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Health Care Trends, 2012: Branding Doctor's Offices for a Better Bottom Line
1. Today's busiest and most profitable doctor's offices are
hard at work, re-branding themselves to build deeper
connections and make visits far more appealing.
2. Utilizing branding tools like private label custom bottles of
spring water, enhancing the atmosphere and putting a
more attractive face on their offices, doctors of all types
are finally finding ways to really stand out and dominate
their fields.
3. While this may be a trend which has already been
emerging slowly over the last couple of years, 2012 is
going to see doctors offices which embrace marketing and
new ways of positioning themselves really take off while
others, even the more established find it tougher to make
ends meet.
4. Marketing has ever been a favorite theme for doctors. It is
often seen as being cheesy or a distraction. You are there
to provide common sense, high quality health care right?
Isn't that the only thing that matters? Unfortunately not.
Hundreds of your potential patients could be flocking to
your less qualified, less experienced and not so ethical
competitors because they know how to market
themselves better or have employed someone to do it for
them. If you want to help more people and make sure
they don't get misled into using less qualified practitioners
it is your job to attract more patients and make your office
somewhere they want to come back to and recommend to
others.
5. This applies equally to large facilities like the Mayo Clinic
to local dental offices, spine specialists and chiropractors
as well as cosmetic surgeons and weight loss clinics.
Unfortunately, foreign doctors offices have been doing a
lot better job at this than those in the U.S. resulting in
them not only being less expensive but achieving higher
customer satisfaction ratings too.
6. So what can local U.S. doctors do to embrace this trend in
2012 and keep more patients safe at home, while
improving their own bottom lines too?
7. For many personal branding has been incredibly
successful, resulting in reality TV shows and celebrity
status. Of course that may not be for every one, though it
can been obscenely profitable.
8. Perhaps the most common form of this new way for
medical professionals to present themselves and their
practices is seen is in the many medical or wellness 'spas'
which have been popping up around North America.
These are regular doctors offices which have stepped it up
with spa type treatments and services to make their
practices much more appealing to visit. Think hand
treatments, facials and massages for relaxation. Comfort
items, refreshingly cool, custom bottles of water, heated
blankets, headphones with music or movies and WiFi for
those waiting. Plus a nice side benefit of going in this
direction is that you cannot only just put a higher
premium on your services if you like but can quickly
expand into numerous new product lines and revenues
streams.
9. However, perhaps the biggest challenge for doctors offices
is not just wowing patients when they are there but
staying at the forefront of their minds and building closer
relationships between visits. Custom bottles of water are
again a great cross over tool here which can take your
brand out to the community, spread your name and
remind patients of you.
10. Of course the next logical step beyond this is to truly
embrace social media for strengthening ties with the
community. This can be done be using it for regular health
updates and alerts, diet and other tips, showcasing
patients video testimonials and even answering live
questions to become every local resident's first resource
for your speciality.