Everyone will need medical care at some time or another, which means there’s a constant demand for medical services. For healthcare providers, this guaranteed demand means there is potential to significantly grow your business.
However, the right growth plan is essential for success. Trying to expand your business too quickly, using a costly type of financing or investing in the wrong areas could harm your business, rather than enhance it. If you’re eager to increase your success, take a look at these 6 simple steps to grow your medical business in the right way…
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Table of Contents
Expand your services
It’s always easier to upsell to an existing customer than it is to attract a new one. In addition to this, retaining a customer is cheaper than acquiring a new one. However, you can only retain your patients if you’re able to provide the services they need.
Instead of having to refer your patients elsewhere for specialized services, why not expand your own in-house range? With EEG reading and consulting, for example, you can ensure that patients have access to continuous care when they need it. Similarly, on-site ECGs would enable your patients to access more services in your office, rather than having to go to the hospital.
If you’re worried about the cost of investing in additional services, there’s no need to be. By outsourcing specialized services, you can avoid the need for more equipment or staff. Essentially, you can substantially increase the range of services you provide with just a minimal investment.
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Increase awareness
If people aren’t aware of your services or your company, they won’t engage with your brand or become a registered patient. For a medical business, like any company, it’s important to increase brand awareness amongst your target demographic.
For maximum success, a combination of digital and offline methods can be used to increase awareness. With local search engine optimization (SEO), you can establish your medical business as the go-to healthcare provider in a particular area, for example. Similarly, local offline marketing methods, such as billboards and posters, ensure the local community knows where to go when they require medical assistance.
Marketing your business in this way doesn’t require a massive budget but it does need a strategic approach. With so many marketing tools to utilize, you’ll need clear goals, methodologies, and detailed analysis to ensure you achieve the highest possible ROI.
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Specialize in a specific area
When your business becomes well-known for a particular specialty, you’ll find that patients will travel from further afield to consult with a member of staff. Perhaps you have extensive experience in a particular medical field, such as dermatology or oncology? Maybe you’ve specialized in treating patients with health anxiety or phobias? Alternatively, you might have an in-depth knowledge of conditions that are tricky to diagnose and treat, such as chronic illnesses?
If you want to specialize in a particular area, you’ll need to highlight your expertise and showcase the related services you can provide. In some cases, this might involve launching a marketing campaign to enhance the reputation of a member of staff or with the specific goal of attracting patients who are in need of treatment for a specific condition.
Once your specialism is well-known, you’ll find that word travels fast. People often struggle to find doctors and healthcare providers who understand their needs, so specializing in this way can be a great way to grow your business.
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Get involved in the community
A healthcare center or doctor’s office is a major part of any community, so increasing your visibility at local events is a sure-fire way of growing your business. When your staff are present in the community, it builds trust amongst potential patients, as well as increasing awareness of your business.
In addition to playing a formal role, such as sponsoring events or offering on-site first aid, you can get to know your potential patients simply by attending community fundraisers, meetings, and festivals.
Most medical businesses that offer face-to-face consulting or testing serve a specific geographical region. As a primary care physician in an urban area, the bulk of your patients may reside within a specific radius of your premises. This makes it easy for you to identify communities and neighborhoods that are filled with potential new patients. By focusing your community outreach programs in these areas, you can attract scores of new patients and expand your business accordingly.
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Introduce direct payment options
Accessing medical care can be expensive, which is why most people have healthcare insurance. Often, patients will submit their insurance details so that medical businesses can then claim the cost of services directly from the insurer.
However, healthcare insurance isn’t a viable option for everyone. What’s more, the deductibles on an insurance policy and the potential for increasing premiums may mean that patients would prefer to pay for some consultations and treatments out of their own pocket.
Depending on the medical services you offer, introducing direct payment facilities could enable you to grow your business. In times of economic uncertainty, this can be a way to protect your medical business while serving your patients. As many people are made redundant or laid off during recessions, a considerable number of people will use their employment-related medical insurance. If they can’t afford to take out their own medical insurance policy, they may need to make direct payments for their medical care instead.
As well as ensuring you can retain the patients who no longer have medical insurance, offering direct payment options can help you to attract new patients in need of these facilities.
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Use more tech
Technology has revolutionized the medical sector and enabled doctors to use more accurate diagnostic tests and provide more effective treatments. However, there are simple ways to use technology in a clinical setting that are often overlooked.
Digital appointment reminders greatly increase attendance rates, for example, and they’re relatively cheap to implement. Despite this, a significant number of medical businesses still don’t use them. Similarly, digital reminders can have a major impact on patient compliance with treatment regimes, but they’re not in widespread use just yet.
Increasing the amount of technology you use can have a direct impact on your bottom line too. By offering online appointment booking services, for example, patients can choose their own appointment date and time, without needing to engage with a member of staff. This streamlines your in-house processes and allows you to operate with a reduced workforce, thus minimizing your costs.
Technology can allow your business to operate more efficiently and increase patient satisfaction, providing you’re using the right combination of hardware and software. With a strategic approach to your IT systems, you can strike the right balance between innovation, convenience, and reliability. By doing so, you can enhance your patient care and the services you offer, thus facilitating business growth and increasing your profitability.
Planning Your Business Growth
Successful businesses always have a growth plan in place, no matter what stage they’re at. Identifying your objectives gives you the impetus you need to devise a strategic growth plan. Furthermore, a comprehensive expansion plan allows to you overcome potential hurdles and challenges. Whether you will require external funding or additional staff training, having a long-term growth plan in place allows you to implement the necessary changes in a timely and cost-effective manner.
People will always require medical services, so healthcare businesses may not have to deal with non-existent demand amongst their target demographic. However, it’s only with innovation, determination, foresight, and a commitment to patient care that you can successfully grow your medical business.