Community relations Archives

Community relations

May 24 2023

Marketing Your Health-Related Practice

Ligon Support Advertising Tips, Community relations, Marketing, Professional Development, Social Media Marketing

Doctors, dentists, and other health care professionals spend years learning and passing intense exams to practice in their respective fields. Once the shingle has been hung, professional service providers face the challenge of attracting clients to their doors. All those years of medical education may not have included principles of business management or the value of professional marketing in driving business success.

For those starting out as independent practitioners who are looking for a fresh marketing approach, Ligon Marketing can offer you a few tips. We have worked with several types of professional medical practices, and have focused on both launching a private practice and expanding an established practice with new branding. We’ve assisted our clients in expanding clinic locations and patient volume, and we can do the same for you.

BRANDING

Do you have a logo or need one? A memorable and effective logo gives a strong visual impression of who you are. Establishing your brand is more than having a logo. It’s a process of reinforcing that image and concept of your business in all of your marketing materials.

WEBSITE

In today’s market, your website is not just a marketing machine but an expected part of doing business. Your website should meet several goals:

Attract new patients or referrals.
Provide needed information and forms to existing patients.
Serve as an educational resource related to your specialty, whether it’s dentistry, dermatology, or anything in between.
Host a patient portal for communicating electronically to your patients, in compliance with HIPAA.

Developing a website is more than buying a domain name and following a DIY template. (Many professions have industry-specific template providers, but keep in mind that a template site looks like every other template-based site. Bottom line – yours won’t stand out.) As a professional, you need a professional site, managed by someone who can keep it visible in the digital sphere. That requires strong visuals, useful and well-written copy, and frequent content updates for search engine optimization (SEO). Design matters. Potential consumers want to see photos of you and your team, as part of building a relationship. They want to hear “your voice” in the content. Must-haves are:

An attractive home page
An About Us page, with photos and bios
Contact information
Services provided

Your site should also be mobile-responsive, as today’s audience relies more and more on their smart phones. They should be able to find key information from your website quickly and easily on their phones.

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

Facebook and Instagram have become required for most providers, as well. Your medical or dental practice’s visibility depends on active engagement, which is difficult for most busy practices to handle alone. These platforms drive potential patients to your website and ultimately, to your door. Ligon Marketing manages content posting and scheduling for most of our clients, and we can help you, too.

In addition, your staff members are probably active on social media. It’s vital for health-related professionals to have a strong policy for employees in their online activities as they relate to your business reputation. This policy should address HIPAA compliance, as well as professional behavior, while respecting the team’s free speech rights. We have experience with this, too.

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS (B2B) AND REFERRAL NETWORKS

Most professional practices depend on and benefit from strong referral relationships with other businesses, practices, and professionals. Don’t overlook the opportunity to engage in networking and relationship-building opportunities. Not in your comfort zone? Ligon Marketing can coach you and your team on easy-to-implement strategies to increase your professional visibility.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Being treated well is a top priority for patient retention. Do you have standards for answering the phone, responding to questions and concerns, and handling billing or insurance problems? Does your team value and show respect for your patients the way you do? Our owner, Cora Ligon, has led customer-service training for numerous organizations, both in her own management roles and as a consultant. She can help you customize and implement training and policies if your office has a need.

COLLATERAL MATERIALS

Signs, business cards, forms, brochures, referral cards, prescription forms, patient packets….the list can seem endless. All these materials fill vital roles in a professional health-related practice. Each one represents your brand, and there is value in presenting a consistent look (logo, colors, type fonts, etc.). A professional marketing agency will ensure that consistency.

At Ligon Marketing, we’re not just marketers; we’re problem solvers. Our goal is to build long-term relationships with our clients, through listening, creating, implementing, and providing top-notch customer service. We’ve successfully helped other health-related practices grow, and we can use that expertise for you. (Of course, we’ll never compete with like-practices within a market area!) Give us a call today to explore your options!

May 8 2020

5 Ways to Keep Your Business Afloat During a Crisis

Dani Advertising Tips, Community relations, Marketing Ad Agency, Advertising, business crisis, Lakeland, marketing during an economic recession, small business

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing businesses to rethink everything from their structures to their advertising. Most people are staying home to prevent themselves from getting sick with COVID-19. This poses a challenge for businesses, especially those that rely on face-to-face interaction with customers. People are less likely to buy things in turbulent times. Small businesses can have trouble staying afloat as their cash flow gets smaller. With the right strategies, though, small businesses can thrive in hard times. The key to survival is for a small business to engage with its community. There are many creative ways that a small business can accomplish that goal.

Work with Small Business Groups

The Small Business Association (SBA) has many resources available at https://www.sba.gov. A section of its site is devoted to information about COVID-19 and how to handle business without spreading the coronavirus. The SBA also has special debt relief options in place for small businesses who are struggling in these difficult economic times. If you’re just starting out, the SBA also helps entrepreneurs launch, plan, and grow their businesses. Your state Department of Economic Opportunity can also help you find local resources. Some states also provide loans specifically for small businesses, like the Florida Bridge Loan Program. Don’t be afraid to ask these groups for help! With the right resources, you can start a successful business even in an economic downturn. Small businesses are the backbones of many communities, and people rely on them just as much as big businesses. Small business groups understand this, and many people in those groups have experience with businesses of their own.

Collaborate with Other Businesses

Competition is a big part of business. During an uncertain time like the coronavirus outbreak, though, businesses can survive by working together. Unlike the Great Depression, completely remote businesses now exist. Collaboration is easier than ever across state and international borders. It’s possible to have meetings with a hundred people without worrying about any of them getting sick from COVID-19. Try contacting other small businesses who do similar things or make similar products. If one business is having trouble with shipping, perhaps the other business can solve the problem with its products or connections. Combining products or marketing could help both businesses prevent layoffs. Creativity is key to collaboration between businesses. Collaboration doesn’t mean that businesses must merge and lose their individual identity, either. Business can collaborate to strengthen their own brands and to help each other at the same time. They’re used to working against each other, but working together can inspire more stability, more customer confidence, and new innovations.

Innovate

Innovation is all about making your business better. Look at your difficulties with the coronavirus pandemic as areas where you can improve your business. If you’re worried about many of your employees getting sick from COVID-19, invest in a remote work program. Is there a possibility that your servers can’t handle a surge in customers caused by stay at home orders? Research and invest in some new hardware that’s better than your competition. Don’t forget to be creative! Is there something that your customers need that you’re not providing? Has someone had an amazing idea for a new service? Don’t be afraid to take some creative risks during this time. If you tap into a new market or create a product that no one else is offering, your business could quickly reach new levels of success. Many people think of the coronavirus as a temporary problem until we get back to normal. There’s no reason that “normal” must be the same as it was. Small business can innovate to create a new, better normal. Use the uncertainty and stress of this difficult time to make something better!

Advertise

Since people don’t usually buy as much when times are tough, it’s easy to think that small businesses should cut their advertising budgets. Instead, small businesses should increase their advertising as much as they can. This goes double if they’ve created something new and exciting that consumers would be interested in while dealing with the coronavirus. Many people are afraid of COVID-19 right now, and a fun distraction with a product they like could be just what they need. Reach out to potential customers with digital marketing. Use lots of SEO, and try to repeat your message as often as possible. People don’t often buy a product the first time they see it, so you need to convince them. Find creative ways to make your product appealing. Tap into new technology or write an app. Tailor your marketing to the people who need your product most and focus on them. Some companies even sell products at a loss if it helps them get the word out to people who need them.

Give Back

It’s easy for businesses of any size to forget about giving back in a time of crisis like the coronavirus pandemic. That’s just what many small businesses are doing now, though. Some are donating medical supplies to fight COVID-19, others are helping raise awareness, and still more are donating to people in need. From a business perspective, you can think of these actions as positive advertising. It’s a good investment with a high rate of return. Successful businesses know, however, that there’s more to it than money and numbers. Businesses of all sizes rely on customers to keep afloat, so giving back is a way to thank them and make their lives better in return. Helping out is important because running a successful business isn’t just about money. It’s about making the world a better place by providing people with something they need.