Marketing for a hospital is challenging. It’s not really a place that people feel inspired to go to– unless they’re sick and in need of medical care. The services of a hospital cannot really be ‘sold’ as such, but people get sick. Hospitals are expensive to run, so increasing the patient base will justify the expenses spent on equipment and staff. Here are some subtle marketing techniques to use to advertise the services of a hospital.
Keeping The Website Updated
The most likely thing that people will do when they begin to feel sick (unless it is an emergency and they’re simply looking for the closest hospital) is to utilize the internet. The hospital website should be updated not only with information about the services the hospital offers, or the staff that work there. Include a section around preventable illnesses, outline the symptoms of common complaints that require hospital care and talk about how families can take care of themselves.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
‘Dr. Google’ has a bad reputation for scaring people into heading straight to the hospital. However, using the powers of SEO can be good for marketing. When a patient searches for ‘Best Healthcare in <<location>> they should head to the top result. A content editor should focus on SEO buzzwords for the website- an SEO specialist can be hired as a once off to coach them how to achieve the best results.
Use Social Media (SMO)
Similarly to using Search Engines to reach as many potential patients as possible, Social Media is a powerful tool for marketing. Everybody is on social media. Be it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or YouTube. These are all virtual places for subtle hospital marketing. Social Media Optimization (SMO) can ensure the hospital appears on all of the relevant feeds. Using location services that are compatible with most of these social media platforms will reach those within a particular geographical area.
Testimonials
Word of Mouth is always the most powerful marketing tool-just look at any review section for products bought online. If the consumer has a highly positive or negative experience, they want to tell the world about their experience. Use multimedia to gather testimonials; written word on the website, or videos on youtube– these are all advertising the great things that the hospital has done for them. Don’t just give the patient what they need while they’re under the care of the hospital—go the extra mile with aftercare. Giving them more than they paid for will give them something to shout about!
Focus Internal
Internal Customers are people who are already linked to the organization in some way or another. That’s correct. Each person working within the hospital is arguably the best spokesperson to talk about the excellent service patients receive at the hospital. Treat them well and have them boast about the great things their hospital does.
Show people that the hospital cares about their health and wellbeing – focus on getting them better so they don’t need to keep using the hospital at all.
