Why Word of Mouth Isn't Enough to Grow Your Practice
By now you’ve probably heard—and experienced firsthand—how word of mouth can benefit your business. After all, Nielsen found 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising.
But although referrals can be a boon to your practice, it isn’t enough to keep it growing.
Why is that?
First of all, it takes time to give your unique practice a voice, to raise awareness, and educate would-be patients on the services you provide. If you rely solely on word of mouth and aren’t employing other marketing tactics, this process will take even longer.
Furthermore, leaning only on word of mouth means you’re not controlling when you interact with prospective patients. Utilizing other marketing techniques means you can take advantage of different touch points throughout the day and reach your target audience when and where they’re active online. This will also help you stay top of mind while minimizing the influence of other practices and competitors.
Other Tactics to Employ
We know word of mouth is important, but what else can you do to boost your practice’s visibility, bring in more clients, and ultimately grow?
1. Responsive Website
Yes, your practice probably has a website, but does it look good and is it responsive? These two factors matter more than you might think. The more modern and visually appealing your website, the more prospective patients will get a sense of your dedication to the most modern technology, the care you put into your practice, etc. And the responsiveness of your website will allow visitors to have a seamless experience, easily navigating from page to page and contacting you when they’re ready to reach out.
2. Keyword Targeting
Are you using local keywords to bring more local search traffic to your site? After all, Google prefers websites with more relevant local content. While most sites struggle to target even 50 keyword patterns, we’ve helped practices target up to 50,000.
3. Custom Content
Custom content for your practice’s specialities in your geographic location allow more would-be patients to find you. What’s more, creating content providing value will keep visitors interested and coming back to your site, a win-win for SEO purposes.
4. Imagery
Are the images on your website accurately portraying your practice? As the saying goes: “A picture is worth a thousand words”. Ensure the photos you’re using are professional and indicative of the work you do. Additionally, including imagery in the custom content you produce can also be useful when sharing on various social media channels.
5. Patient reviews
Patient reviews are akin to word of mouth marketing in that they leverage first hand experience to (hopefully) generate more business. Employing a review management system can help you use your reviews to rank higher on Google, bolster your practice’s reputation, and build trust with patients. After all, HubSpot found the majority of consumers (70%) tend to trust other consumers’ opinions they find online.
Ultimately, employing the above techniques alongside word of mouth marketing will help you generate more qualified leads, acquire new patients, and grow your practice overall.
