A Word on Word-of-Mouth
As marketing specialists, we are constantly asked about strategy. Many wonder how effective word-of-mouth marketing really is and how much of their marketing plan should rely on it. The fact is, normal or satisfied practices cannot rely on word-of-mouth marketing at all because they are not creating memorable experiences for their patients. These practices have to spend a lot more money on advertising because their patients aren’t inspired to tell others about their healthcare. But practices creating buzz and memorable experiences can harness more holistic marketing approaches because they have so many loyal patients that will take their message viral very quickly.
So how do you take your practice from obscurity to stand-out? You focus on taking that patient experience and customer service to the next level. Every interaction is an opportunity to make the patient feel genuinely valued. It’s also vital to find what makes your practice unique and use it. We had one pediatric practice where the physicians all shared a love for animals. So the doctors each picked an animal they liked and not only decorated their exam rooms in the theme, but wore a slipper with that animal on it. Their nurses and staff even wore the same animal slippers as the doctor they worked with. This practice took their love of animals and made it into something fun for the kids and something the parents would bring up in conversations with other parents.
Word-of-mouth marketing can be a very powerful tool to have in your arsenal, resulting in increased patient volumes. And at the end of the day, that’s what practices that come to us really want.
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