The golden telephone: Why telephone sales still matters in healthcare marketing

It’s no secret that many, and in some cases most, new patients come from referrals from either other patients or from referring health care professionals.

However, to supplement their volume and encourage growth, many professional medical businesses will invest thousands in website design, advertising in traditional broadcast media (like newspapers, radio or television media), PR and patient events.

Many of the more aggressive medical businesses will also invest thousands more in Internet marketing, like SEO or PPC or other online advertising.

And more recently, there’s been a considerable interest amongst the more advanced health marketers to invest in social media, inbound marketing and email marketing.

Finis Coronat Opus (The end crowns the work)

Sometimes, in our excitement over new approaches and technology, we sometimes overlook that these are simply new means to a consistent end. Like a massive funnel, nearly every one of the prospects generated from all of these sources will need to find their way through one extremely tight bottleneck… your telephone salesperson.

In spite of the emergence and ubiquitousness of Internet sites, email, SMS and social media technology, all but a tiny minority of your patients will still call your phone number before they book an appointment. And this last mile of marketing can either make or break all of your efforts up to that point.

Is your telephone a clogged bottleneck?

In spite of the emergence and ubiquitousness of the Internet, email, SMS and social media technology, all but a tiny minority of your patients will still dial your telephone number before they book an appointment.

Assuming you offer something that is elective and subject to competition, you need to treat the phone as a vital lifeline that your business depends on to succeed. You need to treat it like a golden telephone.

Every time a prospective patient calls your professional practice, it represents a significant investment that you have made in marketing expense and an even greater potential for income. In many practices your cost per enquiry is £100 or more, and when you calculate the income you might receive from treatment, you can see how each call is worth potentially thousands of pounds of income.

In spite of its importance, most clinics are still getting it wrong

And when it comes to converting this investment into paying clients, professional service businesses fall hopelessly short. I’ll share the data in my next post.