Your healthcare education prepared you for practicing in your chosen field. If you have established your own private practice, however, you’re now wearing the hat of business owner in addition to practitioner.
Your new role presents a number of challenges, especially if you have limited business experience, but it also offers opportunities to grow your practice and help even more people. To help you make the most of these opportunities, we’ve compiled a list of 6 tips any practitioner can use to expand their client base and improve patient satisfaction.
1. Hire the right people
The people you hire play a critical role in your business’s success, and probably to a larger degree than you would expect. That’s why it’s important to find someone who is great at what they do and fits into your practice’s culture and vision, rather than settling for someone that just gets the job done.
One mistake that business owners typically make is hiring people too quickly and, at the other end, taking too long to let an employee go if they aren’t working out. As a Team Tony article points out, it’s much better to take your time hiring the right person and making sure they fit in, and also letting an employee go quickly if you find that they are not an asset to your practice.1
2. Market with social media
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other popular social media platforms can expose your practice to hundreds of potential new clients. Pediatrician Natasha Burgert created social media pages and started posting for her practice in 2010, and those efforts alone added an average of one new patient a week, leading to a significant increase in revenue over the course of the year.2
At minimum, you’ll probably want to set up a Facebook account for your practice if you haven’t already and post to it regularly. LinkedIn can be another great resource, as you can start groups and discuss health topics with other members in addition to posting content on your page.
3. Manage your reputation
There are now a number of websites where patients can go to post their reviews of doctors and other healthcare professionals. HealthGrades, ZocDoc, and RateMDs are a few of the most popular ones. These websites are not only great resources for patients, but for you as well. By visiting these sites and checking out reviews of your practice, you can uncover common issues and work to improve in those areas.
In addition to reviewing these sites, you can also get help monitoring your online reputation using tools such as ReputationManagement.com.
4. Implement new technology
Integrating management software designed for practitioners can make your office more efficient. But there are also other types of technology you can integrate to increase traffic and client satisfaction.
One form of technology that more and more practitioners are benefiting from is electrodermal screening. These tools gather data directly from the body to help you and your client make better wellness decisions. If clients know that you offer cutting-edge tools that assist with wellness such as electrodermal screening, they will be more likely to come see you.
Telehealth is another type of technology you should seriously consider. By offering your services remotely, you can grow your practice without being limited by physical location.
5. Send Thank You notes
A private practice consultant called Practice of the Practice says that simply writing a Thank You note to every person who refers a patient to you can give your business a tremendous boost.3 When a referrer receives a genuine, unique Thank You note, it engenders even more trust and may even get shared with other people.
To further promote referrals, you may also want to reward the referrer with a cash bonus or a discount on future services.
6. Focus on the client
The opportunities that come with owning a private practice are exciting, but they can also be time-consuming and distract you from your ultimate goal if you let them. As you engage in these new efforts, it’s important to remember that your client should always be your main focus. If you understand your client, you will be in a better position to serve them.
Grow your practice for fulfillment
Along with these 6 tips, it’s also important to keep in mind that you can have a very successful practice but still be unfulfilled. So make sure that your pursuits to grow your practice are getting you closer to happiness and fulfillment instead of further from it. Similar to not losing focus on your client and their needs, don’t lose focus on yourself and what you really want.
About Seth Morris
Seth Morris is an experienced article writer with a background in marketing, Web content creation, and health research. In addition to writing and editing content for the ZYTO website and blog, he has written hundreds of articles for various websites on topics such as holistic wellness, health technology, and Internet marketing. Seth has earned Bachelor’s Degrees in Business Management as well as Literary Studies.
Sources:
1. “How to Grow Your Medical Practice.” Robins Research International, Inc. Tonyrobbins.com.
2. Burgert, Natasha. “How social media has changed my medical practice.” KevinMD. KevinMD.com.
3. Sanok, Joseph R. “The Art of the Thank You Note.” Practice of the Practice. Practiceofthepractice.com.
