Who’s fulfilling the administrative, business, and personnel responsibilities that keep the day-to-day operations of a private healthcare practice running smoothly? Practice managers.
Who’s in a unique position to identify areas where friction could be reduced within these operations to improve patient and employee experience and retention? Practice managers.
Who’s often assuming the responsibility of developing marketing objectives to address these areas so that practices can reduce friction and foster success? Practice managers.
Playing a crucial role in overseeing the function, compliance, and organization of a medical or wellness practice, practice managers also frequently take on the work that ensures a practice remains competitive and sustainable by engaging in strategic marketing initiatives, both internally and patient-facing. Their front-line perspective on patient, practitioner, and employee experience puts them in a unique position to understand concerns and measure the success of efforts to remedy them.
With this finger-on-the-pulse perspective and deep understanding of the culture and needs of a practice, practice managers are your marketing superstars.
Here are five ways that they can (and probably already are) tackle marketing needs that lead to enhanced experience, improved retention, and sustained practice growth that you may not even realize:
1. Collecting feedback and turning it into actionable intel.
From informal interactions with staff to formal patient satisfaction surveys, practice managers hear and see where areas of friction or inefficiency are and create opportunities to improve them.
Why and How? Frequent questions from patients turn into expanded website content to provide answers, common conversations about practice policy become patient education materials, and reoccurring staff concerns are addressed through streamlined internal communication.
2. Showcasing values to build relationships.
Patients and employees, both existing and potential, are increasingly looking for healthcare and wellness providers aligned with their values. Practice managers help define and communicate these values.
Why and How? Job postings allow potential employees to confidently commit when values are communicated, and with patients more likely to switch providers now than they were five years ago, it is an opportunity to connect with value-based and compelling website content.
3. Enhancing communication to establish trust.
Clear, transparent communication is essential for patient satisfaction and employee retention. Practice managers develop those channels of communication, the audience, and the subject matter.
Why and How? Personalized email campaigns, informative newsletters, and social media updates to keep patients and staff informed about practice updates, policies, and closures. Prompt responses from the practice help maintain that trust.
4. Maintaining an up-to-date website to keep information accurate and accessible.
Websites need to be regularly reviewed to ensure compliance, remove out-of-date guidelines, and ensure that information is correct. Practice managers make sure that the website is up, functioning correctly, and accurate.
Why and How? Frequent internal reviews allow for the web developer to be alerted to functionality issues, access valuable and accurate content reduces phone call volume and administrative burden, and confidence in the practice’s professionalism and reliability is established with a user-friendly and informative website.
5. Highlighting authenticity to connect with community on social media.
Authentic social media posts drive higher engagement and reach. Practice managers are the boots on the ground to share authentic posts that connect and resonate with their patients and staff.
Why and How? 74% of internet users utilize social media platforms, and 80% of those users use social media to research doctors, hospitals, and medical news and information. Practice managers have the ability to create posts that show the culture of a practice, celebrate the achievements of staff, and share candid photos to most effectively kindle a positive and lasting impression.
Whether your practice manager is developing and executing marking initiatives on their own, or with the help of a marketing department or external team, they are the marketing superstars. Their knowledge and experience are essential to crafting, instituting, and monitoring the success of strategic marketing plans. They identify concerns and propel action on areas of friction to enhance the overall patient and employee experience, ultimately leading to improved retention and sustained practice growth.
