Clients often ask us what we do to make our programs stand out in competitive markets. First and foremost (and apart from any advertising or marketing plan) the reputation of your program within the community is the foundation for growth. It all begins and ends with providing outstanding patient care. Once this is in place, creative marketing and community education strategies can be implemented.
One of the most effective strategies hospitals can utilize is video marketing. Building a video strategy to harness the power of storytelling is a key component in outpatient services marketing. When used appropriately, videos can be a powerful tool to educate patients, referring providers, and the broader healthcare community on the benefits of any outpatient service line.
When it comes to building a connection with a potential patient or provider, first impressions are important and nothing is more effective than patient testimonials. Patients who might be uneasy about a new treatment can ease many of those concerns with a relatable, thoughtful patient success story. Seeing someone else with a similar condition find success at your program, builds trust early on in the process. Below are a few examples of patient success stories we’ve created for our clients.
Once you’ve highlighted patient success stories, spread the word like wildfire and educate the greater medical community on the services and benefits available at the program. Before COVID, awareness was generated primarily through face-to-face conversations with local care providers. Fliers and brochures were dropped off and in-person relationships were nurtured over time. We now know that historical community education techniques like this at healthcare facilities might never be the same.
Patients and providers are online so join them where they go to get information. Build a diverse array of digital community education collateral. Use video to communicate directly with care providers and make this a key component of your COVID strategy. Below are a few examples of how we used video to build awareness of our client’s centers during COVID.
In a world of neverending TikTok videos it seems like anyone can be a filmmaker with a smartphone, but let me tell you from experience, it’s not as easy as it sounds! Professional filmmaking is a complex process so a good place to start is to talk to an expert. Find a local filmmaker or production company that specializes in testimonials. Or talk to Wound Care Advantage and learn how you can approach these projects with our team that specializes in telling patient success stories, highlighting specific outpatient sites, and harnessing the power of video to grow the service line.
