to drum up new patients. Instead, many practices are adopting guerrilla marketing tactics — taking a page from the unconventional marketing approach originated more than 25 years ago.
Many practices are now using modern, effective, and cheap approaches to promoting their practices, and it’s time to get on board. Welcome to Guerrilla Marketing 101.
Commit to a new plan
Guerrilla marketing for a medical practice essentially means that the practice tries out a variety of different marketing tactics that are cost effective and flexible, says Marlee Ward, president of Rx MD Marketing Solutions. As healthcare becomes more consumer-driven, practices are really having to tune into what patients want and build relationships, rather than rely on the old school approaches. Where traditional marketing strategies are based on the principle of interrupting your audience with a “Hey, look at me” ad, Ward explains, guerrilla marketing engages the audience with a “Hey, how can I help you?” message.
“This is going to require that practice owners effectively communicate their value to the patients they want to attract,” Ward says.
Traditional marketing isn’t dead, she says, but instead is being supplemented and supported by some rogue methods.
Any marketing path you embark on requires a commitment, Ward says, so your first step is to develop a consistent strategy — and stick to it. Marketing in “spurts and fits” won’t work, she says.
“You can’t just send out a one-time postcard mailer and expect people to come beating down your door, or just run a radio ad once and expect people to call,” she says. “You have to be committed to your strategy and it has to be well thought out.”
It also has to make sense for your practice. Consider your practice’s offerings, patient base, and goals, Ward says. Your marketing plan should be carefully tailored to the services you provide and types of patients you want to reach.
Embrace some alternatives
Here are a few guerrilla marketing strategies to consider:
Use the Internet. From social media to online ads, the Web offers a whole new marketing world. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. First things first: Does your practice have a Web site? If not, you could be losing countless patients who are Googling for a primary-care physician in your city, town, or county.
Developing a site doesn’t have to be a major investment, either. Take Alpers for example; he built a site on his own that’s chock full of useful information, and he even admitted to not being that Internet-savvy. Consider free Web site design software and a few bucks a month to host the domain name.
“Most people nowadays are taking their first steps online,” Ward says. “The Yellow Pages is predicted to decline by 35 percent in readership over the next five years, so not being on the Web is just leaving a huge chunk of your target market out of the picture.”
