WhitePaper: Marketing For Healthcare Providers in the Digital Age

Guest Blog from TheDoctorBlog.com

Are you a doctor thinking about investing in online marketing but not sure whether it's worth the investment?

Check out this whitepaper from TheDoctorBlog that explains why you should seriously consider it- before your competition does.

Check out a quick preview below-

Abstract

The Internet has fundamentally redefined how Americans connect with physicians. In this white paper, ZocDoc draws on recent studies and expertise from digital healthcare leaders to interpret these changes. We provide a vendor evaluation document and an interactive return-on-investment calculator (see Appendices A and B) to help healthcare providers determine the optimal marketing mix for their practices. We illustrate the costs and benefits of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn, and detail best practices when appropriate. A method for obtaining positive reviews and attenuating negative reviews is described; it is demonstrated that an average 37 percent increase in appointments results from each half-star improvement to a provider’s online rating profile. We close by outlining the patient satisfaction and loyalty healthcare providers can accrue by offering online booking and related transactional services, which are preferred by 81 percent of consumers.

Introduction

Of the 74 percent of American adults with access to the Internet, 80 percent now say they’ve tapped it to research a health topic, according to recent data from the Pew Foundation. The latest such report – released in November 2012 – found that among those who own a smartphone, over half have used it for health-related purposes. Other survey results from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) show that a full third of all US consumers now trust not only the Internet but specifically social media to obtain healthcare information, discuss symptoms and care, and share feedback about their physicians. These statistics are compelling evidence that we have entered the age of the ePatient, when consumers prefer to make and manage their healthcare decisions online and (increasingly) on mobile devices.

Continue reading here.

TheDoctorBlog is a ZocDoc's blog.

About ZocDoc-

"Founded in 2007 with a mission of improving access to healthcare, ZocDoc is a free service that allows patients to find a nearby doctor or dentist who accepts their insurance, see their real-time availability, and instantly book an appointment via ZocDoc.com or ZocDoc’s free apps for iPhone or Android. By revealing the 'hidden supply' of appointments, ZocDoc helps most patients get access to care in just 24 – 72 hours," According to their website.