Information is king and patients are accessing it online more than ever. According to research, 72% of internet users said they looked online for health information within the past year. That number will only continue to increase, so with your patients and prospective patients looking for information online you need to be ready. Ready by having great online reviews and ready by proactively educating them about your services and the value you provide.
In a world where patients know what they want and how they want it, communication, on your terms, becomes even more important. Word of mouth just doesn’t do all the work anymore.
Here are a few ways to get patients to influence other patients to use your services:
1. Add value. Mail a personalized patient newsletter every quarter
2. Show you care. Conduct a patient survey annually
3. Be present. Email a patient newsletter monthly and ask for a google review or referral
4. Encourage Reciprocity. Include a referral incentive or loyalty gift
5. Present benefits. Ensure your website, newsletter and other communications are top quality and are focused on your primary decision maker and their priorities
Patient Newsletters. Every practice, no matter how big, small, growing or established should be sending a newsletter to patients of record. There is no more valuable or meaningful way to connect with patients outside of the practice. When done correctly a patient newsletter can yield a 300-400% return on investment. Imagine reducing attrition by 1%, increasing referrals by 8 per year and reactivating 8 more lapsed patients. For an average practice that could equal $30,000 per year … over patient lifetime we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars. We haven’t missed one edition of our client Quarterly Update newsletter since we launched it in 1996.
Read original Source: http://www.patientnews.com/blog/improving-patient-retention
In a world where patients know what they want and how they want it, communication, on your terms, becomes even more important. Word of mouth just doesn’t do all the work anymore.
Here are a few ways to get patients to influence other patients to use your services:
1. Add value. Mail a personalized patient newsletter every quarter
2. Show you care. Conduct a patient survey annually
3. Be present. Email a patient newsletter monthly and ask for a google review or referral
4. Encourage Reciprocity. Include a referral incentive or loyalty gift
5. Present benefits. Ensure your website, newsletter and other communications are top quality and are focused on your primary decision maker and their priorities
Patient Newsletters. Every practice, no matter how big, small, growing or established should be sending a newsletter to patients of record. There is no more valuable or meaningful way to connect with patients outside of the practice. When done correctly a patient newsletter can yield a 300-400% return on investment. Imagine reducing attrition by 1%, increasing referrals by 8 per year and reactivating 8 more lapsed patients. For an average practice that could equal $30,000 per year … over patient lifetime we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars. We haven’t missed one edition of our client Quarterly Update newsletter since we launched it in 1996.
Read original Source: http://www.patientnews.com/blog/improving-patient-retention
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