We are well into the new year now, and hopefully, with this blog, we can boost that motivation you may have lost with the January blues to help you get your marketing strategy back on track.
You may have noticed a decrease in new patient enquiries at your healthcare clinic over the past year, with the inflation rate skyrocketing in the UK. Still, you can channel your frustration to incentivise you to try new methods to bring in new patients.
In this blog, we highlight some of the fundamental new healthcare trends you should be following and taking advantage of in 2023.
Grab a cuppa and get settled in as we list these 7 trends. Jot down notes and try and use our practical methods to inspire you to grow your clinic.
#1 Patient experience is invaluable for a successful clinic
The first and arguably most crucial of the healthcare trends you should follow is improving patient experience. What does this involve? It involves each patient’s overall experience, from communication with your team to the treatment and facilities offered, right down to aftercare.
This plays a vital role in the success of your practice, as happy patients will increase your chances of retaining patients and reaching new potential patients. Satisfied patients are likely to recommend your clinic and return for other treatments. A good patient experience will allow you and your team to form relationships with the patients, allowing them a safe space to discuss their doubts. Building trust is key to a successful clinic, and that’s what you should aim for in this new year.
If you would like to dive deeper into the patient experience, where you’ll find a bunch of tips, check out our blog post: Learn how to unlock a 5-start patient experience and reduce churn.
For now, we will leave you with some quick tips and tricks to improve your patient experience:
Be available – make sure your patients have the time they need to ask any questions and get the reassurance they need
Offer flexibility – offer easy cancellations and rescheduling
Keep up communication – this includes sending appointment reminders and follow-up after consultations
#2 Patient referrals are essential to get high-quality patient enquiries
Leading on from the previous point, once you have built up a good relationship with your patients and they are happy with the treatments, you can then discuss patient referrals with them.
Although you can’t rely solely on word of mouth for your marketing, patient referrals play a vital role in getting new patients through the door.
Humans are social beings, and it’s only natural for us to share our good experiences along with the bad. So, when we are happy with a service, such as a treatment at a clinic, we are likely to talk about it. People getting these recommendations from loved ones will, in turn, be more inclined to find out more about the treatment and convert into a patient.
- 92% of people said they trust recommendations from family and friends
- 54% say referral marketing has a lower cost-per-lead
- Referral leads convert 30% better than leads generated from other forms of marketing
- Referred customers are four times more likely to refer more customers to your clinic
So, how do you get patient referrals?
Initially, you can suggest that your patients recommend any treatments they were happy with to loved ones. However, some may need an incentive. You could come up with referral plans: for every referral, your current patient receives a discount on their subsequent treatment, or you could create a point system where with accumulated points, they can get a deal.
#3 Patients want to see relevant content
With a vast amount of information at their fingertips, your tech-savvy potential patients will have spent time researching to find as much information as possible about a treatment they are interested in.
This was only amplified after the pandemic when we all turned to our laptops and learnt to do our own research. So, when people have a plethora of info in front of them, how do you get them to engage with yours?
First, let’s cover what we mean by content marketing as one of the current healthcare trends.
Content marketing consists of putting valuable, relevant and consistent content out there from which future and potential patients can gain knowledge. People will quickly lose interest if you only promote your treatments and services – you need to add value!
Good content will bring the following advantages:
- Brand awareness
- Higher engagement
- Trust in your clinic
- Patient retention
- New patients
- Credibility
To reap the benefits of putting great content out there, spend time creating engaging blogs and articles. Answer the most frequently asked questions and explain how treatments work.
Use social media to create interesting and relevant posts without it all being about pushing your clinic. If you take the time to educate, you’ll add value to your content, and you will soon find yourself an authority in that area, prompting people to turn to you when they are ready to commit to a treatment.
#4 Social proof is the key to success
You can rant and rave all you want about how great you and your clinic are, but if you want to get people to truly believe it, you’ll need social proof. This is one of the key healthcare trends of 2023.
If someone lands on your website, they are probably looking for some more information about what your clinic offers. Once they have found that you provide the services they want, they will need to see the value.
Having testimonials on your website will help nudge those potential patients considering booking a treatment with you in the right direction. You can ask your most satisfied patients for testimonials for your website and other platforms such as Google.
Another form of social proof is expert social proof.
Expert social proof is when someone in the field recommends your clinic or treatments. Doctors and healthcare providers can refer their patients to see you and make recommendations. Build relationships with other healthcare providers in the area that aren’t your direct competition. You can strike up a deal where you recommend each other’s clinics for different treatments.
We’ve written a whole blog post on why patient reviews are vital for your healthcare business; you can check it out here. (link)
#5 Voice search optimisation will set you apart from the rest
This relatively new method of using search engines has taken off. With Siri, Alexa, and Cortana, amongst others, voice assistants are making it easier and quicker for users to find information. And this is no different in the healthcare industry.
At the beginning of 2021, 70% of the British public used voice assistants monthly.
Of these users, half of them use them daily.
How does this affect your healthcare business? You’ll need to optimise your website to make it easier for these virtual assistants to give users the correct information.
As voice searches tend to be worded as someone speaks, they differ from what people will type into a search engine. Potential patients could be asking about cosmetic procedures, clinics in their area, and physical factors they want to change about themselves, amongst other searches. All of these could lead them to your clinic if you have your website optimised.
Use ‘’related searches’’ or the ‘’people also ask’’ sections of the Google results page to help you find long-tail keywords. These are phrases of at least three words that people will use to find your website. Include these words on your website to help the voice assistants recommend your website.
You should also use conversational language in your blogs and on your website to match the queries people will be making to Siri or Google Assistant and add an FAQ section to include questions similar to those people would ask.
Finally, make sure your Google Business profile is up to date to help people with local searches find your clinic.
#6 Videos are highly valued
With easy access to all the information we want, as internet users, we have become impatient. We want to find the information as quickly as possible. Research shows that the human brain processes visual content 60,000 times fast than text, while most people only read 28% of words on a web page. This is where videos come in.
A short video on your website is a great way to quickly engage with your visitors and get them interested in your content. If your potential patients spend longer on your website to watch a video, and if this results in a higher conversion rate, Google will reward you by bumping your website higher on their search engine results page. It’s a win-win!
But what videos should you be uploading?
- Practitioners answering FAQs and talking about general doubts patients have
- How a treatment is carried out with before and after results
- Post-care tips for your patients
- Videos debunking any myths there are around your treatments
Make sure you film high-quality videos and check that your page loading time isn’t too slow once they are up there!
You can also share these videos on your social media profiles to reach new patients.
#7 Apps for healthcare businesses are making everyone’s lives easier
As we’ve already discussed, patients, like any other consumer, want an easy experience. With busy schedules and other commitments, patients want a smooth booking and cancellation process.
Using a healthcare app is a great solution to take some of the strain off your staff while allowing your patients an easy way to keep track of their appointments and update anything they need to.
These apps have really taken off in the US, and we are likely to see the same trend in the UK, so keep your eyes peeled!
Once you’ve chosen the app your clinic will use, and you’ve got it all set up, encourage your patients to download it too. Take your time to show them how it works and how they can use it – this will save you time in the long run!
Follow the healthcare trends
Following these seven healthcare trends should have you set for a while; however, as we know, trends come and go. So long as you are ready to learn and provide your patients will the best care, you will be on the right track. Remember to keep checking back for blogs on our website to find out the latest in the industry.
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