Marketing Your Practice For ROI and Not Hits
Most physicians, lawyers and other professionals do a good job of getting the basic information posted on their websites: who they are, what they do, their education and experience and how to contact them. But is your website really marketing your practice?
Probably not, unless you are building an ongoing trust relationship with readers by providing useful information that prompts them to come back for more. Otherwise, they are nothing more than one-time visitors to your website, recorded as nameless "hits" who fall far short of being considered leads.
Engage your patients and clients.
The key to marketing your practice online is to provide your readers with content that answers their underlying question: "What's in it for me?" You also want to encourage them to post comments, ask questions, share your information with friends and family, subscribe to your newsletter or follow you on social media — all of which would include at least minimal registration. Whenever you have captured an email address, for example, you have converted a visitor from an anonymous hit to a sales lead.
Your ultimate goal is to increase revenue and maximize the return on investment (ROI) you've spent on your content. If you have produced authoritative content with broad appeal, some initial leads will convert to sales in short order; others you'll need to cultivate over time by maintaining your relationship and positioning as a thought leader. Regardless, you've gained far greater benefits than from a naked hit on your website that may yield nothing.
Use content in multiple ways to increase ROI.
A good starting point is a professionally produced white paper, one of the most powerful tools available for marketing your practice. The time and expense you've put out into producing your white paper will continue to pay dividends if you distill the information into other marketing tools, such as blogs, social media, newsletters, presentations, quick-info graphics, email and print media articles and ads.
Your white paper should focus on an important problem or question your target audience faces and should propose a viable solution. Write it in a professional, informative and objective tone without a blatant sales pitch. A cosmetic surgeon might produce a white paper discussing a new procedure that reduces discomfort and recovery time. A therapist could post a white paper pointing out early warning signs of behavioral problems in children. It's important that you know your target audience in order to develop content that will be valuable.
Capture qualified leads with a landing page.
Once you've posted your white paper, your landing page should include a meaningful teaser and link that requires readers to sign up to view it or receive it by email. The document should include interactive elements for sharing by email or social media, commenting, requesting additional information or any other means that will turn readers into active participants in your post. Not only can reader interaction help improve your search rankings, your content could go "viral" and further increase your ROI exponentially.
Build relationships with lead nurturing.
Whether you are marketing your practice with a white paper, a newsletter, a blog or any of the many other online possibilities, your goal is to continue a dialogue with your readers. Leads are nurtured over time as you build a relationship with your audience.
A well-conceived plan for marketing your practice will produce far more leads — and ultimately sales — than a static website that has no call to action.
Improve your ROI:
- Create compelling content for your patients and clients
- Use the content in multiple ways
- Use landing pages to capture qualified leads
- Nurture leads to convert into customers
