MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT YOU’VE GOT: The importance of your Internal Marketing Strategy

MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT YOU’VE GOT.

The importance of your Internal Marketing Strategy

We recently had a read of Chris Barrow’s latest blog post on the importance of your internal marketing communications. It’s clear as day, that although most of us know what we should be doing with our internal comms, the majority of us are actually not doing it, or at least, not doing it well.

“We have a website, we use social media, we maintain relationships with our patients… “

but are you reaching your full potential?

WEBSITE

Your practice website is the forefront of your business marketing strategy, therefore it should be a high end representation of your practice. It's vital you have engaging content that helps keep the reader on the site for longer, utilising a range of media to share educational content in a format that is easy to digest. 

Video content is proving to be a powerful, effective part of the modern marketi
ng strategy—now more than ever. Nothing entices more numerous and longer page views quite like a video. To attract new clients to your practice, when they search for a particular treatment, service or even a dentist, it’s good to be able to use informative, educational videos  and animations to be on the top of the search list! This rich form of information will give you 41% higher click through results than plain text!… This speaks volumes.

Testimonials and reviews are another key aspect to your site. We all look for reassurance before committing to a purchase or signing up to a new practice. Reviews help new customers see how amazing you are. Additionally, from an internal marketing perspective, analysing reviews left by your patients helps your practice understand overall customer satisfaction, as they can provide your business with feedback regarding what your patients truly want. This type of data is priceless.

Write a blog… It may be time consuming, but a blog is a great way to informally answer all those ongoing questions that patients have regarding treatments, the practice and general healthcare. Becoming the expert, ‘go-to’ figure in your field is an incredible way to build trust, loyalty and gain new interest. Blog content also helps build your SEO ranking, with higher volumes of traffic heading to your site, the more likely it is to get in front of other people.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media has become the new commercial battleground because of its mind-blowing reach and influence. If you’re not using that to attract people to your practice, then you’re missing out on a huge business opportunity.

When patients look for a dentist, one of the first things they do is check social media for comments and reviews. If they find your social media page helpful, informative, and with plenty of good patient reviews, they will be more likely to visit your practice and avail of your services. However, simply having a social media account isn’t enough. You need to be posting regularly, with consistent and relevant content that is on brand. Your content should be educational and engaging. As before, video is the way forward - sharing patient before and afters, treatment explanation videos or even fun graphics and animations about services you offer or practice news, is a good way to engage your audience.

Both your website and social media channels are extremely important in your internal communications strategy. If you want to increase your online visibility then it’s important to get these right.

However, online presence isn’t all that matters in your internal marketing campaign. Front-of-house is equally as important - So, are you making use of your waiting room TV and chairside opportunities?

FRONT-OF-HOUSE

Your waiting room is one of the most useful tools to educate patients, put their mind at ease and promote treatments and services to them. It’s important that you help to creat an educational and engaging environment to discuss dental related health or services that the practice offers.

Secondly, at the chairside, you can make the most of your time with a patient and help explain conditions, procedures and treatment options. For patients who wish to take information away, provide leaflets or email treatment videos to them, allowing the sales cycle to continue away from the practice.

Some of the required changes are subtle reactions to the evolution in the way that the general public are now researching online, but the reality is that you need to ensure your audience is regularly encouraged to engage with you. Do not overlook an opportunity to make simple changes that will have a positive effect on patient satisfaction, practice reputation and profitability. 

As Chris Barrow says, “Sometimes we have to stop collecting new data and just make sure that what we have already learned is actually happening”.

Have you taken a deeper look into your internal marketing capabilities?

If you would like to know more about how MEDiVision can help you and your practice, visit our website at www.medivision.co.uk, email info@medivision.co.uk or call 01908 265565

 

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