10 Healthcare Marketing Ideas To Help Grow Your Practice

As a medical professional, the care of your patients is top priority. When operating a medical practice, however, the business side of medicine is not far behind. Whether you are facing patient retention challenges, looking to expand locations, add new talent, or simply increase the number of patients you see, healthcare marketing can help with sustainable growth of your practice. Here are ten ideas to do just that:

#1 Develop a Brand Identity

A medical practice is still very much a business, and with that comes the need for a brand. Develop a cohesive brand for your practice by choosing a logo, color scheme, and fonts. Work with a marketing professional to take the branding a step further by developing a brand tone and brand values. Combined, these visual and emotion-provoking components will become your enterprise’s brand and create a clear identity to your customers. Over time, your brand will become synonymous with the quality of care that your practice provides. At Preferred Direct, we can create the professional look and branding needed to engage customers and grow your business.

#2 Outsource Billing to a Third Party

If your office is still billing internally, you may find you can maximize your staff’s time by outsourcing your bill printing and mailing processes. After bill coding and contact verification, your team can transfer billing data through a secure data portal to a print and mail partner for fulfillment. This allows your billing staff to attend to patients, customer service and more urgent matters.

It’s important to seek out a partner with expertise in handling sensitive medical information. Be sure to verify they can uphold HIPAA standards and have appropriate data security protocols. Working with an inexperienced printer can lead to problems ranging from reputational damage to costly lawsuits. Preferred Direct is proud to be a HIPAA-compliant and HITRUST-certified commercial print and mail partner. Our state-of-the-art print technology and strict data security standards ensure our medical customers can safely outsource their billing and maximize their internal staff for other pressing financial and care-related matters.

#3 Create a Healthcare Marketing Plan

Healthcare marketing is necessary when growing your enterprise. However, your efforts may be wasted without setting specific goals. Identify measurable areas in which you wish to grow and develop a strategy around those goals.

Utilize both print and digital marketing and seek out ways to integrate them. Examples can include using social media to promote an upcoming event, sending out a brief version of your company newsletter via email, or including a QR code on a postcard.

#4 Become a Thought Leader

Leverage your knowledge as a medical professional and find ways to share your expertise publicly. Medical blogs and publications often seek guest writers. Be sure to name drop your practice, so your expertise is attributed correctly.

For a more direct, local impact, create a printed newsletter for your practice. In one of the segments, include informative content. This can include debunking medical myths, explaining emerging medical technologies, or a list of preventative health advice.

If you want to be very hands-on, get in front of the camera. Some medical professionals have seen success on video-centric platforms like TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn etc., delivering knowledge in short, digestible formats.

#5 Set Up a Referral Program

Word-of-mouth is still among the strongest ways to grow a business. Encourage your current patients to tell friends, family, and coworkers about your practice. You can offer an incentive for them to do so, such as grocery gift cards, entries for a giveaway, or a complementary service. Use forms or comment cards, where new patients can disclose if they were referred by an existing patient and capture the ROI of your healthcare marketing campaigns.

#6 Recruit and Retain the Best

A medical enterprise is only as good as the people who work there, from the doctors to the front desk personnel. It is important to attract and retain the best possible staff when growing your practice.

Celebrate employee accomplishments and milestones in your newsletter, to express appreciation. Recognize the risk of burnout in the medical field and make resources available to keep your team happy and healthy, so they can keep patients happy and healthy.

Be proactive in hiring by attending job fairs, connecting with post-secondary institutions, and using recruitment resources to find the right fit for your practice.

As a bonus, recruiting within the community can double as a promotional activity, increasing brand recognition in the area.

#7 Leverage New and Existing Technology

Seek out opportunities to add new technologies to your practice that are patient-friendly. Telehealth is quickly moving from a “nice-to-have” to an expectation of care. If your practice can offer these visits, make it known!

For a busy office, scheduling can be challenging for both the office and the patient. Online scheduling can help by reducing call wait times and automating the confirmation process.

Keeping your web presence updated can impact the impression of your practice. While not a new technology, regularly updating your social media pages with relevant content shows that you care to keep patients informed where they are. Similarly, your website requires routine content updates, as the place many new and existing patents will go first for information.

#8 Solicit and Utilize Reviews

If you are unsure where to focus your time and efforts, encourage feedback from your existing patients in the form of reviews.

When you receive a five-star review, ask the reviewer for permission to share their feedback in your healthcare marketing. This feedback can also be used to get an idea of the patient’s experience. This information can highlight critical growth areas for your practice.

#9 Expand Your Reach Locally

As a medical enterprise, you will likely have multiple locations under your business umbrella. When it comes time to open a new office, develop a healthcare marketing campaign around introducing yourself to the local community. This can be done through a direct mail campaign, social media ads, or even a grand opening event! Using every door direct mail (EDDM), practitioners can target every house within a specific radius to the facility and introduce local households to their practice.

Adding additional practitioners can also bring new patients that may not have previously sought out your practice. Highlight expansions of service in your direct mail newsletter or on your website, encouraging new patients to make an appointment.

#10 Stay Connected

Make it easy for patients to stay connected to your practice. A mailing list, both for physical mail and email is a great place to start. Appointment reminders also remind people to connect with your office. Work with a healthcare marketing designer to develop an eye-catching, on-brand design that cannot be missed among other pieces of mail.

For a more hands-on approach, participate in local events as a vendor or sponsor. Health fairs, holiday festivals, and marathons are great venues for a medical enterprise to engage with the local community. Give out branded freebies, offer screenings, or host a giveaway. Be sure to include a sign-up for your mailing list at the booth!

*Bonus: Leverage Preferred Direct!

Healthcare marketing takes effort and strategy. When it comes to your medical print and mail campaigns, Preferred Direct has years of experience in managing sensitive healthcare information, as well as marketing materials, with security and diligence. From designing to printing to finishing to postage, Preferred Direct has the experience, technology, and security to help you grow your medical practice. Contact us today for a print marketing estimate!

5 Key Considerations When Choosing a Third-Party Medical Marketing Partner

Marketing a medical practice comes with unique challenges not seen in most other industries. Making sure patient data is secure, communications are HIPAA-compliant and that important healthcare messages are reaching the correct audience are all challenges that differ from that of the average marketing campaign. 

If you are looking for a solution to market your practice, consider outsourcing your medical marketing print campaigns. Choosing a reputable partner is not only good for business, but it can also help avoid financial penalties and data breaches. Not sure how to vet a company for your medical marketing needs? Here are some key considerations: 

Am I Using Sensitive Information? 

Information that discloses conditions, treatments, and care for a specific patient is protected by law. Even accidental infractions have steep financial penalties. It is important that parties on both sides of the healthcare marketing vendor relationship understand what information requires extra care. 

The content of your marketing messages will dictate which medical marketing partner is best for your needs. If sending out appointment reminders are part of your patient retention strategy, many printers can assist with this broad, universal content. If your print marketing is more specific about conditions, it may inadvertently disclose a patient’s diagnosis or treatment and put your practice at legal and/or financial risk.  

Awareness of HIPAA and medical privacy regulations protects your patients, your practice, and your reputation. For print marketing based on a patient diagnosis such as medicine recommendations, peer support groups, outpatient care options, and more, it’s important to work with a Commercial Printer that is familiar with healthcare privacy regulations to ensure you’re always in compliance. Preferred Direct is a HIPAA-compliant commercial printer with extensive experience handling not only medical marketing print services but third-party billing as well, for a variety of healthcare organizations.  

Does This Printer Have Any Relevant Certifications? 

There are industry certifications a printing partner can earn to display their medical marketing expertise. How will you know if a potential printer has them? In most cases, these certifications will be visible on the company’s website and other marketing materials.  

Look for mentions of HIPAA compliance, HITRUST certifications, and ways they keep data secure. Without these, you run the risk of incidental violation, compromised data, and workflow challenges. 

A strong reputation also goes a long way. Does the printing company have a working relationship with others in the healthcare industry? Preferred Direct, for example, works with one of the largest health insurance providers in the US, assuring HIPAA compliance every step of the way. We are also a HITRUST-certified printer, strictly following the HITRUST Common Security Framework (CSF) to ensure the utmost security of your patient data. In 2022, Preferred Direct was also named one of the top commercial print services in Virginia Beach. From reputation to certification, Preferred Direct has taken the steps to be the medical marketing partner of choice. 

What Healthcare Industry Experience Do They Have? 

At the end of the day, your best choice for a printing partner is the provider that excels at the services your practice or office needs. Most printing companies can execute direct mail campaigns or design high-quality brochures for a broad array of business types. Not all can do so for the healthcare industry. And even fewer can be a one-stop-shop for all medical printing needs.  

Say you want to expand into outsourcing your printed billing statements. The risk of small, yet costly mistakes is high when working with an inexperienced printer. 

Did you know that something as simple as using the wrong envelope can be a HIPAA violation? In this case, the window in the envelope disclosed personal information about patients, including a condition they underwent treatment for. Through this envelope, anyone who handled the piece of mail was able to see personal medical information, which ultimately culminated in a lawsuit.

At Preferred Direct, we pay careful attention to these areas of risk and ensure there is no exposures or violations before all mailing projects. We are incredibly proud to have never had a client HIPAA violation in our 35 years of business! 

When shopping around for a medical marketing partner, ask directly about their healthcare industry experience. While printers may not be able to disclose specific client or project details, a brief conversation can reveal a lot about an organization’s capabilities. Request samples of materials similar to those you are planning to use in an upcoming campaign. Use these to guide the conversation to medical marketing standards. A little bit of research and discussion can help prevent unnecessary stress and errors down the line. 

What Technology Does the Company Utilize? 

The technology used by a third-party medical marketing partner can be a deciding factor on whether they can securely handle your campaigns. Combined with industry expertise, the right technology can keep your communications professional, secure and credible. Here are three technologies to ask about: 

Variable Data Printing (VDP) 

Variable Data Printing is a process in which sections of information- such as Personal Medical Information, can be switched out from piece to piece, without slowing down the printing process. This capability shows they have the equipment necessary to handle the accurate, fast, and secure printing of potentially sensitive information. 

Internal Security Processes 

While you cannot be there to personally supervise the print job, there is no harm in inquiring about the internal processes that help keep sensitive data secure. Data encryption should be standard practice, as well as other visible forms of trust, such as certifications and a trusted staff. Ask about any data breaches the company may have experienced and their resolution. 

System Testing 

A good printing partner will allow for scheduled system tests. During these tests, mailing lists are pulled and prepared for sending. This is an opportunity to discover gaps in process, identify missing or duplicated recipients, and verify print quality long before your that first piece of mail delivers.

What About Finishing? 

Imagine your surprise when you receive a box of 5,000 unfolded brochures because the partner you chose only performs the printing portion of the job. Avoid the time-consuming stress and ask early about finishing options offered by your potential print marketing partner. 

Medical marketing collateral commands a higher level of professionalism to win the trust of patients. Exploring other finishing options, like binding or adding perforated sections can elevate the perceived quality of your printed marketing materials. Preferred Direct offers not only printing services but also bindery, collating, cutting, tabbing, scoring, perforations, drilling, folding, and other finishing services.  

Preferred Direct has 35 years of experience and a stellar reputation in managing variable data and sensitive healthcare information. We guarantee prompt and confidential processing of your information while giving you flexible solutions to accommodate your medical marketing requirements. From designing to printing, to finishing to postage, we have the experience, technology, security, and personnel to be an invaluable asset to your healthcare communications.

 When you partner with Preferred Direct, you partner with a data-secure, technology-focused medical marketing printing partner dedicated to your goals. Contact us today for an estimate!