We recently performed a simple Google search on 50 practitioners to see how well marketed they are. Less than half had marketed their practice and only 4 of the 50 practitioners had marketed themselves well! Does this matter? ABSOLUTELY! As a matter of fact, this might even be the biggest FAIL many practitioners are making in their business.
Why?
Let’s think about it. When someone talks about loving their doctor (or other healthcare provider) to a friend or loved one, the response is often, “Where do they work?” Another common question would be, “Who are you seeing?” The conversation centers around the provider’s name and what part of town they practice in, rather than the name of their practice.
Why is this significant? Because it is very difficult for a prospective patient to find you with just your practice name. Google yourself! Most likely your name will come up, but frequently the opportunity to connect with you is missed because the information is incorrect, incomplete or not compelling enough.
For example, one of the doctors we’ve helped in this area came up seven times in three pages of Google content. That sounds pretty good, at first. Let me first tell you a little bit about their focus of care.
This doctor is a functional medicine practitioner with a focus on child and family wellness and an emphasis on pregnancy, prenatal care, pediatrics, nutrition and massage. In all seven references to this doctor, not only was the contact information completely incorrect, they were also listed as a chiropractor who specializes in accidents, neck pain, injury, manipulation and decompression. While this doctor can help in these areas, it certainly does not describe their mission, which is to provide quality comprehensive family care.
An excited new mother looking for care for herself and her child will miss the opportunity to connect with this doctor and what he has to offer.
So, what can you do?
There are many sites out there that are listing your information based on your NPI number (National Provider Identifier: a unique 10-digit number required by HIPPA-covered healthcare providers in the USA). By claiming your listing on those sites, you will increase the likelihood of your patients understanding not only how to find you, but also important information regarding your care philosophy and scope. While this can be time consuming and challenging to navigate, not taking the time to correct and add your information to these sites is giving up a valuable (free) marketing opportunity.
Some of the internet sites to focus on include:
Health Grades
CareDash
FindaTopDoc
DocBios
Vitals
RateMDs
eHealth Scores
Where for Care
National Provider Identifier Database (NPIDB)
National Plan & Provider Enumeration System (NPPES)
Holistic Health Link
Before you start, you will need to gather quite a bit of information to ensure that your profile is updated properly. You can do this yourself. That said, if you want to spend your time focused in other areas, are overwhelmed or not sure where to start, we can help. If you do not have important information developed, such as your marketing focus, target audience, care philosophy, specialization key words, descriptors etc., our support can be invaluable.
Some doctors hire us to simply help gather information properly and apply the most effective language. Others hire us to do the legwork (or teach themselves or their support staff) to make sure the information on each site is taken care of and easily accessible to prospective patients. The cost for our services is nominal compared to paid advertising opportunities and usually costs between $75-$500 depending on needs.
Contact us
at Info@VitalityConsultantsLLC.com or 314-799-0216 for a free discussion to determine if you need our help and how to proceed.
It is important to take action as soon as possible. Some of the site updates take effect within 48 hours. Other sites can take weeks or months to populate. Don’t continue to make the biggest marketing fail by not taking action!
