How to promote your clinic/hospital for getting more patients? Dr Mansoor Ali KR For some doctors, promoting self-practice is unethical. But it is important to attract a maximum number of patients to run a clinic cost -effectively. As a new doctor, you need to attract patients. A satisfied patient is a brand ambassador for promoting the service you give. By using effective advertising methods, you can reach part of this clientele to help increase the number of new patients you have. Maintaining a steady clientele of old and new patients can help you establish a steady income and develop respect in the community. Market Research Conduct market research. Before you start deciding how to market your clinic or hospital, you need to know what your competitors are doing and what people want. Think what different and versatile you are going to offer. Today, medical practitioners use a variety of media to market and advertise their services to attract patients and referrals. Remember Private practice is the best option than any other job – that give you more social reputation and financial stability. Don’t wait for the Government job. You can continue your private practice along with Govt. job. For a Govt. servant second half of a months seems to be very difficult to manage. Counter Point Don’t worry about the ever increasing number of doctors – India has 6000 births in a minute. Professionalism A patient’s first impression of his physician can be made within the first few minutes of entering the clinic. So incorporate “Air hostess philosophy” – attractive clinic. Name board – hoardings Single Name board inside clinic – it is better to avoid many sign boards in clinic – one board that displaying the name, qualification, consulting hours, holiday, contact number etc. Hoardings in public places – Nowadays many homoeopathy doctors and hospitals placing hoardings in public places. Create a Brand Create simple and distinct ID/Reg. cards. Always carry them with you and distribute them to the people you interact with. Brochures or newsletters can be circulated to the patients with treatment details, significance and salient features. Stock recent magazines and newspapers highlighting the importance of homeopathy in various disorders. Inaugural function A good time for advertisement Invite friends, relatives, neighbours, doctors VIPs, political & religious leaders, media, merchant associations. There is one group we often ignore – people bring cases to us – auto and taxi drivers of your locality Different methods of advertising and their benefits All India Radio FM radio – the most preferred and highly influential nowadays Local TV Channels Newspapers Newspaper Boy (distributing notices) Cinema theatres – as slides Souvenirs of local religious or pubic functions Local magazines – this gives you more publicity than advertising in a national daily – theses magazine may reach every house in your locality. Public awareness programmes – take classes in schools, residential association meetings, health awareness classes by village, panchayat and local bodies. Join as much social media groups – non homoeopathy groups especially Write Articles & TV shows Write articles in new papers and regional magazines Talk in radio and Television Advertisement on health days – Cancer day, Women’s’ day, Mothers’ day, Diabetic day etc. Highlighting homeopathy treatment and your expertise – design beautiful posters and post in social medias and local dailies and magazines. How do you get your name out there and get people to notice you? Almost anything can be done online these days and that’s exactly where people go looking when they want information about something new. Utilise Youtube – upload small videos about your clinic, treatment offered and classes are taken by you Google map – list your clinic in Google map – so that clients may spot and reach you easily Social Medias – Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter etc. Website Personal website – a simple mobile friendly website In the past 5–10 years’ websites have become the dominant marketing and advertising medium for medical practitioners, resulting in a major change in the way many patients access information easily. Web site should display: List information about each physician at your practice, a list of services, directions to the clinic and fees for common services. Some doctors have created a website for their practice, and others have worked to acquire limited traffic to their website. However, these limited efforts simply don’t produce results, and as a result, thousands of practices across the country struggle to fill their calendar. SEO – Search Engine Optimisations has a major role. Example: Just type or copy paste “ best homeopathy doctor Calicut” – you will get my name in at least four places on the first page of Google. There are so many senior and expert doctors in our city, but my name displaying higher in Google. Doctors must understand that online strategy is by far the #1 method to grow patient volumes, and build their clinic’s profitability. Spelling Homeopathy is far better than homoeopathy – First one is more search engine friendly and spelled by the common man. Free listing of your clinic available at (Some of them provide appointment system also) Quikr.com OLX Google Linkedin Just Dial Practo Indiamart Indiaheartbeat.com medindia.net drriight.com/get-free-doctor-listing members.indianyellowpages.com/join-now.php doctor.lybrate.com/ thelinkindia.com NB: Their premium version is not costly, that offer more exposure to your clinic Example: I have 12 apartments in Calicut Kerala. I had rent out all of them with a simple premium advertisement in Quikr worth Rs. 170 only. Otherwise, I am supposed to pay one month rent to agents and brokers. Not limit your career to local market Spread Nationally and Internationally – through an online consultation Accreditation Certification/accreditation is a recognition of the clinic National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) Quality Council of India ISO Use Social Media Marketing Strategy to its Full Advantage Social media has become a pillar of clinic / hospital marketing – and its importance grows every year. Through your social media pages, you can reach thousands of new potential patients. Ask patients who […]