Patient analytics can help you better understand who your ideal patients are so you can effectively focus your marketing efforts.
When my children were small, they wanted to try their hand at running a lemonade stand. They set up our card table in front of the house, made some cookies and lemonade, and put up their sign. I figured the lemonade was great and the warm cookies were better, so everything would work out. A couple of the neighbors came by, but our street was not busy. We didn’t have much traffic to bring business. So much for mom’s marketing plan.
We got wise, and sales improved when they set up their lemonade stand down on the corner with some neighbor friends. The street was busier, so they had more visibility, and more people stopped by to purchase cups of lemonade.
We went to a parade a few years later, and some children had set up a popsicle and drink stand in front of their house on the parade route. It was a hot day. They sold out of popsicles and water. They had great visibility with all the people standing around for the parade, and their captive audience was hot and dehydrated.
Medical practices and doctors must also consider visibility when it comes to attracting new patients. Traditional marketing efforts can only do so much in a world where online search is the go-to for information seekers. Instead, you should move your lemonade stand to the end of the street, metaphorically of course, by taking the steps necessary to be seen by those seeking care. You need to manage your reputation and social capital.
But to really position yourself in a parade crowd of thirsty people on a hot day, you’ll have to take it a step further. You need to identify your ideal patients, learn where they are, and target them with the marketing efforts best suited to attract them. This is where patient analytics come in.
Patient Analytics
Machine learning can be used to help you identify your ideal patients. Here’s how it works: SocialClimb has big data sets on over 250 million individuals in the U.S. across 200 data points. Our artificial intelligence (AI) tools will sift through data to find results based on specified care models we have set up.
Your ideal patients are specific to your needs. The type of care you want to focus on is important to the care model you select. You may want to specialize in knee replacement, bunionectomies, concussions, or spine surgery. Hey, whatever floats your boat (or sweetens your lemonade). But that’s just part of the equation.
The type of insurance coverage a patient has will directly impact your reimbursement. Our AI will also find patients with the insurance that works best for your practice to maximize your revenue. The type of procedure you want to bring in paired with the right coverage will give you a patient ideal for your needs.
The final piece of the targeting puzzle is to identify the type of marketing outreach that will most likely work for each patient. SocialClimb’s socially sensitive predictive models identify patients likely to respond to social media based ads on Google, Facebook, and Instagram vs. patients more likely to only respond to direct contact via email or postcards.
The 230+ care models we have in place identify behaviors and information used to filter the data. A partial view of the care model for joint pain includes the following to identify those at risk:
- OTC drug use
- Sports participation
- Self-reported issues for joint pain
- Web searches related to joint pain
- Purchases related to joint pain
- Prescription medication use
- Financial information (ability to pay)
- Type of insurance
The AI technology will bring up zip code areas with high concentrations of the type of patients you’re looking for. Your job is to create a geo target by selecting the zip codes you want to send ads to or choose groups of potential patients to target with Facebook and Instagram ads.
Put the Data to Work
Once you’ve created your geo targets or target lists with our patient analytics feature, you can use our platform to set up your targeted ads. We call them Boost Ads, and we have playbooks and content for you to use that will set them up with all the right keywords.
Then, when one of the at-risk patients in your geo targets searches for medical care, your ad will pop up at the top of Google search results. We’re seeing conversion rates of around 35% with our Boost Ads. Meaning, out of 100 people who click the ad (and remember, these are your ideal patients who will see the ad) 35% will call your office and make an appointment.
Basically, you’ve just put your lemonade stand in a high-traffic area where dehydrated people are looking for a cool drink. And that’s why our customers who try our Boost Ads are so excited about them. They’re bringing in their ideal patients, boosting their revenue, and tracking their return on investment (ROI) thanks to our patient analytics.
Boom, we’ve just turned all that data into actionable insight. And trust me, once you’ve tried it, you won’t want to go back to selling lemonade with your momma’s marketing plan.
Call one of our team members today at 866-338-8270 to get started.
