If you are struggling to attract new patients to your practice, then you are far from alone. Although it is vital that you keep your existing patients satisfied with your level of care, it is also important that you look for ways to bring in new business to your clinic. Otherwise, you run the risk of too many empty chairs in your practice.
That being said, you may already be aware that it costs, on average, five times more to attract a new client than it does to retain an existing one. That is unless you know how to do so cost-effectively. Fortunately, if you are at a bit of a loss when it comes to attracting more patients to your GP practice, the below tried and tested techniques can help. Keep reading to discover how you can transform your practice into a thriving local business in 2021 and beyond.
1. Have a responsive website
Nowadays, it is not enough to simply have a website for your GP practice; you also need to ensure that it is a responsive one. This means a site that can be viewed and used on all devices such as tablets and mobile phones with the same quality and effectiveness as it can be on a desktop computer.
You should also make sure that your website is well designed, has fast loading speeds, and is easy to navigate so that potential new patients do not become distracted and decide to take their custom elsewhere.
Another handy trick to boost awareness of your practice is to use search engine optimisation to help your site rise in the ranks of Google.
You can improve your site’s SEO by:
- Listing your practice on Google
- Sharing posts on social media
- Creating a profile on all major review sites
2. Encourage positive word of mouth
If you want to attract new patients, you first need to ensure that you are fulfilling the needs of your existing ones so that they will spread the (favourable) word about your practice. One way to do this is by ensuring you have the right equipment and tools at your disposal to deal with your patients both efficiently and quickly.
Make sure you invest in a good quality diagnostic set that allows for easy examinations that are beneficial for both you and your patient. It can also be a good idea to have a portable set such as the Keeler pocket diagnostic set that is ideal for home visits or as a back-up kit. You may also want to review your rescheduling process by sending out email reminders for scheduled check-ups and by staying in touch with healthy living tips and best hygiene practices, as this can make your patients feel like you really care about their overall wellbeing.
3. Embrace new technologies
A great way to attract new patients is to showcase your practice as one that embraces the latest in healthcare innovations and technologies. This may be something as simple as allowing your patients to schedule an appointment by email or offering free Wi-Fi in your waiting room.
Alternatively, if you want to try something that is going to make a bit more of an impact, why not offer virtual visits in the evenings or weekends for time-poor people who cannot make it to your surgery during the week? A recent survey shows that the majority of people have been happy to see their doctors virtually during the pandemic, so there is no reason to believe that this won’t continue after the restrictions have been lifted.
4. Engage with the community
Running a GP practice is all-encompassing, but if you want to attract new patients, you need to find the time to engage and connect with the local community. Or, to put it even more simply, you need to make your presence known.
One effective way that you can achieve this is by running regular community events such as hosting a wellness seminar or a hygiene workshop for kids. Not only will this increase awareness around your practice, but it will also help form positive connotations with you and your team.
5. Start a blog
If your website is looking a little bland and you are not getting as much traffic as you would like, one way to rectify this is by creating a blog. Enabling you to post fresh content on your website daily, or weekly if that is more realistic, a high-quality blog can help you to engage with existing customers as well as potential new ones.
Don’t forget to also share your blog on social media and try to pick trending topics to discuss that are of interest to your patients.
