Introduction
Digital marketing has come a long way in the past decade or so. It has evolved from being an advertising medium to a powerful tool that can be used to build any business and grow exponentially.
Offline marketing like advertising in newspapers and magazines, handing out flyers, and putting up posters in public areas have now become obsolete in this digital era. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought a majority of the population online making online doctor consultation in India rise rapidly. So digital marketing for Doctors in India has become the need of an hour to tap this audience.
It’s not just about making your brand visible on the internet, it’s about delivering value to your customers and building relationships with them. And this can be easily achieved through correct digital marketing strategies.
Why digital marketing is important for doctors?
Doctors in India are faced with many challenges such as low awareness about digital marketing, lack of data on how to use digital marketing tools and platforms, and lack of knowledge on how to create content for their promotions. Read below why digital marketing is important for doctors.
1. Brand Building by getting noticed ahead of other doctors
Digital Marketing helps you get ahead of other doctors by building your brand. It helps you get noticed by more and more patients ultimately leading to more conversions.
2. More patients are online
Covid-19 pandemic has made more and more people come online, use online platforms and social media. It is necessary to tap this audience. Digital marketing can surely help with this.
3. Attract more patients by targeting the right audience
Digital marketing can be customized as per the doctor’s needs and niche. Accordingly, it can be effectively used to target specific patients.
4. Helps develop loyalty of patients towards doctors
Google reviews, reviews on other directories by patients help build trust among the new patients ultimately it leads to the making loyal customers.
5. Helps patients easily locate the clinic
Sometimes it becomes difficult for new patients to locate the clinic. Google my business listings helps patients easily locate the clinic providing them ease and comfort to reach on time.
6. Helps doctors to have an online interaction with patients
Apps like Practo, Lybrate, Tata health has made it possible for patients to consult doctors from the comfort of their home. So It is necessary for doctors to tap these platforms using well-planned digital marketing.
7. More patient visits help optimal use of resources
With inflation, increasing rents, and fuel prices along with rising competition it has become necessary for doctors to make optimal use of resources to make some reasonable profits. Through digital marketing, one can bring in more patients which would help optimal use of resources.
8. It is less expensive than traditional ways offline marketing
Traditional ways of marketing like newspaper advertisements, flyers, are quite expensive. Whereas digital marketing is not only cost-effective but offers a wider reach locally.
The above points clearly explain why digital marketing is important for doctors.
Strategies for Digital Marketing for Doctors in India
Digital marketing is playing a significant role in the medical field. In the past, print advertising was the most popular method of marketing. Today, more and more doctors are using digital marketing to help attract new patients. Digital marketing is the process of promoting a product or service over an electronic device. It includes social media, email campaigns, blogs, and more. There are many ways to successfully market a business online. This guide will discuss strategies for digital marketing for doctors in India to help them grow their businesses.
1. Plan
To begin with, planning is necessary to address Why digital marketing is important for doctors?
a. Define goals & objectives
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely results. So, one needs to strategize business in a way that benefits both customers as well as themselves. This helps set SEO and SEM strategies.
b. Buyer Persona
A buyer persona depicts a target customer. It is a research-based profile that describes who are your ideal customers, what their needs, the challenges they face, and how they make decisions. It is necessary to define buyer persona to target specific patients.
c. Competitive analysis of Market
It is necessary to know your competition. So competitive analysis is a must. One can use the SWOT model for this.
d. Define Budget
The most important part of any marketing plan is budgeting. It is mandatory to set budgets as this would play important role in analyzing results and knowing whether particular goals are reached.
e. Finalize the channels to be used
After budgeting one can finalize what type of marketing channels needs to be used for marketing. Google ads, Social media, Youtube, and so on.
f. Implement the strategies defined
The most important step of any plan wherein the above steps are to be implemented. Being consistent is the key to a successful marketing strategy.
e. Track, Analyse results, and redefine strategies
Finally one needs to analyze results and check that do they match your SMART goals. If not one can redefine the strategy and work accordingly to achieve better results.
The above plan is valid for any profession. Digital Marketing for Clinical Practice needs to target a correct audience. That is where the strategies for digital marketing for doctors in India come into play.
2. Strategies:
Below are the 7 effective tips that would help build a proven digital marketing strategy for doctors in India.
a. Set up Google My Business
Set up your google my business account. It is a free business listing from Google. It allows one to provide details and photos of their business, including your location, services, and products. It definitely helps increase visibility locally. And is a mandatory part of Local SEO.
b. Have a Website
Though not mandatory. It is an important part of digital marketing. A good professional website would show the experience and knowledge of the healthcare professional. One can even create a mobile-friendly Free Google site to start with via Business Profile on Google.
c. Use Social Media
Doctors can use social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to share their business details, important ideas, and knowledge. Using Linkedin for the same is also highly recommended. Short videos and stories are in trend, can easily be made, and have proven effective for customer engagements.
d. Get listed on Directories
Getting listed and verified by directories would help increase the visibility. One can use platforms mainly crafted for doctors like Practo, WebMD, Justdial, Medline Plus, and more.
e. Retarget your Customer
Using Whatsapp and Email marketing doctors can easily retarget the customers, keep them engaged, update them about new treatments, wish them on festivals, share coupons and membership plans.
f. Online Consultation
Many patients these days are switching to consult doctors online from the comfort of their home using platforms like Practo, Lybrate, Tata health, and so on. Doctors need to use these platforms effectively to keep up with the changing trend of online consultation.
g. Encourage Reviews
It is a fact these days patients before visiting the doctors go through online reviews. And this forms one of the important triggers for decision making. So doctors should ask their patients to leave reviews on Google and other platforms wherever they are listed.
Conclusion
So in short have a Plan, Reach patients according to it, Act when the patient reaches out, Convert them and keep them Engaged. This post completely covers Digital Marketing for Clinical Practice, why do doctors need marketing, why digital marketing is important for doctors, and also the strategies for digital marketing for doctors in India.